People are deliberately avoiding Killarney town because of the chronic traffic congestion which is having a hugely negative impact on business and is leading to growing frustration, Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has complained.

The organisation’s executive said traffic chaos, which appears worse this year than ever before, is now the biggest single issue for the town to contend with and it needs to be addressed as a matter of absolute priority.

Now is the opportune time to secure that commitment with a general election looming, the business organisation said.

“It has been going on far too long and it is now the ultimate Kerry joke. Motorists are encountering absolute gridlock on all the approach roads and in the town centre on a daily basis and it’s time for action,” the Chamber said.

“The chronic, daily traffic back-up in Killarney town centre and on all the approach roads has now reached crisis proportions,” the Chamber added.
“It is far too simplistic to suggest that it is merely a seasonal problem and an indicator of the town’s success because that is of little consolation to those who are late for work, missing trains and buses, late for medical appointments and caught up in snarling traffic for what seems like an age”.

The town business representative body said it is very much aware and fully acknowledges that the matter has been raised time and again by the elected members and officials of Killarney Municipal District Council and Kerry County Council but repeated appeals appear to be falling on deaf ears.