Ashlawn facing ‘unacceptable’ levels of traffic
ASHLAWN estate in Letterkenny is facing ‘unacceptable’ levels of traffic during peak commuter times, it has been claimed.
Fine Gael Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh highlighted the issue at Tuesday’s meeting of Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District.
It comes as some commuters have taken to using Ashlawn as a shortcut through Letterkenny traffic.
However, this has caused traffic and speeding problems in the estate.
Cllr Kavanagh said Ashlawn residents are currently facing a “rat run to avoid congestion” in the mornings.
Highlighting that the estate was built over 40 years ago, Cllr Kavanagh said it “wasn’t built” for the current volume of traffic, calling the situation “unacceptable”.
“The speed is a cause of concern for residents,” he said.
“It’s a residential estate and we cannot reasonably expect them to cope.”
The motion was seconded by Fianna Fáil Cllr Donal Coyle, who suggested meeting with residents.
Senior Executive Engineer (Roads), David McIlwaine, said the council could meet residents and that making the estate access-only on the Ramelton Road side could be a solution.
The official council response stated: “The road through Ashlawn links the Gortlee Road to R2940 Ramelton Road and some traffic use this road to make that connection.
“Options for reducing the traffic are being considered.
“The most effective option would be to make the junction with the Ramelton Road access-only, thus all traffic exiting Ashlawn would have to via the junction with the Gortlee Road.”
Meanwhile, one Ashlawn resident told the Donegal News that the current traffic situation often makes it difficult for her to return home from work and she risks damaging her car every day.
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