Community supportive of proposed Carndonagh Cycleway

An online petition proposing a 10km cycleway around Carndonagh has attracted considerable community support.

Set up just this week, the petition [https://www.change.org/carndonaghcycleway] has already been signed by more than 400 people.

One signatory said: “Carndonagh is such a perfect place to live. The town will be enhanced by a cycle way encouraging people to cycle safely, reducing traffic and improving mental and physical.”

Drawing on her international experience, another said: “I come from Carndonagh and now live in Holland. In this country, we have cycle paths that ensure the safety of the cyclist and enable you to cycle everywhere without having fear of being ignored in the traffic.”

Speaking to Donegal Live, Odel Ward, a member of the Carndonagh Cycleway group and co-organiser of the petition described Carndonagh as a “historic market town at the hub of Inishowen”.

Odel added: “Carndonagh is a vibrant economic, educational, artistic and sporting community. On behalf of the community, Carndonagh Cycleway is proposing a 10km cycleway around the town, encompassing its main amenities and services.

“How many of us make repeated car trips into and around town, due to safety concerns for family members? Post-Covid we are being encouraged to walk and cycle to school, however, currently, this is very dangerous, as there are simply no safe, segregated cycling lanes in the town, which experiences a high volume of motorised traffic.

“Carndonagh Cycleway is aiming to connect the towns' ammenities and community resources and help increase the health and safety of our population. We feel such a cycleway will greatly increase exercise levels and promote a healthier more sustainable lifestyle within the community.

“The cycleway would improve accessibility and would encompass as many local townlands and services as possible, so everybody could navigate around the town safely. It will also enable walkers, runners, cyclists, mobility aid users, community groups and visitors to travel within the town in an enjoyable manner, interconnecting the town in a very special way,” said Odel.

Odel believed the cycleway would help to revolutionise Carndonagh for generations to come.

She added: “Let's get our community connected. Carndonagh Cycleway is looking for the whole community to get behind this small working group as it will take a collective effort to make the vision a reality.

“We have also requested a meeting with Donegal County Council to discuss the proposed cycleway. Hopefully this will take place in January or February.

“Post-Covid especially, we now have a greater appreciation of the outdoors, for travelling in a more sustainable way. I am from Kerry, from Killarney and there people can travel very easily by bike there and I lived in Dublin for years and commuted to work by bike, so I am very familiar with the concept. But it would just be too dangerous in Carndonagh because the cycling infrastructure just is not there for people to be out and about on the bikes safely.

As parents, we are being told to bring the kids to school on the bikes to school but it is just not safe. A member of our group has actually had a child knocked off his bike in Carndonagh,” said Odel.

Odel felt the proposed Carndonagh Cycleway would link in with the North West Greenway project.

She said: “If people come to Inishowen to use the Greenway, what are they going to do when they come to Carndonagh? They are going to be stuck. The same in Buncrana and Moville.

“If you come to Inishowen on holidays, as a cycling destination, Carndonagh could become an eco-hub containing sustainable businesses, which can support the cycleways. The cycleway would not just be for people going to school or work bigger. It would be part of a bigger picture than that.”

Carndonagh Cycleway can be contacted at: carndonaghcycleway@gmail.com or by Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/carndonaghcycleway