Safety plea after woman and child almost knocked down in Dunkineely
A councillor has urged the Donegal County Council to prioritise road improvement works on a notorious stretch of road in Dunkineely.
Fine Gael councillor Michael Boyle made the plea at a sitting of the Donegal Municipal District meeting on Tuesday.
Boyle highlighted how there was another major scare on the N56 at Dunkineely and Ballymagowan last week.
"There was another incident last week, where a woman and her child were almost knocked down. A van had stopped, but a car came around the van and almost hit them at the lights.
"I'm asking the council to make this a priority, because it's only a matter of time before someone is killed," said Boyle.
Donegal County Council officials highlighted how some projects may not be completed before Christmas due to a number of mitigating factors.
Boyle acknowledged that the timeline before the end of the year was now squeezed, but pleaded with them to make the road improvement works and traffic calming measures an urgent priority in Dunkineely.
"I know that the timeline to get these jobs done is tight, and it is a huge concern that we don't get this project done before Christmas. Again, I would ask the council to put Dunkineely at the top of the list, as I believe it's the most dangerous road out of all the road safety projects needed across the area," said Boyle.
A public consultation on the road improvement works and traffic calming measures needed for Dunkineely was heard back in August, and funding has been made available, but there is now a strong possibility of the project being pushed into 2027.
Boyle did condemn some of the driving on display through Dunkineely.
"At the end of the day, it is driver behaviour. That is the issue, but we have to get it sorted. As I said a woman and a child were very close to being knocked down, and we've had a number of near misses in the past, we have to make this project a priority. However, I am worried it won't be done this side of Christmas.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.