Buncrana Rd. plan will '˜destroy' sense of community in Pennyburn

Local householders and businesses are currently being asked to give their views on the £60 million proposals to upgrade the busy route between Pennyburn Roundabout and the border crossing at Bridgend in County Donegal.

A public exhibition - displaying and summarising the work carried out to date and providing details of the emerging design and the next steps in the development of the scheme - took place recently in the city.

The plans reveal that the entire 4.4 km length of the route will be dualled to four lanes, with new and revamped roundabouts and access roads.

Some local residents are unhappy that the authorities now appears to favour the “straighline” dualling of the existing road.

Keith and Eilish Cradden, of Messines Park, believe the proposals could destroy the area.

They are now hosting a public meeting at Pennyburn Youth Club to discuss the issue.

It will take place on Wednesday, May 23, at 7pm.

Keith Cradden said Pennyburn residents had initially supported a scheme which would have taken it off road for the stretch of route west of Pennyburn Pass to the junction of Springtown Road.

This ‘purple option’, says Mr Cradden, would have provided an opportunity to deal with one of the “most serious pollution blackspots in the city and, at the same time, avoided considerable destruction of homes along Collon Terrace.

“People in Pennyburn still accept and, indeed, welcome the need for some realignment of the road but are at a loss to understand why the ‘purple’ option is being ignored.

“This option would have avoided some, if not all, residential clearance associated with the scheme and maintained community cohesion.”