Cyclists demand urgent action on dangerous stretch of Donegal road

Cyclists from all over Donegal and beyond gathered at one of Donegal's most dangerous roads on Saturday morning calling for action on road safety.

This was prompted by a near-fatal accident at McGrory's Brae last October which almost claimed the life of a member of the Ballybofey-based Finn Wheelers cycling club.

He and other members were en route between Ballybofey and  Donegal Town when was struck from behind by a vehicle which resulted in serious injuries which required an emergency response and hospitalisation.

The cyclists are demanding that Donegal County Council, the Department of Transport and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) provide funding to solve the problem.

Finn Wheelers spokesperson, Brian McElhinney, told Saturday's gathering that all that was needed was the development of a one-kilometer hard shoulder.

"It is the only section of this road without a hard shoulder. We cannot understand how after spending over €9 million on the upgrading of this section of the road a few years ago that a hard shoulder and climbing lane were not included.

"We are now demanding a hard shoulder on both sides of this road otherwise lives will be lost. Cyclists are literally putting their lives at risk every time they are on this stretch. It is used by thousands of cyclists every year, not just clubs, and if we are to encourage people to enjoy cycling as part of an active and healthy lifestyle, roads must be safe to use," he says.

Local councillors, Patrick McGowan and Martin Harley also spoke at the launch and pledged to continue to put pressure on all bodies to ensure this work was done.

Cllr McGowan said it was vital the public applied pressure too to all TDs and government departments as ultimately they drew up the budgets that determined what work was going to be done.

Cllr Harley added that it was widely known that the McGrory's Brae area was dangerous and he agreed with the clubs that safety work here was long overdue.