Ms Sargeant spoke at Bathurst Regional Council's public forum for the second month in a row in March, again calling on council to prioritise a Bathurst bypass as heavy vehicle traffic increases along Stewart Street.

During her address, she read excerpts of letters to the editor published in the Western Advocate that supported the project.

RECENT LETTERS:

She also hit back at councillor Warren Aubin, who had said that "a bypass is probably 20 years away" and likened the idea to a "pipedream" because of the complexities involved.

"It's clear you've severely underestimated the strong sentiment of Bathurstians for the long overdue need of a bypass for Bathurst and I find it offensive you've dismissed it as a 'pipedream'," she said.

"It's also disrespectful to the many residents of Stewart Street, many of whom have basically imprisoned themselves in their homes to escape the noise and health issues they've endured day and night."

She noted that she had started a petition in July, 2020 through door-knocking in the area and would commence a petition again after reading his comments.

"I hope to increase signatures on the petition in coming weeks and months, however I also plan to seek out a more efficient way to reach residents in the near future because, as someone recently said to me, this issue is much too big for one person alone," Ms Sargeant said.

When Ms Sargeant spoke about the issue at the February council meeting, she highlighted just how many vehicles travel along Stewart Street on a daily basis.

According to a count she conducted in July 2020, 1390 passed by her home in over 24 hours. The count was conducted over 24 days.

"That's approximately one heavy vehicle every minute, every day, but I'm sure there's many people here that have been caught up in a convoy of many heavy vehicles at one time travelling on our roads," she said.

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