FOR months and months living in the Colin area has been testing, through absolutely no fault of the ratepaying workers who proudly call the area home.
An upgrade of a set of traffic lights to provide a safe filter for cars turning on to the McKinstry Road led to absolute traffic havoc for nearly two years. In an area poorly served by public transport, and with many houses needing at least two cars, the impact was not inconsiderable. But it made the junction safer, so people were patient.
Since Christmas a cycle lane has been built on Lagmore Avenue, the main route to Lagmore West and Mount Eagles, and the only primary school serving this part of the Colin area. All traffic has been forced to pass down the residential and very narrow road of Lagmore View Road and Dale. On average this has led to an additional 45 minutes each way of commute for all of the car-travelling residents who live in an area without a proper supermarket or third level institution. The number of cyclists locally is low, but maybe the upgrade would help, and while tempers did fray at times, generally the ratepayers just planned earlier mornings and later nights in the hope things will get better soon.
While waiting in those traffic jams, scramblers, ebikes and motorised scooters would often weave in and out of the cars, often pulling wheelies, and what was a nuisance commute often became scary, and clearly anti-social.
The locally elected representatives are doing their best, but none of the relevant agencies seem to give a flying continental. We have been left to stew.
The scenes this week on our main road are simply too much. How dare the feral, good-for-nothings that invaded the Stewartstown Road with disgusting, preplanned shows of criminality do this?
How dare they?
They dared because they can. The statutory agencies that should have protected us, that should have ensured that families were allowed to go about their lawful business, could not care less about us. And yes, I am talking about the Police Service of Northern Ireland. They have done nothing about the tearing up of Twinbrook with scramblers on Christmas mornings. Nor the routine and regular criminality on the Stewartstown Road in recent months that make walking the footpaths of that road dangerous and deeply unpleasant. They did nothing to stop the scramblers pulling wheelies up and down the motorway exits in and out of West Belfast all day on Bank Holiday Monday, and they did nothing to ensure that the well advertised 'event' which turned our thoroughfare into a scumfest was prevented at source. In fact they closed the road and enabled it.
The PSNI has long since lost the opportunity to build confidence, between its default defence of the RUC, to posing Catholic suicide victims to share in WhatsApp groups. But its day-to-day tolerance of criminality in the Colin area is our day-to-day reminder that under its current guise they view our community differently to how they view the Malone Road or the Belmont Road, where such a display would be untihnkable.
The proud residents of Colin pay the same rates and the same taxes. Whoever the operational commander of the PSNI is that decides we should be left with lawlessness on our streets should be sacked. A fresh, accountable approach with all relevant agencies doing their legislative duty with a zero-tolerance attitude needs to be urgently established.
