A Letterkenny councillor has called for a multi-agency forum to discuss immediate solutions to traffic congestion.
Councillor Ciaran Brogan said that every group that has a role to play in roads should meet for a forum.
“The wider conversation needs to be had on the timeframe for projects in Letterkenny,” Cllr Brogan said, referencing the southern and northern relief roads and active travel projects.
The meeting, he said, should be chaired by the Chief Executive of Donegal County Council, John McLaughlin with Bryan Cannon, the county’s Director of Roads in attendance.
“This is how serious we need to be,” Cllr Brogan said.
“Letterkenny is the growth centre of the north-west and we need to see senior people pulling together on this.”
Cllr Brogan pointed out the need for collaboration between the many teams responsible for roads in Letterkenny, from the TTI maintaining the national primary and secondary road network, the National Roads Design Office, the Active Travel team and the Letterkenny-Milford MD’s own local roads team.
He said that all roads people should work together to look at the short, medium and long-term solutions for the town’s congestion.
He pointed out that the TEN-T, which is the long-term solution, is moving at a good pace but the growth of Letterkenny and its projections for 2040 should warrant a “special case” for funding for short term traffic solutions.
“It’s very easy to attach the blame game,” Cllr Brogan said. “Everybody is busy doing their own thing but if everybody comes together in the one room and looks at the hurdles and the positives, like a new bus service and lanes, there is a lot that can be achieved.”
Cllr Brogan said there is an “awful lot of good work” happening in the county targeting traffic, but sometimes the message is not getting across to the public.
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