Has Liscooley disappeared? ‘They fly through it like a Formula 1 racetrack’

Has Liscooley disappeared?

That’s the question locals from the tiny village between Killygordon and Castlefin are searching for an answer to. They want to know why the road that runs through their village is becoming something like a Formula 1 racetrack and no speed limits seem to apply.

It may sound unbelievable but according to a local councillor and a national school principal, it’s only a matter of time before speed kills.

Chairman of the Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District, Cllr Patrick McGowan raised his fears at a council meeting saying vehicles were travelling through the village faster than ever.

He feels it’s time for action, not words.

“There was a meeting involving local clergy, the local national school’s board of management and residents about seven or eight years ago to highlight the issues but apart from some minor works, nothing has happened.

“Drivers don't seem to realise Liscooley is an actual village, it’s as if it has disappeared.

“They fly through it like a Formula 1 racetrack without a thought for the local school, church and graveyard, the farming community, a local housing estate, community events, the fact that it's situated on a crossroads or home to one of the busiest petrol stations in the county.”

He points to the fact that underground wires to link up with traffic controls were put in place but no lights or crossing were ever delivered because the road "is too fast".

“The road was resurfaced a while ago but it the improved surface has only led to vehicles going faster.

“There’s a flashing sign on the Killygordon side telling you what speed you are going at.

“This is supposed to slow you down and in some cases, it might work but there's no similar sign on the Castlefin side where you could argue the road is better and the cars faster.”

Cllr McGowan said the council’s road section needs to revisit this problem as well as contact Transport Infrastructure Ireland to introduce some consistency in the application of speed zones for schools.

“You drive to Galway or through Monaghan and you can see zebra crossings and speed management provisions in place so why not here in Donegal? Locals compare it to Russian Roulette with their children in the firing line crossing this road and that is simply not good enough,” he said.

Children
His concerns have been echoed in a letter sent to the council by Wendy Long, the principal of Donoughmore National School and its board of management.

“Our school is situated on the side of the busy N15, with room for the two school buses alone to pull in. All other parents dropping off and collecting children by car must park at/on the footpath, risking the high-speed traffic that is passing, with traffic not slowing down to accommodate the narrowed road.

A group of children from the Donoughmore National School in Liscooley that participated in a county council road safety event 

“The other option is for them to park in the church car park across the road and then try to cross the busy road with small children in tow, together with those who have children/babies below school age who they cannot leave unattended in their car and therefore have to bring them back and forth across the road with them.

“There is also no designated crossing point, no official crossing and no lights. Having met with The National Roads Authority representatives a few years ago, we were told that it was against regulations to install a crossing on a National Primary Road. However, there is much talk that one is to be installed at Ballylast National School, to facilitate the new Greenway. We would like to know whether this is true or not. Have any regulations changed regarding being allowed to install ramps, speed bumps, etc?”

Ms Long said that while there are speed restrictions on this road, no one seems to be enforcing them.

“The majority of traffic travels through the village at high speed. There is a speed monitoring beacon on the Killygordon side of the school and we do feel that this is helping drivers to be more aware that they are approaching a school and slowing down a little.

“However, there is none on the Castlefin side of the school – could one be installed? We have had a recent few near misses outside the school. Can Donegal County Council please help as we are extremely concerned for the safety of our pupils, parents and teachers?"

Donegal County Council roads engineer, Claire McGeever told the municipal district meeting that she spoke to the council’s safety engineer about Liscooley and he has agreed to meet the executive engineer and they were going to look at the different issues including the junction with the poor vision lines and speed within the village in general.

“It’s down to resources. I know the safety engineer is very busy with other things as well. It's on the list of things to do. I will give members an update once that meeting takes place.”