‘We cannot afford another life lost’ as intervention sought on Pettigo bends - Donegal Daily

Urgent funding is being sought to tackle a series of dangerous bends on the Pettigo road following another fatal collision on the route.Councillor Micheál Naugh...

Urgent funding is being sought to tackle a series of dangerous bends on the Pettigo road following another fatal collision on the route.

Councillor Micheál Naughton has called for a Donegal County Council delegation to meet junior roads minister Seán Canney over the R232, telling the September Donegal Municipal District meeting that action was now a matter of urgency.

“Since our last meeting another life has been lost. That’s three tragedies on these bends,” he said.

Ronan King , from Lurgan, Co Armagh, died at the scene of a collision on the R232 at Fincashel, Pettigo, on Sunday, 2nd August. His girlfriend Lucy Robb, from Randalstown, suffered serious, life-changing injuries.

The tragedy was the third fatal collision on the Pettigo Road in the last two decades, following the death of Catherine Monaghan in a two-car crash at Drumgun in 2007 and lorry driver Prasnas Asmonas, whose vehicle left the road at Bannus in 2013.

Cllr Naughton said he wanted the council to go further than other schemes currently being carried out in the area.

"I want us to go a step further and request a meeting or a delegation with the Minister for emergency funding," he said.

"I am well aware that at the end of the year, there is funding available.

“We will go where we have to go if it means getting the funding. It’s a matter of urgency to look at the bends," he added.

Roads and Transportation Area Manager Mark Sweeney confirmed that the location has already been submitted for consideration under a large-scale safety scheme.

Mr Sweeney agreed to progress the request for a delegation, saying he would contact the relevant officials.

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Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Naughton welcomed that commitment and said he wanted funding secured as quickly as possible.

“We don’t want to lose any more fatalities on this road, or have any more accidents,” he told Donegal Daily .

Cllr Naughton said he believed the bends themselves needed to be taken out or significantly altered to improve visibility for motorists.

During Tuesday's meeting, the Fianna Fáil councillor also called for urgent hedge cutting along the Pettigo road, saying directional arrows warning motorists of bends were being obscured.

Children walking to school in Pettigo, where concerns have been raised over overgrown briars encroaching onto the footpath.

He separately raised concerns over overgrown foliage on a footpath in Pettigo used by children walking along the R232 to St Mary's National School.

“The kids are nearly walking out on the road because of the briars coming out over the footpath,” he said.

Cllr Naughton said the school principal and teachers had raised concerns about the safety of children using the route. He argued that stronger action such as an active travel push may now be necessary.

He stressed that the road is an important regional route and said congestion can already reduce it to single-lane traffic at busy times, including during funerals.