Traffic at peak hours in Kilkenny location is now a ‘ridiculous situation’

The issue of traffic congestion (particularly during peak commuter hours) on the Freshford Road and in adjacent areas was a topic of discussion at this week’s plenary meeting of Kilkenny County Council.

Cllr Michael McCarthy (Fianna Fáil) described the scenes at the Freshford Road roundabout during peak hours as a ‘ridiculous situation’.

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“It’s mayhem during commuter hours,” he said.

Senior Roads Engineer Seamus Kavanagh acknowledged that the route has become busy but stated it has started to ‘settle down’.

He noted that many people are keen ‘to point fingers at the new school’ but added that there are numerous factors at play, especially when one takes into consideration that the students are in the new school by 8.30am.

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Amongst those other factors are a growing number of staff commuting to the hospital and a growing number of workers heading into the city for work in general.

“People are trying to find different ways [to commute],” Kavanagh said, referencing the city bus and new active travel provisions on that side of the city.

This particular point was one that was noted by Cllr Seán Ó hArgáin (Labour), who stated that he counted more than 100 bicycles parked one morning at the new Christian Brothers College.

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He expressed hope that further active travel schemes planned and in progress across the city will see similar results at other schools.

Cllr Eugene McGuinness (Independent) stated that the traffic issue on the Freshford Road is “not going to be sorted for eight-ten years” until the northern ring road extension is built.

The senior roads engineer also confirmed that traffic counters would be rolled out on the Freshford Road soon to monitor the issue.

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