A petition has been launched calling for the long-awaited construction of a bypass through a Co Down town where a pensioner has died after being struck by a lorry.
Renewed appeals for a bypass in Ballynahinch have been issued following the road crash tragedy on Monday.
A pedestrian, named locally as Giovanni Buggea and aged in his seventies, died after he was hit by a lorry in the town.
His body was only discovered in the Newcastle Road area of Seaforde when the vehicle stopped at quarry premises around seven miles away.
Mr Buggea, originally from Sicily, but who had lived in the Ballynahinch area for years, has been described as a “a lovely man”.
Local businessman Mark Murnin told the BBC that Mr Buggea was " a wonderful character”.
“Every day you would have seen Giovanni walking around the town,” he said.
“If people didn’t know his name - they knew him from seeing him around the town.
“The level of shock is very high.”
Mr Murnin, a former chairman of Newry, Mourne & Down district council, also told of how he had found a shoe lying in the road on Monday.
“It’s only when I got a call from police that two and two were put together,” he said.
He added that the entire experience had been “very traumatic”.
The latest fatality has reignited the ongoing debate surrounding the proposed A24 bypass.
Plans for a bypass for Ballynahinch have been mooted for years amid hopes that its construction would alleviate the large volume of traffic passing through the Co Down town daily.
If given the green light, the single carriageway bypass, of approximately 3.1km in length, would be built around the eastern periphery of Ballynahinch.
However, delays and a lack of funding has seen the bypass development left on the shelf.
The organiser of the petition states that it was set up “following yet another death due to lorries being forced to travel through the town”
“Not to mention multiple accidents involving lorries and the absurd amount of traffic travelling through the town, it really is time the bypass was pushed through Stormont,” it adds.
“This should also improve trade within the town.
“As the locals will actually be able to travel to and park within the town centre.
“Thank you for your support.“
Petition for Ballynahinch Bypass to actually happen.
Posted by Ballynahinch on Tuesday 9 April 2024
Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard was among the political figures this week to call for a re-examination of the bypass at Ballynahinch.
Speaking after the death of the pensioner, he said: “This is another sad reminder of the pressing need to move forward and deliver the Ballynahinch bypass”.
The Department for Infrastructure has been contacted for comment.
