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EXCLUSIVE

By Sean Moriarty

Following a meeting with local residents Killarney Municipal District will prepare a draft traffic management plan in an effort to eliminate unnecessary traffic from O’Sullivan’s Place.

Residents are concerned for their own safety after a notable increase in traffic through the area’s narrow streets. Motorists use the lanes as a way of avoiding traffic queues that build up on St Anne’s Road and continue down Lewis Road, particularly at peak times and during the busy summer months.

Several elected councillors tabled similar motions at this week’s Killarney Municipal District meeting.

Cllr Maura Healy Rae asked if there is any progress on a request to trial a closure of the St Anne’s Road entrance to the estate while Cllr Niall Kelleher asked if there had been any progress on requests made by residents to find a solution to reduce traffic in the area.

Senior Kerry County Council officials confirmed at Wednesday’s meeting that they had met with residents and that a no-entry system at the St Anne’s Road entrance was the solution that found most favour with locals.

“Following the traffic count and speed survey which had been carried out, Kerry County Council had an on-site meeting with residents of O’Sullivan’s Place. As a result of this, Kerry County Council are preparing design drawings for traffic calming which it intends to place on public display before the end of the year,” the Council said.

The decision was welcomed but the Council was warned that if the plan was not successful it would have to be revisited. Concerns were raised that in previous cases, plans could not be reversed without a second public consultation and elected members were concerned that the new traffic plan could become a permanent fixture, even in the event of the new plan not working.