County Leitrim is to have its first permanent set of road traffic lights by year's end.

The county with the State's smallest population, and smallest traffic volumes, is set to have its new lights in Carrick-on-Shannon.

In a world of increasing gridlock, Leitrim stands out as unique, with not a single traffic light in any town, village or townland although there are several along the Shannon-Erne waterway for maritime traffic.

About the absence of traffic lights, Mr Ken Moran, Leitrim County Council's senior executive engineer, said it was not a policy, but "more that there was no occasion that we needed them - until now. We had low traffic volumes and no big town."

But things have changed and the county capital needs a traffic calming scheme which will have one set of traffic lights and three or four pedestrian crossings.

Average traffic volumes in Carrick-on-Shannon are increasing constantly. Recent figures showed 7,000 to 8,000 vehicles a day go through the town. The volume has increased even further as the population grew by three per cent in the last census, the first ever increase since records started.

When asked whether introducing lights would change the character of the town, Mr Moran said: "No, it's progress. People have to cross the road."

Fianna Fáil's chairwoman of the County Council, Cllr Mary Bohan, agreed. "I don't believe it will take from the charm of Carrick-on-Shannon. It's a thriving business town. MBNA and Masonite have opened in the town and brought much needed employment and the lights are essential in the interests of safety."

The lights are planned to be in place by Christmas at the busy junction at the Landmark Hotel, just before the Dublin side of the bridge over the Shannon. "Pedestrians cross the junction to access the Shannon on both sides of the bridge. All the traffic from Dublin to Sligo and Sligo to Dublin has to pass through that junction," says the chairwoman. "There are logjams there all the time and it has to be dealt with."

Temporary lights were in place for a long time on the single lane bridge between Jamestown and Drumsna, but these were removed when the by-pass was built.

Plans for a Carrick-on- Shannon by-pass are on the drawing board, but look set to remain there for some time. Asked if the council would consider removing the lights in the event of the by-pass ever being built, Cllr Bohan said: "I don't think that's an issue now."