The Department of State Growth and City of Launceston listened to feedback from about 30 residents at a consultation session on Wednesday night.

The plans involve traffic lights at the intersection of Goderich and Gleadow streets, allowing both left and right turns.

An extra lane would be added to Forster Street, with an additional right turn lane from Goderich Street.

City of Launceston councillor Paul Spencer was among those to criticise the plan, and said the traffic lights were not needed.

"It's just compounding the issues on the Charles Street bridge," he said.

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"In my opinion, all of the traffic lights south of the Charles Street bridge to William Street should be green all the time, so people cannot turn right out of the Esplanade. They could turn right at William Street."

Cr Spender said a two-lane roundabout should have been constructed near the Lindsay Street intersection before Bunnings was approved, but the amount of land acquisition required now would not make it viable.

A resident told council staff the traffic on Goderich Street - which becomes the East Tamar Highway - banks up to the Mowbray Connector on busy days. She said allowing cars to enter from Gleadow Street in both directions would make it more difficult to enter from Forster Street, pushing congestion further north.

"It's bizarre," she said.

"It used to not get busy until after 4pm. Over the years, it's become busier earlier and earlier, and now it gets busy at 2pm."

Other residents were critical of development in Inveresk and believed the traffic problems would become significantly worse in the coming years.

City of Launceston manager technical services Rob Anderson told the residents that the works should not be seen in isolation, but were part of a broader plan for the area.

"It can be easy to judge a project in isolation," he said.

The Department of State Growth plans to have the tender process under way in November, and works to start in early 2020.