Proposals for new traffic calming measures at the New Road-Rock Road junction in Killarney were given the green light by local councillors at a meeting this Tuesday, after a number of amendments were made to the original plans.
The proposals include the provision of a new pedestrian crossing at the top of New road with a new lay-out at the junction turning left on to Rock Road and right towards St Anne’s Road.
New cycleways and pedestrian routes would also be provided.
Councillors had expressed concerns that 50-seater school buses would experience difficulties negotiating the turn from New Road on to Rock Road when the kerbing was reconfigured but officials said they would conduct trials with buses before any plan proceeds and whatever adjustments are required will be undertaken.
The meeting was reminded that the junction is exceptionally busy, particularly at drop-off and collection times at the schools on New Road.
The plans provide for vastly improved pedestrian and cycling access but councillors expressed concerns over the threat posed to schoolchildren and others by cyclists or those on e-scooters travelling at speed from Rock Road towards the New Road junction.
“Cyclists will be coming down Rock Road towards the zebra crossing like the Rally of the Lakes. They will be hitting a fair pace and we need to put up some kind of barrier to slow down the bikes,” Cllr Niall O’Callaghan said.
Mayor Maura Healy-Rae agreed that e-scooters would be a big problem and something needed to be done to force them to slow down or stop coming to the pedestrian crossing..
Cllr Brendan Cronin said he had some difficulty with the planned removal of road space at the two corners of the proposed junction and he reckoned that “squeezing it” in such a fashion could cause complete chaos in an already very busy area.
“It’s already the most congested place in the whole town from 3 o’clock until 6 o’clock and sometimes nothing moves at all,” he said.
Cllr Marie Moloney said somebody said to her recently that the town is “constipated with traffic” and it was a very apt description.
It recently took her 45 minutes to drive from MD O’Shea’s Funeral Home to the top of High Street and, she said, anything that can be done to alleviate the traffic should be done.
Cllr John O’Donoghue said the fear is that the corner going from New Road to Rock Road is so tight that bus drivers turning left might have to cross the white line to the other side of the road.
”It’s important to highlight it – if anything, give the buses more room to turn,” he said.
Kerry County Council Senior Engineer, David Doyle, said he would get the bus companies up there to test the area and to determine if the kerb needs to be pushed back more.
He said he would also arrange for the repositioning of the pedestrian crossing 1.5m further down New Road and additional signage would be erected advising cyclists to dismount.
“There are currently 11 buses collecting kids from schools and we will work with them,” Mr Doyle said.
He said it is government policy to fund Active Travel schemes to encourage more people to walk or cycle to school and work, particularly those living in the urban environment.
Councillors voted 6-1 in favour of the proposed traffic calming measures with Cllr Brendan Cronin voting against.
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