by Jonathan Magee
THE deaths of two teenagers at a dangerous bend approaching St Johnston less than two months ago has intensified demands for urgent safety measures ahead of a key council meeting today.
Daniel Cullen and Caoimhin Porter-McLoone lost their lives in the collision at the notorious stretch of the R236 road on February 23. The two were both aged 18, and from Derry.
Their deaths have sent shockwaves through communities on both sides of the border, and has brought renewed focus on the bend that locals say has had too many accidents.
Sinn Féin Cllr Gary Doherty from Castlefin, who represents the Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District, will bring a motion before today’s meeting, demanding immediate improvements at the corner.
“This has been raised for over a long number of years by both myself and by other fellow councillors in the municipal district that this is obviously a dangerous section of the road.”
Cllr Doherty pointed out a glaring inconsistency in the existing safety provision, noting that while speed ramps have been installed on the Lifford approach to St Johnston, the Carrigans side of the village remains completely without any equivalent measures.
“The time for action is now and we simply can’t be leaving that stretch of road again without any safety measures being introduced.”
He added that there is physical space on the right-hand side of the road, travelling toward Carrigans, to develop a footpath and widen the bend — improvements he said are made all the more pressing by new housing developments being built in the area, with residents needing safe access to the nearby filling station and football pitch.
Cllr Doherty acknowledged that any roads improvement safety scheme would require national funding, but said the location’s history of collisions meant securing that funding should be prioritised.
He said Donegal County Council now needs to act without further delay, and that the question of why speed ramps exist on only one approach to the village simply must be answered.