A local county councillor says that the Ten-T project for Letterkenny must move as quickly as possible to bring traffic relief to the town.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly says that the new government must keep pushing forward to get the major project delivered, which will include a long-awaited second Swilly bridge.
In the meantime, Cllr Kelly is calling for a full review of all traffic lights in the town to ease pressure on businesses.
Motorists experienced traffic moving at a snail’s pace on Saturday afternoon as shoppers flooded into the town after the snow thawed.
On Wednesday evening, it’s believed that a breakdown on the Port Road brought the town to a standstill at rush hour.
As Letterkenny awaits a new Swilly bridge, Cllr Kelly will bring a motion to the council on Tuesday asking that all traffic lights be calibrated correctly and that all sensors are functioning correctly.
“All lights should work in sync to help the traffic flow,” Cllr Kelly said.
Cllr Kelly will call on the council to examine the lights at McGinley Motors, Pearse Road and at Rosemount, as well as the lights for traffic exiting Ashlawn onto the Ramelton Road.
“Lights working independently is one aspect of the traffic build-up. If they were all working in co, traffic would move more smoothly,” said Cllr Kelly.
“If you look at the Neil T Blaney road which is sensored and linked to the Polestar Roundabout lights, no matter when you go there, the traffic is flowing.”
Cllr Kelly said that urgent measures must be taken now “to give businesses a fair crack at the whip”.
“Letterkenny is the biggest settlement in Donegal and has a population in the region of 25,000,” he said.
“It is a vibrant rural town which is fantastic to see, we have fantastic businesses there as well.
“Over Christmas, we saw different comments on social media from people saying to avoid Letterkenny because of traffic. That is something we do not want to see going forward. We have to improve this for businesses because they are struggling.”
Cllr Kelly said that future developments in the town, such as the growth of the ATU campus, housing developments and the Alpha Beta Innovation Centre will be fantastic to see, adding “in order for us to get the best out of Letterkenny we have to improve the traffic flow within the town”.
“We are all aware the solution here is a bridge over the Swilly. That has to be number one and something we have to keep pushing and fighting for as well as the southern relief road,” he said.
The TEN-T Priority Route Improvement Project Donegal
“I welcome the fact the Ten-T has been approved at Cabinet and gone to planning stage,” Cllr Kelly said.
“This is going to be a major development for Donegal and Letterkenny, with 42km, in excess of €750 million spend, and it will create a lot of employment.
“We have to get this moving as quickly and as soon as possible, I’ll be keeping the pressure on our own TDs to ensure we keep pushing forward. I know they are doing their level best at the minute, we need to keep at it and get it over the line as soon as possible.”
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