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Paddy Leonard, 31 Aug
The organisers of the Waterside Half Marathon have urged motorists and
pedestrians to expect some delays in and around the city on the morning
of Sunday September 1st.
The 41st edition of the event is hosted by Derry City and Strabane
District Council and will see up to 2,700 runners complete the 13.1
mile course and a number of traffic restrictions and temporary speed
limits will be in place to facilitate them.
Runners will leave Ebrington Square at 9.30am and will finish back
there from 10.40am until 1pm.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Lillian
Seenoi Barr, urged anyone who will be in the vicinity of the route on
Sunday morning to familiarise themselves with the arrangements.
“This year’s Waterside Half Marathon sold out weeks in advance and we
are delighted to be able to accommodate a record field this Sunday
morning,” said Mayor Barr.
“The majority of the route is along the city’s greenway network however
I would encourage motorists to familiarise themselves with the
temporary traffic restrictions in place to keep disruption to a
minimum.
“I want to thank everyone in advance for their co-operation and wish
all the runners well in pursuing their personal goals.”
Runners will depart from Ebrington Square at 9.30am and travel along
the following roads, bridges and greenways where traffic may be
affected.
The affected areas of the course are: Ebrington Access Road, St
Columb’s Road to its junction with Browning Drive, King Street to its
junction with St Columb’s Road, Waterside Link from Duke Street to King
Street, Lower Deck Craigavon Bridge, Foyle Road, Foyleside Roundabout,
Foyle Embankment, Peace Bridge, the Waterside Greenway onto the
Strathfoyle Greenway into Strathfoyle Village by Stradown Drive.
The course then takes the runners along Temple Road to its Junction
with the A2, the A2 Dual Carriageway (southbound), Foyle Bridge
(westbound), Lower Culmore Road, Bay Road Park and back along the
Greenway over the iconic Peace Bridge to finish.
To ensure the safety of runners, spectators and other road users it
will be necessary to introduce temporary traffic restrictions for a
short time, these have been carefully selected in consultation with
PSNI and Roads Service to minimise delay and inconvenience for
residents and traffic.
Some disruption is inevitable but to minimise this and avoid delays the
public are asked to consider avoiding travelling along the affected
route during the event.
If you must travel during the event, please follow the signed
diversions and allow some extra time for your journey and follow the
instructions of the police and race marshals.Motorists should also note
that their will be a temporary speed limit of 20 mph on the Foyle
Bridge East bound and for North bound traffic on the A2 up to Temple
Road while runners pass through.
Residents along the route can help alleviate congestion by parking
vehicles off the road for the duration of the race.Greenway users,
particularly those with dogs, should be aware that the network will be
congested on Sunday morning as runners pass through, the peak period
for runners is approximately from 9.30am – 1pm.
The Peace Bridge will be closed to pedestrian traffic from 9am – 1.00pm
however runners can use it to access the start line if they wish to
park in the city side where there are more spaces available than the
Waterside.
On the city side there are paid carparks available in the multi-stories
at Foyleside and Quayside Shopping Centres while, along the quay, the
Council Car Park and Queen’s Quay Car Parks are open to the public and
are free of charge.In the Waterside there are limited spaces available
at the Foyle Arena, Oak Grove Primary, Duke Street and Old Bridge
House.
Accessible car parking is available at the Acorn Farm Gatelodge site
which is accessible from the main avenue to St Columb’s Park House.
As the event is on a Sunday morning it may be prudent to allow a little
extra time to reach Church services on time.Passengers intending to
take the 9.38am train service to Belfast are also advised to allow
extra time for their journey if they are traveling to the NW Transport
Hub by road and to familiarise themselves with the road closures.
We apologise for any inconvenience that may be caused to you by these
traffic restrictions and we will make every effort to minimise
disruption.
The Waterside Half Marathon is sold out, for race information including
pack collection, race instructions and a map of the route
visit derrystrabane.com/whm.
For further information, please contact the Events Team on 02871 253253
or Events@derrystrabane.com.