Traffic on the Marlbank Road at the base of Cuilcagh Mountain on Easter Monday was “ten times worse” than residents have witnessed before, with cars lined along both sides of the road and vehicles attempting to travel in both directions.

“It was madness” said local farmer Jason Moffitt, who has three farms in the area.

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Mr. Moffitt was trying to work between his three farms on Monday but was hampered by significant numbers of walkers who had come to the area to experience Cuilcagh Mountain. He is keen to meet Council officials to put forward his suggestion that the road be widened and the size of the car park increased.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) said it did not foresee that the installation of a boardwalk in 2015 would lead to the significant increase in footfall at Cuilcagh. However, it “did anticipate additional walkers coming to Cuilcagh over the Easter weekend and employed additional personnel to attempt to ease the road parking issues.” A spokeswoman said: “This worked well on Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday. However, on Easter Monday there was a significant additional number of cars arriving over a short time period and in the main, the majority of drivers did park properly for which the Council wishes to thank them for acting responsibly. 

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Unfortunately, a small number of drivers parked inappropriately causing the access issues. Council staff with the assistance of local residents worked to resolve the situation.”
The Council is in the process of organising a meeting to “explore all options”.

“Monday was the worst day ever,” said Mr. Moffitt. “It was ten times worse than anything we’ve seen before. With the buses coming in the summer, it will get a lot worse. I would like to know what’s going to be done,” he told The Impartial Reporter.

A video taken by Mr. Moffitt on Monday shows a trail of cars making their way slowly along the Marlbank Road, manoeuvring around walkers and parked cars and stopping to reverse and to allow oncoming traffic to pass.

READ: Cuilcagh Mountain Trail: Proposition to Council to charge for Cuilcagh access

“I have ewes lambing and cows calving. It took me one hour to travel two miles. It is taking ages to get from one farm to the other. If someone had taken a heart attack on Monday there is no way an ambulance would get through, or if I needed a vet, he wouldn’t get to me in time,” said Mr. Moffitt.

According to Mr. Moffitt, two security guards were manning the car park at the base of Cuilcagh on Monday but there were more present on Tuesday and they were making the cars travel in a one-way system.
“On Easter Monday... they were parked for about three-quarters of a mile in each direction from the Cuilcagh car park, on both sides of the road. They were also parked on both sides of the entrance to the Marble Arch Caves and the caves car park was full,” Mr. Moffitt outlined.
“They don’t care. They will park anywhere. They are also parking across the entrance to my farms,” he claimed. “The sides of the roads have collapsed and Roads Service men came out and threw a few stones on top of the mud. That hasn’t made any improvement,” Mr. Moffitt commented.

Mr. Moffitt reported that tourists stuck in Monday’s traffic chaos were also becoming frustrated at the traffic congestion. “They were beeping their horns and wondering why we weren’t moving. And a camper van broke down in the middle of the whole thing,” he said.
“It makes life a lot harder,” concluded Mr. Moffitt.

There has been a 700 per cent increase in walkers to Cuilcagh since FODC installed a boardwalk two years ago. Last year alone, 24,000 people tackled the 666 metre mountain. The aim of the boardwalk was to protect the rare blanket bog from erosion caused by walkers. However, the impressive wooden structure is being featured extensively on social media and is prompting the huge influx of walkers.
In response to a query from The Impartial Reporter, a Council spokeswoman pointed out that “a large volume of visitors also attended the site on Easter Tuesday resulting in a significant presence of cars, but despite the numbers, traffic did flow quite smoothly.”
She explained that the on-road parking issues “have not been a problem during the week but have been a problem at weekends and Bank Holidays.”

“The Council would ask drivers to please park responsibly and not to block access or park on private land as access for local residents and indeed emergency services should they be required in the area is severely hindered by irresponsible parking,” she stated.
The spokeswoman said that the boardwalk “was not created in order to improve access to the area but rather to prevent any further damage to the protected blanket bog.” She added: “The boardwalk originated first and foremost to conserve pristine blanket bog, restore damaged peatland and increase awareness of bog habitats and the associated wildlife. Cuilcagh Mountain is designated as a Special Area of Conservation. Whilst the boardwalk has been very successful in protecting the precious blanket bog habitat and in allowing bog vegetation to regenerate on eroded areas, it has also somewhat unexpectedly led to significantly increased numbers of people wishing to visit to experience the wilderness landscape. 

“The boardwalk has become incredibly popular in a very short space of time and is now drawing visitors from near and far. Whilst it was expected that the board walk might increase the number of walkers, the extent to which it has drawn a significant increase in footfall could not have been foreseen. 
“This large increase in visitors and expected ongoing increase, which is being closely monitored by the Council, has presented significant management challenges, which are being given due consideration by all concerned. 

“The Council is currently in the process of organising a meeting, with other Statutory Bodies with a role to play in addressing these issues, to explore all options.”