Letterkenny workshop to be held on traffic with warning ‘lives are in danger’

Mary T  Sweeney, Aontú Representative, chaired a public meeting in the Station House, Letterkenny, with its aim of raising community concerns over the daily traffic chaos and lack of infrastructure in the town. 

She claimed: “Planning without infrastructure is endangering residents' lives, and the community is determined to hold decision-makers accountable.”

She opened the meeting by thanking Cllr Tomás Seán Devine, who, following an initial meeting in Oldtown two weeks ago, brought a motion to discuss traffic concerns to the Council and stated Cllr Ciaran Brogan has now called for a traffic workshop to be held bringing all stakeholders together. “This is really the start of what’s needed,” said Ms Sweeney.

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Calls were heard from the audience regarding serious safety fears affecting residents, particularly those with disabilities. 

Marc, a 28-year-old wheelchair user, described how both lights on the back of his wheelchair were broken when cars reversed into him, while he was forced to travel on roads with no footpaths. He also outlined how he carried out a ‘Wheelchair Accessibility Study’ for Donegal Centre for Independent Living, but sadly, it was never implemented by our Council, he said. 

Leah, who lives with Cerebral Palsy, spoke of her fear when crossing roads due to poor balance and a lack of safe pedestrian crossings, especially stepping on and off high kerbs.

One person voiced his frustration at what he described as our Council's “mind over matter approach to planning,” with their “I don’t mind, and you don’t matter!” policy towards locals, while an elderly resident highlighted the difficulty crossing the road to get to the doctor's surgery and chemist at Ballyraine.

It was proposed that an independent engineer should be employed to review some of our recent planning decisions, citing failures that continue to put residents and commuters at risk. All present agreed and the committee is to investigate setting up a GoFundMe page to pay for this independent review.

Ms Sweeney, who is spearheading the campaign, announced that one local businessman has already offered to finance an architectural review of the Old Town Bridge, as he felt it was an important historic part of our community worth retaining. 

The Aontu General Election candidate highlighted her submission to the town plan, identifying six priority areas for improvement, including bottlenecks and employment zones. She proposed a new circular road system linking Woodlands, Calhame, the Mountain Top, Windy Hall, and Ballymacool to relieve pressure on town traffic. 

She reminded those in attendance that, in 2016, €3 million was the figure allocated for the Cockhill Bridge in Buncrana. In contrast, an estimated €14 million spent widening a one km, four lane road, just to include a bicycle lane would’ve been better used for the inner relief bridges and the circular road in Letterkenny, as would the €7million earmarked for transforming the former Courthouse into yet another Cultural Centre.

Concerns highlighted included the removal of a second traffic lane at the Port Road/Polestar roundabout, inadequate infrastructure such as signage, footpaths, and pedestrian crossings, and the difficulties faced by emergency services navigating gridlocked streets. Several speakers criticised the lack of consultation and oversight in recent council planning decisions.

Former councillor Tom Crossan urged the reinstatement of the Letterkenny Town Council, while community organiser Paddy McGranahan called for urgent pedestrian crossings and traffic-calming measures at Leck and Lismonaghan Roads, where speeding remains a serious hazard.

A dedicated WhatsApp group has been set up to keep residents informed, and details of the next meeting will be shared via social media. Those in attendance were encouraged and given forms to elect and register registered residents’ associations in their areas.  Forms were distributed to encourage new communities to establish these groups.