RESIDENTS in the Rock streets have held a protest after a child was knocked down due to what they say are ongoing parking and traffic congestion issues.
Four-year-old Cadhla Sheridan was knocked down last week.
While the driver was not speeding at the time and Cadhla was uninjured, residents have said that poor parking is making the Rock streets difficult for drivers to navigate and is endangering lives in the area.
Speaking following the protest, local resident Paula Whelan explained: “The Rock streets are very congested with traffic, but Rockville Street is particularly bad because we have the shops and traffic lights at the corner.
“Cars are coming in and either speeding up the street, or they’re stopping at the shops and parking on the double-yellow lines.
“They’re parking at both sides and they’re on the sensors for the traffic lights, so it means that if I’m coming out of the street they won’t change to green to allow me to go out. Residents have to break a red light to get out of the street.
“Sometimes you’ll have two or three cars trying to get into the street too, so they’ll be tailed onto the Falls Road because they can’t get past the parked cars.”
She continued: “When Cadhla was knocked down it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. It made all the residents get together to make people aware of the issues. The driver that hit Cadhla was not speeding, it was just because the street was congested. She is not hurt, but we’ve had enough. Somebody is going to be killed in this street.”
She added: “It’s just getting worse and worse.”
