FIGHT TO SAVE SLEA HEAD FROM TRAFFIC JAMS

FLEETS of tour buses and convoys of panicky tourist drivers are making the road from Slea Head to Dún Chaoin a nightmare for locals who can hardly go out the door during the summer without running into a traffic jam.

The issue was outlined last Wednesday at a meeting with Kerry County Council engineer Colm Nagle and Cllr Seamus Cosaí Mac Gearailt when Comharchumann Dhún Chaoin once again outlined the seriousness of the long-running situation and the need for urgent action. They pursued the issue further on Thursday at a tourism consultation meeting held by representatives of Fáilte Ireland in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh. At both meetings they got sympathy, but no solutions.

Comharchumann member Fergal Mac Amhlaoibh can recall watching from the Great Blasket as a traffic jam snaked all the way from Slea Head to Dún Chaoin. That was 10 years ago and since then the problem has worsened, particularly following the opening of the Wild Atlantic Way which has attracted yet more buses, cars and particularly camper vans to a road designed for horse carts.

The Comharchumann has identified four areas that are especially prone to traffic jams, the worst being the narrow stretch of road going from the Calvary monument on Slea Head towards Coomeenole, where two-hour traffic jams are not uncommon at the height of the tourist season and the council has erected an intriguing sign warning of ‘oncoming traffic in middle of road’.

Locals unofficially treat the road as ‘one-way’ from early morning to late afternoon during the summer, and that works up to a point. However, difficulties arise when drivers who don’t know the unwritten code travel against the flow of traffic and get stuck, unable to turn back and often unable to reverse their cars.

Another problem area is the Clasach road from Páidí Ó Sé’s pub at Árd a’ Bhothair to Dún Chaoin. As Comharchumann Dhún Chaoin points out, this narrow mountain road is the common route used by locals travelling to and from Ventry and Dingle. The problem is that ‘sat-navs’ often send tourists up this road which is “totally unsuitable for tourist traffic, many of whom panic when confronted by oncoming traffic”. Worse still, tourist drivers on the Clasach often turn left into the flow of oncoming traffic at Dún Chaoin causing yet more traffic jams, especially around Scoil Dhún Chaoin which is another problem area.

Drivers face yet another hurdle at Casadh na Gráige where buses and cars park on a sharp bend so that tourists can photograph one of the great panoramic views of West Kerry. There are plans to provide a car park at the bend – a solution seen by many as the best of a bad lot – but, as with the other problem areas, there is no concrete proposal and no timeframe for completing it.

With the traffic of another tourist season fast approaching, locals are keen to see Kerry County Council coming up with solutions but they have little reason to be optimistic.

For example, to help address the problems at Slea Head Comharchumann Dhún Chaoin has suggested a number of solutions, including designating some areas as ‘local traffic only’, an official one-way system, and the use traffic lights. All have been rejected by the council for a variety of reasons.

One of these reasons is that a bylaw would have to be passed to allow for the introduction of a one-way traffic system. There may be a glimmer of hope for locals in this. It just so happens that passing bylaws is the work of the council.