Registered blind, Tandragee man Les Massey is taking his life in his hands every time he leaves home to make his way into town.
Living in Willowfield Heights, off the Portadown Road, he daily takes his guide dog, Munro, for a walk simply to enjoy some fresh air.
But he is forced to run the gauntlet at a busy roundabout at the top of the town and is putting himself – and, in turn, Munro – at risk.
Now Les is begging the powers-that-be to step up to the mark and explore potential crossing options to allow them to proceed in safety.
It is a call which is also being echoed by Newry and Armagh MLA Gareth Wilson, with whom he raised his concerns shortly after moving to Tandragee in March.
Together, they are asking the Department for Infrastructure to act now as a matter of urgency.
Les, his wife Stephanie, and son Reece, had previously lived in Portadown and again, despite the best efforts of DUP MP Carla Lockhart, said he experienced ‘foot-dragging’ at its finest when he made similar requests there.
In Tandragee, he believes something now needs to be done to ensure the safe passage of the many pedestrians who cross at a roundabout where no less than five roads converge.
“We love it here,” Les told Armagh I. “But that roundabout is so dangerous. There’s ones coming from Tandragee, ones coming from Portadown, ones coming from where the high school is, ones coming from round the back of the primary school and ones coming down the other road.
“There’s about five different ways that the traffic comes and it’s getting difficult to get across that road. It doesn’t matter where you stand. There’s traffic lights at the school, but that’s taking me in a totally different direction to where I need to go. There’s no traffic lights on that road, so you have to go right the whole way down to the bottom of Tandragee and come all the way up again. There’s nothing really there for myself to get across the road.
“It’s very, very hard for someone like myself to get across that road. You’re just constantly standing, hoping that there’s a break in traffic to get across. But when there’s traffic coming from behind the school, it’s on a bend, you can’t really tell until they’re more or less coming at you.
“If parents are trying to get their kids to school, it’s hard as well, because they’re coming around and give way to the right. They’re trying to get their kids into school as quick as possible, especially in the mornings but also in the afternoons, and it can be so difficult to get across.
“Something needs to be done in around that roundabout to get myself across, and not just for me, but everybody else, for wee pensioners getting across that road, and for kids too.”
Unfortunately, Les has met ignorance and apathy when calling for safety measures, both now in Tandragee, and Portadown in the past.
It is not just frustrating, it is maddening, because, in his own mind, he says it would take little to deliver what is required.
“I like to try to get Munro out, because we need to go out and get a bit of fresh air because you can’t sit in the house all day,” he added.
“In Portadown, it was more or less the same. When I lived in Killicomaine I was trying to get traffic lights on the road there too. Carla Lockhart was helping me, but it was like beating her head on a brick wall. That was three years and we were on the list to get it done on the Killicomaine Road as well.
“Roads Service sometimes have a funny way of putting things. Whenever I was over in Portadown, they said, well why are you going out at that time? Why can you not leave it to a time that’s not busy? My point of view is, why should I be discriminated against, that I can’t go out until traffic dies down? You don’t see anybody else going, ‘oh, I can’t go shopping because there’s too many cars on the road’.
“That has been thrown up at me many times as well. People go why do you not leave it until the traffic dies down and you can get across the road? I just say, ‘well, if you need to go shopping, if you need to go into the chemist, would you wait?’ You wouldn’t, because you need to get out, so why should I?”
Les believes that a pelican crossing or traffic lights should be put in place – whatever is best suited to the location.
“I’m not really an expert on the roads,” he said. “I’m happy to work with Roads Service, talk to them and see, this might be good or that might be good. I’m happy with a pelican crossing, something that’s not going to take too much hassle to do. Something like that would be helpful, not just for me, but for everybody going across that road.
“I’m sure there’s elderly people coming down trying to get into Tandragee thinking how long is this going to take? Some mornings I’m there 15 or 20 minutes trying to get across that road. Then sometimes you’d stand there and someone would maybe say to you, ‘you can go now’, or the car maybe wave at you and somebody say to go, but then you put your foot in the road and they drive off and nearly knock you down.
“We’ve been always told when we’re crossing the road, if a car stops, don’t walk. Tell them just to go on, because you don’t know, they could just drive straight over you.”
For Les, his plea to the Department for Infrastructure is clear.
“Try and get something sorted out down there as soon as possible to make it safer for everyone,” he said.
“I would say to Roads Service, have a look at it and see if there’s something that you can do. I’m not asking them to dig the road up. I’m just asking is there some way that can make it more feasible for me to get across the road and for the kids, and for the elderly, to get across, because it’s a very dangerous and busy roundabout.
“Please have a look at it. Please help. I just want it to be safe for everyone.”
Newry and Armagh MLA Gareth Wilson with guide dog Munro.
DUP MLA Gareth Wilson has promised to continue to push to try and have something done, saying he has been lobbied by Les and other local residents “regarding serious concerns about pedestrian safety at the junction of Ballymore Road, Montague Street and the Portadown Road roundabout”, particularly for those who are blind or severely sight-impaired.
“For many people with visual impairments, navigating busy road junctions can already present significant challenges,” said Mr Wilson. “Where crossing points, signalling arrangements or pedestrian infrastructure are not fit-for-purpose, those challenges are only increased and can place individuals at unnecessary risk.
“Everyone should be able to move around their local community safely and independently. Those who are blind or severely sight-impaired should not be left feeling vulnerable when attempting to cross one of the area’s busiest junctions.”
The local representative said he had raised these concerns directly with the Department for Infrastructure and asked officials to urgently assess the location and identify what improvements can be made to enhance safety and accessibility.
“The Department needs to step up and ensure our roads and pedestrian routes are designed with all users in mind,” added Mr Wilson. “Accessibility cannot be an afterthought. It must be a fundamental consideration in how we plan and maintain our infrastructure.
“I will continue to press for action and look forward to receiving a response from the Department on the measures that can be taken to make this junction safer for those living with sight loss and other mobility challenges.”
Independent Unionist Councillor Paul Berry has also been working with les on the issue.
“Les recently moved to Tandragee and he met me to discuss his safety concerns in relation to this junction were three roads lead into the roundabout and crossing area,” explained Alderman Berry.
“I have raised this with DFI Traffic Section and i am waiting their response and views on my request for safety measures for Les and other disabled residents.
“The area in question is generally very poor for visibility and something clearly needs done for Les and all pedestrians.”
