Double yellow lines bad for business

Most of the traders in the southern part of Killaloe town have suffered a drop in business since the re-introduction of double yellow lines on Main Street and Royal Parade, according to a Clare Champion investigation.
Some of the worst affected businesses are in Royal Parade, opposite the historic Church of Ireland Cathedral where Clare County Council removed up to eight parking spaces for safety reasons and replaced them with two set down areas a few months ago.
Sue and Joe James, who sell antiques and other goods in Royal Parade, are extremely concerned about the lack of a public car park in the town.
Sue James claims there has been a 40% drop in business since the removal of car parking spaces in the vicinity of their shop. Having been in business in the town for the last 14 years, she said they have never experienced anything like this before, which saddens her greatly as they have done a lot of work to attract customers over the years.
Sue said it is a huge disadvantage for a tourist town like Killaloe not to have a public car park.
She added that the population of Killaloe and Ballina had increased dramatically in recent years without any new parking spaces to match this growth.
Joe James said a lot of new businesses and flats had been provided in the town following the conversion of dwelling houses but this wasn’t matched by additional parking either. He highlighted the lack of parking for coaches in particular, which provide a lot of visitors for local businesses.
Andrew Lofthouse, who runs the Ponte Veccho wine store and café on Royal Parade, said he hopes the council would work together with local traders to come up with a solution.
Marian O’Donovan from Amoro Mio boutique on Main Street said she doesn’t want the wrong message to go out that there is no car parking in the town. Acknowledging that more public spaces are needed, she pointed out that brides-to-be come from Cavan, Dublin, Cork and Sligo to buy wedding dresses in her shop and usually stay for the weekend because of what Killaloe has to offer in terms of shops and entertainment.
“The town is open for business,” is her key message. Having opened her business last December, she believes Killaloe is a good place to invest in because of its location and accessibility to major urban areas.
Steff Guiney, who runs a tattoo business on Main Street, has not been adversely affected by the lack of parking as he has a specialist business. However, he noted there would be more on-street parking for visitors and customers if some traders didn’t park their own cars outside their premises.
Sean Collins of Collins Pharmacy on Main Street has proposed  a set down area for 20 minutes on one side of the street to allow people to drop into the post office, doctor’s surgery and  other businesses for a short period.
He also stressed it is important that business people don’t park outside their own premises to free up as many spaces as possible for customers.
Jim Whelan from Whelan’s foodstore estimates the introduction of double yellow lines has resulted in a 20% drop in his business at the weekend as visitors from Limerick and other parts of the Mid-West has nowhere to park.
Commenting on the need for a long-term solution, he suggested a state-of-the art car park is not necessary and instead the council could try to provide a hard core area at Dean’s Field if one acre became available.
As a short-term solution, he proposes that more 30 minute set down areas be provided at Royal Parade. He suggested that people who car pool could park at the Smith O’Brien’s hurling field instead of Between the Waters, which is important to leave free for shoppers.
Sean Moriarty from the Green Room hair salon estimates his business has dropped between 10 and 15% since the introduction of double yellow lines.
Mr Moriarty said he has no problem with double yellow lines once replacement parking is provided. He said clients had contacted him from their cars to say they couldn’t come in because there was no parking available.
In the past, he said regular clients from Dublin and Limerick who came to have their hair done and to shop in the area found one of the attractions was the availability of parking. However, he noted this is no longer the case and warned that people would not stop and shop in an area if there is no visible place to park.
“We all want to attract more business into Killaloe, but you can’t do this without addressing the parking issue. Businesses are struggling to keep their heads above water, We only have a small profit margin at the present time and need assistance to retain and attract more business,” he said.
Chartered structural engineer Vicky Manuel said the council should remove the bottle bank and recycling facilities Between the Waters to a site outside the old courthouse opposite the garda station.
She suggested the council should reline the parking spaces at Between the Waters to make more spaces available and the pedestrian bridge linking this area and Royal Parade could be blocked off as it is very rarely used.
She also proposed that more advance warning signs be provided at Royal Parade to advise tourists that traffic lights are in place at the bridge because some motorists try to overtake traffic that is stopped in a queue waiting for the lights to change.