By C.J McGinley
A LOCAL publican has warned that somebody will be killed unless urgent action is taken to put in a turning lane and reduce speed on a busy road outside Letterkenny.
Mr Harry McCafferty, proprietor of McCafferty's of the Mountain Top, was speaking after a serious accident outside his premises early on Saturday morning. It was the fourth accident within five weeks.
Mr McCafferty said locals had had enough and demanded immediate action from the National Roads Authority and Donegal County Council.
"Last Saturday morning a young girl was trying to get here for a job interview when her car was involved in a serious collision with a jeep because there is no stacking lane going into this premises. Both vehicles were complete write-offs. This was the fourth accident on this road in the past five weeks. Cars, trying to turn right off the N56 into businesses or houses at Ballaghderg, are being rear-ended almost on a weekly basis," he said.
"The road was closed last Wednesday after a car trying to turn right into a local business was rear-ended. Recently, another woman had her car rear-ended and driven up against a telephone pole. Will it take for somebody to be killed before somebody listens?," Mr McCafferty said.
There were two accidents within a mile of each other on Saturday morning. The first incident occurred outside McCafferty's Pub.Those involved were taken to hospital but were dischrged following checks. The second at Bluebanks involved up to four vehicles but no one was seriously injured. The accidents resulted in diversions and long tail-backs along the busy road.
Mr McCafferty and other locals have raised the issue on several occasions since the road was opened almost two years ago.
"It is simple what has to be done. A right hand stacking lane to allow cars to turn right, if you're travelling towards Kilmacrennan, needs to be put in as soon as possible. At the minute cars are stopping on the main carriageway and they can't get across because there is no stacking lane. They should all be filtered into one right turning lane. Locals and business people in the area are hopping mad about this, particularly after the serious accident last Saturday," he said.
"The speed limit also needs to be reduced from the existing 100kph to 80kph. Where else in the country would you have a legal limit of 100kph passing a busy school at Illistrin? If somebody is travelling down there at speed and loses control at school times it could be carnage.
"Despite the fact it opened almost two years ago serious safety issues on the new road still arise including the lack of footpath provision lack of public lighting, safety issues outside a primary school and a lack of turning lanes," he said.
The issue was raised in the Dáil on Wednesday by Deputy Joe McHugh. He called on the Department of Transport to conduct a safety audit and accused the National Roads Authority of being 'accountable to the public'.
"The first casualty of poor public accountability is safety. If one were to carry out a safety audit on the N56 outside Letterkenny several issues would arise. There were two car accidents as recently as this weekend and in the past three or four months there have been numerous other car accidents on this stretch of road," Deputy McHugh said.
"The missing link is in respect of public accountability. No one among the County Councillors, the Executive level in Donegal County Council or the Members of the Oireachtas has the parliamentary privilege of a single line answer in respect of the NRA, which is not acceptable.
"The Minister's Department, not the NRA, should carry out a safety audit on this stretch of road. Only then would the Minister gather an insight into the problems associated with this stretch of road and many similar roads throughout the country," he concluded.
