Killybegs Industrial Road name change to Glenlee Pass instituted by Donegal MD 

The Killybegs Industrial Road which moves traffic around the port town, via the Shore Road, heading towards Kilcar, Carrick and Glencolmcille, will have a new name in the future - Glenlee Pass - if a resolution proposed by Cllr Niamh Kenndy and adopted at the December monthly meeting of the Donegal Municipal District (MD), comes to fruition.

Initially she had asked the question as to the current status of naming the Killybegs Industrial Road, which had been instituted at MD level last year.

She said that the preferred name of the road had been submitted to the council a year ago and that the “road naming” should now be carried out “with no further delay”.

The answer given at the December meeting stated that “initial clarification has been sought in relation to this procedure, however, further queries to the process is required”.

However, Cllr Kennedy said that while she accepted that procedures were being investigated, the matter had been hanging around for too long and she wanted it sorted out as soon as possible. 

She said there had been lots of “toing and froing over the last twelve months”, but she said that local people wanted it sorted urgently and proposed that the road be renamed “Glenlee Pass”.

The proposal was seconded by Cllr Noel Jordan, with no dissenting voices.

Thanking her colleagues for supporting the proposal, Cllr Kennedy said that it was an excellent road that was confusing many people, especially visitors with the appendage of “Industrial”.

Many thought they were heading towards an Industrial Estate or complex, rather than a bypass option of Killybegs to take road users to Fintra and beyond to west Donegal.

While it certainly had opened access to a number of industrial facilities at that location, it was now the preferred connecting route towards Kilcar, Carrick and beyond, she added. 

Previously, Cllr Kennedy had explained that traffic congestion last Easter had caused tail backs and traffic congestion because of the confusion and ultimately caused by the naming of the road, in her opinion.

The problem she said at the time was between Cunningham junction area that was being used by traffic instead of the Industrial Road.

She had said: “All the traffic and tourists are using the old Fintra Road from Sliabh Liag and they are coming down that hill. They are coming straight at the Glenlee roundabout instead of turning right onto the Industrial road, which is wide and well capable of holding its own in terms of traffic flow down to the Shore Road.

“People are not using it because we believe that people believe that the Industrial Road is an Industrial Estate and that there is no way out of it.

“But in actual fact, if the road was named, which it will be, it will go on Google Maps and SatNav and people, campers, buses, lorries, delivery men can all use the Shore road is Killybegs and straight up the Industrial road, coming out at the Glenlee roundabout.”