'The character is gone from Letterkenny' and traffic situation will 'cause tragedy'

Lives will be lost because of Letterkenny’s dire traffic situation.

The town, Deputy Charles Ward said, 'is being choked' and that Donegal County Council must act 'before it is too late.'

Deputy Ward was speaking at Oldtown, where a public meeting was held to share a voice of concern about the lack of joined-up thinking to address the Traffic Congestion in Letterkenny, which was organised by Aontú’s Donegal representative, Mary T Sweeney.

“The Polestar cannot take the traffic, nor can the Tinney’s Roundabout and business are suffering,” Deputy Ward said. “It takes 40 minutes to get to Tesco. That wasn’t the case 20 years ago. We’re going back in time.

“Millions were spent on a road that doesn’t work. There will be some sort of tragedy now when an ambulance cannot get in. Everyone will be stuck in traffic.

“Letterkenny is not thriving. The character is gone from Letterkenny. Right now, as we are speaking, Main Street is choked to death. It was the heartbeat of the town, where people came from all over. Traffic is trying to come in but they can’t and they will go into the North for Christmas.

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“The roads are a complete disaster zone. When you talk about kids going to school, it’s chaos and anarchy. This has been going on for years. We have to be realistic. We have a defective block crisis in Letterkenny and a traffic management crisis, and we’re headed for a homeless crisis. Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael governments just don’t care.

“Houses are being built and we can’t handle the traffic; sewerage systems are blocking up. All we get are promises.”

Deputy Ward echoed the calls of Ms Sweeney, who said that people power is essential to turn the tide in Letterkenny.

“We can't do anything without people,” Deputy Ward added. “You have the power. This isn’t political. If not, we will be here in the same place in 10 years. Let’s take it to the council.”