Relief (n)
Removal of anxiety/pain
[uncountable, singular] the feeling of happiness when something unpleasant stops or does not happen
Whoever was responsible for inserting that definition in the Oxford Dictionary obviously hadn’t factored in the likelihood of the nightmare scenario that would be experienced by those faced with having to try to negotiate Killarney’s Mission Road.
Constructed and opened close on three decades ago, it was specifically built as a relief road to ease traffic congestion in Killarney town centre but, anybody that has any cause to use it, will testify that it has caused every emotion but relief. In a word: Disaster – and note the capital D.
Picture: Eamonn Keogh
The situation has now reached a point that drivers opt to take their chances and head straight for the town centre streets in order to avoid having to face the Mission Road gridlock, which is the complete opposite action for it being designed in the first place.
Running from directly opposite St Mary’s Cathedral to the town jarvey stand, the traffic jams on the road that was meant to bring relief are a constant feature all year round.
But, during the summer months and on busy weekends, like the one just ahead, the situation reaches deplorable and really unacceptable levels.
Highlighting the crux some time back, Cllr Maura Healy-Rae, now Mayor of Killarney, declared: “It has nothing to do with rush hour or school times – it’s all the time. That road is jammed.”
She added that motorists are encountering delays of 20 to 30 minutes on Mission Road at any time of the day, almost every day of the year. And she wasn’t exaggerating.
Promises to create a slip-road from Mission Road into the lower Beech Road car park have thus far amounted to nothing and, to make matters significantly worse, bizarre plans have now been revealed to link a new 139-vehicle car park proposed for Green Lawn to the already chaotic “relief road”.
Surely, at this stage, the logical plan should focus on moving the congestion away from Mission Road entirely and not adding to it.
Why not actively explore the possible provision of parking facilities outside of the town centre with shuttle bus services ferrying passengers to the streets and back once they have conducted their business or whenever it suits them.
Spaces in existing car parks in Killarney are at a premium, traffic is gridlocked, on-street parking is almost non-existent and there appears to be no desire whatsoever to create what could be key parking spaces by removing some of the ridiculous on-street build-outs and ridiculous footpath extensions which served a purpose during Covid but now look daft.
In his book, The Wonderful Life of a Councillor, subtitled: What kind of a gobshite do you think I am? former long-serving Killarney local politicians, Seán O’Grady, devotes an entire chapter to Mission Road and how it came about.
The land, donated by McShain family, featured several mature trees which formed a natural sound barrier and the requirement for the retention of the trees was clearly outlined. To achieve that, the road was constructed in a meandering manner, with several bends, and that was pivotal to the advancement of the project. It didn’t help traffic flow but, thankfully, the trees were saved.
The construction of a seven-foot natural stone wall along the southern side of the road was also sought and delivered.
Cllr O’Grady said that, at the time, the feeling was that the road was vital to the orderly progress and development of the town. So much for foresight.
Then again, it was a former town council that rubber-stamped the traffic junction at the top of High Street. And we know all about that.
Mission Road was officially opened in 2000 when then Environment Minister, Noel Dempsey, and Mayor of Killarney, Cllr Seán Counihan took their seats in a vintage car and set off on a short but trouble-free, three-minute journey along the stretch.
Wonder how long it would take them today?
In the absence of the so-called Kerry-Cork Economic Corridor – the long-promised road from Farranfore to Lissivigeen in layman’s language – the preference of the current Killarney Municipal District Council seems focused on the provision of additional “relief roads” with one planned from St Mary’s Terrace to Bohereen-Na-Goun and another from the existing by-pass to Park Road with an exit point opposite the cinema.
It’s enough to have long-suffering motorists breaking out in a cold sweat. Just what purpose the St Mary’s Terrace to Bohereen-Na-Goun plan will serve has me scratching my head – and I know I’m not alone in that regard.
Tens of thousands of euro have been spent on traffic management plans for Killarney down through the years and, still, the gridlock gets worse with every passing year. I have a filing cabinet full of traffic management documents that could be recycled to wallpaper the seven-foot stone wall along Mission Road.
After years of frustrations, the proposed route for the Kerry-Cork Economic Corridor has still to be confirmed so, it’s safe to assume, many of children being confirmed this year will be married with children by the time a minister and mayor of the future get to board another vintage car and take the trip from Brennan’s Glen to Lissivigeen.
In the meantime, a park and ride system from the main approach roads seems to be the only practical and workable solution.
Perhaps the HSE suits could be persuaded to make the St Finan’s Hospital site available to the council as a park and ride base?
It’s the least they could do in return for the astonishing gift of a prime site in the Áras Phádraig complex.
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