A west Donegal community will hold a protest this afternoon over “excessive speeding” through their village, situated along one of the north west’s main thoroughfares.
Residents in Leitir Mhic an Bhaird say vehicles speeding through the Gaeltacht village have “become a huge source of concern” since the upgraded N56 opened in 2017.
Despite a 60km/h limit, a local authority speed survey carried out over 10 days in December 2020 found that 85% of cars exceeded 80km/h while travelling through the village of about 650 residents.
While no recent similar data is available, the Lettermacaward Development Association said the protest is supported by local schools, community groups and those who have witnessed “near misses”.
The association said it is “not prepared to wait for a fatality before action is taken to reduce the speeds at which vehicles travel” through their village.
They said that there is “not one safe place to cross the road” in the village and added there has been “a significant number of accidents and near misses in the past years”.
Leitir Mhic an Bhaird, situated on the Wild Atlantic Way, is home to two schools, a post office, a shop, a service station, a church, a hall, a bar, a GAA pitch and a housing estate.
Recently, the development group, with the support of Councillor Brian Carr, erected their own signage at the entrances to the village, and on the roadside.
Donegal County Council said that it recognises that road safety concerns are frequently raised by citizens and elected members.
The council said it is progressing a road safety improvement scheme for Leitir Mhic an Bhaird along the N56.
However, the council added that the scheme is subject to design resources in light of priority high collision locations identified in Donegal as well as approvals going forward from TII.
A Transport Infrastructure Ireland spokesperson said their current round of analysis identified 15 high collision locations on the National Road Network in Co Donegal.
They said Donegal County Council is progressing 18 Road Safety Improvement Schemes, including the N56 Leitir Mhic an Bhaird village scheme.
The TII spokesperson added that the N56 running through the village of Leitir Mhic an Bhaird “was not one of the high collision locations identified” in their latest analysis.
The Lettermacaward Development Association initially engaged with Donegal County Council in 2020, with suggestions of traffic calming measures.
Following this, TII subsequently drew up a preliminary proposal for a safety scheme, detailed in a feasibility and option report, finalised in 2021.
That preliminary proposal, costed at €95,000, included plans to reduce potential safety problems along a 2.1km section from Leitir Mhic an Bhaird to the iconic Gweebarra bridge, known as the gateway to Na Rosa.
The proposed measures included new gateway signage and the development of a transition zone with associated road marking works, either side of the village.
It also proposed an alternative road surface texture or colour, on either side of the speed restriction zone, to indicate a transition from an area of high speed to an area of low speed.
A TII spokesperson said that a feasibility and option report is “a preliminary proposal only” and added that it does not represent a construction-ready and fully designed proposal that can be implemented once funding is provided.
The spokesperson said detailed design, planning, tendering and construction must be completed and prepared by Donegal County Council after TII approves the funding request.
“TII received the funding request, €95.000, for the road safety improvement scheme proposed by Donegal County Council in a Feasibility and Options report in 2021,” the spokesperson said.
“TII approved the requested funding at a meeting held in November 2021. TII did provide grant allocations in respect of this scheme.
“It is understood that in advance of the engineering measures being implemented, DCC discussed potential speed enforcement with local divisions of An Garda Síochána.
“While funding and approvals are in place from TII the progression of the approved scheme is heavily dependent on resource availability within the Authority.”
The TII spokesperson said where schemes are slow to progress that it is “typically due to lack of capacity to complete additional work, and the authorities need to prioritise each scheme in relation to other works being progressed”.
In a statement, Donegal County Council said it works proactively with TII and all other stakeholders to deliver road safety engineering improvements on roads.
The council said approval was received for a pilot and trial safety scheme costed at €95,000 excluding VAT in relation to Leitir Mhic an Bhaird.
The council said following discussions with TII and a review of what was proposed, it has been agreed an updated feasibility and options report is to be submitted to TII.
They said that report will be submitted to “enhance the existing Gateways and pedestrian crossings within the Transition Zone”.
They noted, however this is “subject to design resources in light of priority high collision locations identified in Donegal as well as approvals going forward from TII”.
They said Leitir Mhic an Bhaird has been a location highlighted as requiring speeding enforcement with An Garda Síochána.
The council referred to the work of the Donegal Road Safety Working Group, who deliver events to raise awareness of road safety issues, including dangerous driving behaviours.
The council stated that “engineering and awareness alone will not improve safety on our roads”.
It warned that “without all of us playing our part as drivers, improved road safety outcomes are difficult to achieve.”