SWEEPING changes to speed limits are coming down the road, igniting safety fears.
Council officials’ recently launched Urban Speed Limit Review for 2026 continues this week and covers all public roads in towns and villages with existing limits of 60km/h or lower.
As part of the Donegal County Council shake-up, proposals are in place for several new 30km/h urban zones across the county.
People have expressed concerns that speed limits could be increased.
School children in Leitir last week appealed in the Donegal News for slower speeds and others are now raising serious concerns about proposed changes to urban speed limits.
Gardai are cracking down on speeding motorists.
A resident in Milford warned an increase of the speed limit on a key approach road into the town could pose a significant danger to local families.
She accused the authorities of “stupidity” and urged people to oppose an increase in speed limits, claiming it is a “serious safety issue”.
The woman said: “They have decided in their stupidity, that’s all I can call it, to increase the speed limit coming into the town to 60km/h an hour.
“At the top of the hill coming from Letterkenny it will be 50km/h as far as the post office and then 30km/h to the cottage then back up to 60km/h leaving the village.
“So if you are trying to leave Ard na glaise, Rosemount, the Racecourse, or Milltown Court, the speed of the cars coming over the hill will be 60km/h instead of 50km/h as it is at the minute.
“This is a serious safety issue and I would ask everyone concerned to lobby their local councillors and get these speed limits reduced instead of increased.”
She called on fellow residents to make their voices heard before it is too late and said: “I would ask everyone concerned to lobby their local councillors and get these speed limits reduced instead of increased.”
The concerns in Milford emerge in the same week that communities elsewhere in Donegal told the Donegal News that they have been grappling with similar road safety issues.
In Leitir, the pupils from Scoil Bhríde took to their school gates to urge motorists to slow down amid growing alarm about speeds through the village.
Local councillor Brian Carr attended a community meeting to discuss the problem and brought with him the results of a speed survey carried out by Transport Infrastructure Ireland in December 2024, which recorded an average speed of 80km/h through a 60km/h zone, with the two highest speeds logged at 125km/h and 132km/h.
Cllr Carr said: “Everyone at the meeting was shocked at these speeds.”
He has been encouraging residents across affected communities to take part in Donegal County Council’s ongoing public consultation on speed limits, with a drop-in event taking place at Dungloe Public Services Centre on June 30, from 3pm to 6pm.
The remaining drop-in consultation events are tomorrow in Dungloe from 3pm to 6pm and in Milford on Thursday from 10am to 1pm. A consultation will also be held in Letterkenny on Thursday from 3pm to 5pm. Consultation material is available at consult.donegal.ie