DESIGN modifications to Ballymacool Active Travel project are currently under review, Donegal County Council has said.
A public information event on October last set out preliminary designs to residents, landlords and businesses located on the R250 Ballymacool Road, and invited feedback on the proposals.
The proposed project seeks to establish “a high quality continuous footway and cycleway route along the R250 Ballymacool Road, to promote active travel journeys from residential areas to key education, employment, commercial, retail and tourist destinations in Letterkenny”.
Furthermore, the project proposes “to provide new and/or upgraded pedestrian facilities on both sides of the carriageway and a new segregated cycling facility on the southern side of the carriageway”.
But the plans have been met with opposition by Ballymacool residents, who have stressed that the travel plans would see the creation of a cycle lane and the construction of a parking bay to replace spaces currently outside their homes.
Close to 100 people attended a public meeting in the Station House Hotel in October 2025, where residents voiced their fears that any such move would lead to a decimation of personal safety, human rights and an increased traffic flow.
In a statement to this newspaper on foot of a query we lodged requesting an update on the plans, a council spokesperson described engagement to date as “productive”.
The statement reads: “Donegal County Council held a non statutory consultation process with local residents and business owners, on open invite, to share their views of the project (Ballymacool Active Travel) and provide feedback to facilitate the Council in further developing the design and addressing local needs, in advance of any statutory consultation process.
“The Council has found the engagement to date to be productive, with design modifications currently under review.”
Once finalised, the scheme will be presented to the Municipal District Council prior to hosting a second non-statutory consultation event in March 2026, the statement concluded.
