‘Dreadful omission’: Kerry councillor slams council for residents’ ‘lethal’ walk into town

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

Kerry County Council has been slammed for the “dreadful omission” of a footpath in planning conditions after six years have passed since alarm bells were first rang.

Councillor Brendan Cronin raised the plight of the residents of Madam’s Hill whose walk into Killarney town is “lethal” and he asked for the council to construct a “badly needed” footpath.

The walk to town for residents of Madam’s Hill involves navigating a 120m stretch of 80kmh road with no footpath until they reach the N22 junction.

Cllr Cronin described the traffic on that section of the L2019 as “immense” and “continuous”, and highlighted its use by heavy vehicles.

The issue was first brought to the attention of the council in 2020, according to Cllr Cronin, after a residential developer didn’t construct a footpath.

Despite a councillor engineer telling Cllr Cronin one would be developed, planning conditions on the developer did not specify the route to be constructed.

Cllr Cronin described it as a “dreadful omission”, drawing an analogy to ongoing issues at Kilcummin and Barraduff.

He asked that the council’s planning department ensure that footpaths are taken to the boundaries of designs for residential developments to help avoid these scenarios.

Councillor Maura Healy-Rae attested to the way cars exited the N22 at speed, cutting corners on the road and making the route more perilous for pedestrians.

“We hear so much in today’s world about connectivity and 10-minute town concepts and they all sound great,” she said.

“It’s simple what needs to be done here.”

The council said the necessary land has been secured for the footpath and the design is being progressed.