Letterkenny councillor to ask for deferral of Active Travel plans

A Letterkenny councillor has placed a motion to suspend proposed works on the Active Travel plans.

Cllr Ciaran Brogan plans to bring the motion to the Letterkenny-Milford MD meeting next Tuesday.

The motion reads: “I propose that the Council suspend the proposed works with Active Travel plans already passed through Planning at this point.

“Namely the Ballyraine Road to Tesco roundabout, Circular Road - from the hospital roundabout to the top of Glencar and that we, as a Council, seek specialist traffic consultants to look at short-, medium-, and long-term solutions.”

The Letterkenny Active Travel Projects are a series of infrastructure developments managed by Donegal County Council to transform the car-dominated town into a safer area for pedestrians and cyclists.

The Fianna Fáil councillor voted against the R940 Ballyraine Road Project and the L1007 Circular Road Project in the Active Travel plans during May of last year, where he said the plans would cause ‘huge traffic disruption in many areas of the town.’

Separately, independent Councillor Michael McBride submitted a motion calling for a workshop on preventing traffic congestion in Letterkenny.

Cllr McBride’s motion reads as “That an urgent workshop be held to consider all possible remedies to the traffic congestion in Letterkenny.”

Letterkenny’s traffic woes have become a worry of local councillors and business owners in the area, and some feel the Active Travel plans have been a contributing factor to the gridlocked state of the town.

Just last week, Cllr Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly shared on social media that he felt as though the timing was not right for Active Travel, but believes that walking and cycling lanes could be narrowed.

“There is no quick fix, but we need to see more action; we need action implementing measures to address the daily build-up of traffic and, in doing so, will hopefully help build the confidence of the people of Letterkenny and all that come to visit, commute, and spend there hard earned money in the town we all love so well,” he said. “The walking and cycle lanes, in my opinion, do not need to be so wide. It’s not just Letterkenny; it's all over the country.”

“I'm not putting the full blame on Active Travel nor the people doing the work but it certainly has added fuel to the fire so to speak. I have asked on several occasions that a full review take place of this scheme, as I stated publicly many times that it's doomed to fail, and if I'm proven wrong down the line, I'll be the first to put my hands up and say I was wrong.”