Dockrell calls for road improvements around Donabate area

Fine Gael councillor Eoghan Dockrell has called on Fingal County Council to improve roads around the Donabate area.

The R126 from Donabate leads onto the M1, but traffic congestion in the area has gotten worse as the population and number of road users increase.

With Donabate’s population only increasing, the issue needs to be sorted sooner, rather than later, according to the Fine Gael councillor.

Dockrell said that Donabate residents are “really concerned with the lack of transport infrastructure in the town,” and that phase 2 of the Donabate Distributor Road is “badly needed.”

“Improving the roadway out of Donabate, which will help ease traffic congestion, must be prioritised by Fingal County Council,” he said.

Dockrell was speaking after a recent decision by Fingal County Council, which stated that the preferred route options for the Donabate Distributor Road are under consideration and will go to public consultation in quarter 2 of this year.

The Rush-Lusk councillor said that Fingal County Council must update residents and provide a clear timeline for when this consultation will take place to progress this phase of the project.

He said that the timetable provided by Fingal County Council is too vague, and doesn’t offer specifics, with just a vague “quarter 2” date

“The concern is that the public consultation phase only relates to phase two out of seven phases in total for this project,” he noted.

“With several large-scale capital infrastructure projects happening in Fingal, residents don’t want to see this much-needed project falling behind.”

Dockrell noted that Donabate’s population is likely to jump to 20,000 residents by the decade, and improving local road infrastructure is an “essential” task.

The Fine Gael councillor says the issue is what he is most frequently asked about by constituents, and hopes to see movement on the issue in the near future.

“It is absolutely critical that we prioritise these transport infrastructure projects so that all road users can exit and enter the peninsula of Donabate and Portrane safely without having to be faced with long lines of traffic every morning and evening,” he said.