More gritting resources and machinery are needed in the Letterkenny area ahead of future cold snaps, says local Mayor Gerry McMonagle.
Cllr McMonagle and Cllr Michael McBride have called on the council to prepare for harsher winter weather by developing programmes for gritting footpaths in the town centre.
This week’s meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford MD discussed the treacherous conditions pedestrians faced during the freeze two weeks ago, where many people were forced to walk on roads to avoid falling.
While the council was praised for its comprehensive gritting service on main roads, motions were raised seeking gritting on Letterkenny’s busiest footpaths and some secondary roads in the region.
“We know the weather is going to get more severe,” Cllr McMonagle stated. “We need more conversations about getting extra resources and expanding the service.”
Cllr McMonagle called on the council to “think outside the box” and adapt machinery to spread grit on footpaths.
The suggestion was made during a motion raised by Councillor Michael McBride, who said he witnessed three people falling in the space of an hour on Friday 3rd of January.
“The town was absolutely treacherous,” Cllr McBride recalled.
He added: “The businesses around the town of Letterkenny pay a hell of a lot of commercial rates to the council. The council does a fair job of keeping roads clear, I know it’s not possible to do everywhere, but people that get into the town should be able to walk the footpaths in a safe manner.
“Going forward, these people deserve the footpaths to be cleared. I think equipment is going to have to be sourced to do these jobs or external companies could be hired in. We have to start looking at this whole thing differently going forward, we have to make the town safe for people to do their business in.”
The issue comes down to resources, councillors were told.
A spokesperson for the roads team of the Letterkenny-Milford MD outlined that there is 130km of footpath in Letterkenny town. The team grits as many footpaths in the busiest areas in Letterkenny that resources will allow. There is also a total of 350 boxes that are replenished continuously during freezing weather conditions.
In a separate motion, Cllr Tómas Seán Devine asked the council to add some secondary roads to its winter maintenance programme.
Cllr Devine said the volume of traffic on the Mongorry road between Letterkenny and Raphoe, which became impassable during the January cold spell, and the back road from Letterkenny to Drumkeen should warrant gritting. He pointed out that people with disabilities and emergency services struggled to access these roads in recent weeks.
A spokesperson said that the council does grit some secondary roads when it is possible and safe to do so. Approximately 1,140km of road divided into 21 separate routes are gritted in Donegal as part of the winter maintenance programme.
Cllr Donal Coyle, who seconded Cllr Devine’s motion, added that he plans to bring the matter to a plenary council meeting to ask the council to write to the incoming Minister for Transport to seek extra funding for winter maintenance.
Cllr Coyle said: “I have to compliment the council staff who I believe have done a great bit of work with the resources they have. The roads that were gritted were gritted very well. I am very aware of the constraints as far as the council is concerned.
“The council is at capacity. It’s not just a matter for our own municipal district, it’s for the whole county.”
