Road safety measures for Dunkineely progress forward

The Donegal County Council has approved road safety measures for the village of Dunkineely, located on the N56.

The announcement was made during the council’s Special Plenary Meeting in Lifford this morning, November 11.

The upgrade is set to bring new signage and footpaths, upgraded pedestrian crossings, and traffic-calming ramps.

The improvements will also see the crossing that is controlled by traffic lights outside of Dunkineely National School be replaced with a raised zebra crossing and flashing beacon lights, which raised concerns at the meeting.

Cllr Niamh Kennedy shared that a number of councillors have expressed dissatisfaction with the beacon lights.

“None of us are happy with that, to be honest,” Cllr Kennedy said. “We feel that it’s not strong enough… if you were coming from the crest of the hill to the school and there's an early sunrise, you will not see a beacon.

“It’s very important that those traffic lights remain and that you see a red light.”

Cllr Jimmy Brogan welcomed the announcement, but called for the works to “be done as quickly as possible, because it’s an accident waiting to happen.”

Bryan Cannon, Director of Roads and Transportation, responded by saying he will consider the councillors' concerns.

“I will take your comment on board,” Mr Cannon said. “Whilst we can take it on board, we can’t commit to the changing a design issue; it is a road safety issue, but I’ll bring the comment back.”

Cllr Noel Jordan shared that the councillors had previously expressed their concerns regarding the beacon lights in a previous workshop, but were told the beacon lights were the only option.

However, he said that it was agreed that underground ducting is to be installed in order to allow traffic lights to be put in at a later stage in the case that the new crossing weren’t working

The works are expected to be completed during 2027.