A week of gridlock in Letterkenny has led to calls for a specific public consultation to be held on the town’s traffic issues.
Large build-ups of traffic have taken place across the town in recent days.
The traffic snarls are centred in and around Paddy Harte Road leading to the Oldtown area and the Old Dunnes Stores.
Some drivers have complained that they have spent up to an hour in their cars returning home when the journey normally takes them ten minutes.
The reason behind the traffic gridlock appears to be ongoing road upgrades in and around the Oldtown area off the Oldtown Bridge.
The delays are compounded by the recent installation of traffic lights on Pearse Road.
Local county councillor Gerry McMonagle said that like many he was caught up in the traffic in the tonw this week.
He said he appreciated that carrying out roadworks at night could not take place at night because the noise would interfere with residents in Oldtown.
However, he added that an overall synopsis of how traffic was flowing through the town as well as traffic build-up needs to be undertaken.
He said “I think it is time we took a look at the traffic situation in the town and the public need to be part of that.
“I appreciate the roads and engineering sections of the council will say they are constantly looking at it but we need to review it from the point of users and the public and find practical solutions.
“People should not be expected to sit in their cars for an hour because of a knock-on situation from roadworks in another part of the town.
“We need some sort of public consultation on traffic in the town once and for all to address the issues and to find solutions to them.”
