Tag Archives: parking

SHANNON Airport Group is to be asked to consider extending the free 15-minute access to the car park at the airport. At last week’s meeting of Shannon Municipal District, Councillor Pat McMahon said that while first of all the Airport should be thanked for the free access, there are problems with it, especially in the evenings. A motion he put before the meeting asked that Shannon Airport Group “consider providing additional free short-term parking for pick-up or drop-off of passengers as the current 15 minute free park is not sufficient”. Councillor McMahon said that at the moment people park up at the roadside on the way in, as they don’t want to go in too early and face the €3 charge if they are inside for longer than a quarter of an hour. The Fianna Fáil councillor said that it can be “quite dangerous”, with people parked at the side of the road on the way towards the car park …

IT will be lights out early in the county capital this festive season in response to the ongoing energy crisis. The Ennis Municipal District has confirmed that while the town will have its traditional Christmas lights, the festive display will shine for a reduced number of hours each evening. Details of this year’s Christmas in Ennis programme were released at the monthly meeting of the local authority this week with plans including free parking initiatives, pedestrianisation, street radio, a Christmas village and the return of retro drive-in movies. The official turning on of Ennis’ Christmas lights will take place on Friday, November 25 in Abbey Street Carpark, with the lights to stay on for 12 hours from 3pm to 3am every day. The move to reduce the time of the lights in a bid to conserve energy was welcomed by councillors at the meeting, with Deputy Mayor Mary Howard quipping, “We do our best to be on the nice list …

HOPES are high that a new car park for Scariff will go through the planning process before the end of the year.  Pressure has been growing on public representatives to progress the issue, as the business community, shoppers and other stakeholders continue to voice concern over the lack of local parking. The matter was raised once again at a meeting Killaloe Municipal District, when Councillor Joe Cooney sought an update. Members had previously been told that efforts to accelerate progress had been made, after the car park element was separated out of a bigger project which will also see the development of a multi-service centre and improvements to the town centre. At the September meeting, Councillor Cooney asked district officials where matters currently stand.  Senior Executive Officer (SEO) Morgan Lahiffe assured members that work is ongoing. “We have now engaged with all stakeholders, councillors, Scariff Community Council and Scariff Town Team,” he said. “The acquisition of land has been agreed. …

PRESSURE is mounting on public representatives in East Clare to show that a recent major funding investment will pay off soon for the town of Scariff.  That was the view of two members of the Killaloe Municipal District committee when the group held their July meeting. Both Councillor Joe Cooney and Pat Burke sought an update on progress with the Scariff Rural Regeneration Project, particularly the car park element.  Last January, an allocation of just over half a million Euro was made by The Rural and Community Development towards a multi-service centre, improvements to the centre of the town and the development of a town car park.  “There is a lot of concern in Scariff over the lack of parking,” Councillor Cooney said. “The main one is that if we leave it until the regeneration project, it could be a long way down the road.” Councillor Burke agreed that the issue of parking is a challenge. “Pressure is really coming …

ENNIS’ deputy mayor has admitted he was “mortified” to discover he had accidentally used a disabled parking space, sparking calls for a re-paint of the spaces to make them more noticeable. Councillor Paul Murphy made the admission at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District saying parking in the space was “not deliberate”. He explained he had reversed into a space at the Active Ennis John O’Sullivan Park Lees Road in the dark and it was only on his return to the vehicle that he realised it was a disabled parking space. “I was mortified, it is something I have always frowned on,” he said. “The colour of the space wasn’t even blue, just in spots. The wheelchair sign was there, but it was extremely faded.” Following the incident, he brought the need to re-paint the spaces to the attention of Ennis Mayor, Councillor Ann Norton who as well as her role in the council is a well known …

AN elderly woman using a walking frame was forced to step onto the road due to cars being parked on the footpath at a popular Ennis beauty spot in an incident described as “upsetting and frightening”, a meeting of local councillors heard. The Ennis Municipal District is now to make the case to gardaí to have double yellow lines installed at the entrance to Ballybeg Woods after “health and safety concerns” about motorists parking on the footpath at the entrance was highlighted. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy raised the issue at a recent meeting of the municipal district calling for a review of the area to be undertaken to address “ongoing parking on the footpath approaching the Ballybeg Road entrance to the Ballybeg Woods”. She said the current situation “is preventing pedestrians, pedestrians with child buggies and wheelchair users from using the footpath, thereby forcing them to walk on the road”. The councillor acknowledged recent improvement works carried out at Ballybeg …

CHRISTMAS pedestrianisation of Ennis’ main street begins this weekend, while free parking at public carparks is also being introduced at certain times for the festive season. O’Connell Square and O’Connell Street will be car free from 11am to 6pm on December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 to 24 inclusive. The Ennis Christmas Market takes place in Abbey Street Car Park from this Friday until Sunday and as a result, the west of the main through road, adjacent to the river between Costa Coffee and O’Briens, is unavailable from 6pm Wednesday, November 30 until 8am on Monday, December 6. Abbey Street Car Park will be unavailable during these times. Until Sunday, January, 2 there will be no charge in public car parks from 2pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Additional parking free of charge has been made available at Clare County Council headquarters on December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19 from 9am to 6pm. Free parking is also available at …

A BIKE rental scheme for Ennis town and its environs would be the solution to a shortage of parking in the county capital, Ennis’ Deputy Mayor believes. Councillor Paul Murphy made the call for the introduction of such a scheme to be “prioritised” as part of the Ennis Town Mobility Plan at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. The motion seconded by Mayor of Ennis Councillor Ann Norton who voiced her support. The proposal will be considered in the Ennis Town Mobility Plan, Leonore O’Neill, senior executive officer with the Ennis Municipal District confirmed. Councillor Murphy stated that the inclusion of a bike rental scheme “should be a key component” of the mobility plan for a number of reasons, to improve mobility and also to give more options to people who want to come into town.” He added that the villages of Clarecastle and Barefield should be included in the proposed scheme. “People could come and park on …