Road safety at Oldtown and Lismonaghan junctions top of council priority list

The junctions at Oldtown Bridge and Lismonaghan in Letterkenny are at the top of Donegal County Council’s priority list for road safety measures.

Local councillors were informed of the news at the January meeting of Letterkenny-Milford municipal district. The Oldtown Bridge junction and the Oldtown Junction to Lismonaghan Road are number one and two respectively on the Large Scale Low Cost Accident Priority list for the Letterkenny Milford MD.

The junctions are notorious accident hotspots in Letterkenny and motions have previously been submitted at council meetings to improve safety.

At the January meeting, Cllr Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly called on the council to explore “every avenue” to implement road safety measures at the junctions, including “an adequate footpath, raised pedestrian crossing, yellow box at Hideout junction”.

Cllr Kelly said he was raising the issue again as “a matter of urgency” after a pedestrian was hospitalised in an accident in the area before Christmas. He added that the Hideout junction is currently “a free for all.”

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The motion was seconded by Cllr Donal Coyle. Both councillors welcomed the response that the junctions are being treated as high-priority.

“Road Design are currently finalising the consultant tender package to consider potential junction / traffic improvements within the attached study area presented to the elected members in September 2025,” said David McIlwaine from the council’s Roads and Transportation team.

“The study will complete option assessment at each location and make recommendations on the optimal arrangement to be implemented. This study is being  funded by Donegal County Councils’ own resources and following review of the recommendations the most suitable way forward and potential funding avenues will be identified for implementation.”

The news was also welcomed by Aontú Donegal representative, Mary T Sweeney, who has campaigned to highlight the dangers at the junctions.

Welcoming the news, Ms Sweeney said: “I have been raising this issue for the past five years and I got huge support from locals who turned out en masse for a public meeting I called to press for the much needed improvements.

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“The increasing traffic on these roads is causing concern among both pedestrians and drivers, who are eager for long-overdue safety measures to be implemented. I will continue to keep a close eye on this and ensure that the Council does indeed put the necessary safety measures and improvements in place. The people of the area deserve no less.”