Solution found in Kerry to halt traffic woes at popular branch of McDonalds

Residents living near McDonalds in Killarney are hopeful that a solution has been found to their traffic woes caused by the huge volume of vehicles parking and blocking access to the local estates.

For the past three years residents have been concerned about the situation at the busy fast food restaurant which led to many residents being unable to get into their homes. They also feared ambulances would not be able to access local houses due to the volume of cars parked illegally in the area.

The situation had escalated during Covid so much so that local residents said they were ‘prisoners’ in their homes’ due to the queues at the restaurant and people parking on both sides of the road.

More than 100 local residents had gathered to highlight concerns in January 2022. At the time they said the situation needed to be resolved.

“We are prisoners in our own homes, there are five estates using the same entrance as McDonalds but due to the queues at the restaurant and people parking on both sides of the road residents cannot get into their homes,” said local resident Sean Crowley on behalf of residents living in the area.

“People do not understand the gravity of the situation. It is unsustainable, it simply cannot go on.”

McDonalds said they would consider closing the Drive-thru given the huge anger at the traffic chaos at the local branch.

However, in the interim Kerry County Council has been working with residents to try and alleviate the situation and, for most of 2023, temporary bollards were put in place.

Given that they have appeared to work, residents are supportive of installing permanent bollards to prevent ad-hoc parking.

The council has said it will move ahead with a public consultation on installing the permanent bollards to prevent people parking and blocking access to the estates.

Cllr Marie Moloney (Labour) raised the issue at the recent Killarney Municipal District Meeting and said that the residents were supportive of installing permanent bollards.

The meeting heard concerns had been raised that the bollards would lead to increased traffic in the local estates with motorists driving in and turning there but this has not materialised.

Engineer John Ahern said the works would move forward and would likely go to public consultation in March.

Residents have welcomed the progress. Mr Crowley, a spokesperson for the residents, said the bollards ‘worked a treat’ and had prevented motorists parking and residents could now get in and out of their estates and homes. He said that the bollards combined with several other factors have alleviated the traffic congestion.

He warned, however, that the planned permanent bollards must be kept exactly as the temporary bollards that are currently in place.

“If they are not kept out as much as possible [as they are now] to stop parking, they won’t work,” he said.

He said that the permanent bollards would ensure that the problem is alleviated once and for all.

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan’s exclusive take on the day’s news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.