AN Okehampton trader hit out at traffic 'chaos' in the town centre this week, claiming the enhancement in Fore Street could be putting lives at risk.
Fred Read, of Dartmoor Pantry, said: 'It's been absolute chaos here this afternoon.
'It took two or three minutes for a fire engine to get from the pedestrian crossing to Forbuoys. It's completely and utterly ridiculous.
'They've made it about two thirds the width it was before, half the width it was 50 years ago.'
Mr Read said buses are regularly having to ride up onto the pavement to get through Fore Street, creating further hazards for pedestrians.
He said he had written to Mike Parnell, the local services manager for Devon County Council, to express his concerns over safety and the width of the road.
'He insists it's wide enough, but it just isn't. I am going to write another letter to him — hopefully nobody will get hurt in the meantime,' said Mr Read.
Mr Parnell confirmed he had received Mr Read's letter, but said the road was wide enough, provided people parked in appropriate places.
Mr Parnell said: 'The road has been narrowed very slightly, but it's a constant width now.
'The problem at the moment is that things are very confused because the road markings aren't there.'
He said the lack of road markings during re-surfacing work not only meant drivers could not use them for guidance, the traffic warden could not enforce regulations.
'Once the lines are down, everything will become much more clear,' said Mr Parnell, who warned that vehicles using pavements were acting illegally.
He said the resurfacing work in the town centre, the last part of a ten-week enhancement programme, had unfortunately been delayed due to rain over the weekend.
Mr Parnell said contractors were working into the night when weather allowed to get the re-surfacing completed. If the rain held off, the work could be completed by the weekend but it was weather-dependent.