Just four out of 33 of the recommended traffic measures have been completed since 2016

Killarney’s Town Engineer, John Ahern, has stated in no uncertain terms that there is no short-term solution to the town’s crippling traffic problem. The situation at Port Road and Mission Road has been particularly dire but Mr Ahern said the only way of solving that issue was by building an outer link road onto the Muckross Road. “Until that is delivered you’re always going to have congestion,” he said. “Anything we do in town in just chipping away at the edges.”

During the recession, the government shelved plans for a new Killarney bypass for at least 10-12 years, which means locals and visitors could be set for another decade or more of traffic issues.

Killarney’s heavy traffic has been a major concern for many years but the situation this summer was particularly dire with many locals claiming that it was the worst the town has ever seen.

The TEIR 1 report indicated that tourist numbers are expected to increase 30% by 2025, which means the situation is likely to get far worse before it gets better.

Mr Ahern, who was speaking at a Killarney Municipal District meeting on Wednesday, also said that the large congregation of schools in the New Road area of town was a significant contributing factor.

“The community is growing so there’s an increased number of pupils going to these schools,” he said. “The vast majority of them are travelling by car and they’re all hitting at the one peak time. You’re going to get congestion there and there’s no easy or obvious answer to that, unless you bring in some sort of a bus system. I do believe that we should sit down with the principals of the schools so that we can begin the process of consultation.”

Apparently children aren’t walking to school because their bags are too heavy, Mr Ahern added.

Meanwhile, with regards to the Killarney Traffic Management Plan which was released in 2016, it was revealed that just four of the 33 recommended measures outlined in the report have been officially completed.

17 of the 33 measures were categorised as short-term two years ago but many of these projects remain unfinished.

“A lot of the short-term things should be done,” Cllr Niall Kelleher said. “The link roads need to be completed and we should ensure that the objectives in this plan are brought to fruition and completed as soon as possible. I believe we could be making better progress.”

Town Manager Angela McAllen stressed that there’s a lot of work done but “a lot more needs to be done”.

“We have to take a realistic approach to it,” she said. “We have the deputation for the very important link road, works are progressing in relation to the Haha, works are progressing in relation to Bohreen-na-Goun (next to Dunnes Stores)… Where you have purchases of land involved, it does involve a medium to long-term view. While we all want the solutions now, the reality is that we can’t have all the solutions now.”

What do you think? What steps can be taken to alleviate Killarney’s traffic problem? Let us know via newsdesk@killarneyadvertiser.ie.