Free parking costs Council up to €50,000 in lost earnings

Date Published: 22-Mar-2010

By Denise McNamara, The Connacht Sentinel

Shoppers are being urged to come out and avail of the free parking currently on offer in council-controlled areas so that similar initiatives can be pursued to benefit the public as well as retailers, according the Chamber of Commerce.

But the City Council said yesterday it had no plans to extend the two-week term of the current initiative – which is costing the local authority up to €50,000 in lost revenue.

Parking in Galway City Council car parks and on-street Pay and Display parking spaces is now free all morning four days a week for the next fortnight in an effort to lure shoppers back into the heart of the city and to revive the local economy.

The local authority acceded to demands from the city business community to introduce the free parking initiative in all Council-owned car parks – including the Cathedral, Dyke Road, Mill Street, College Road, and Newtownsmyth car parks – and on-street Pay and Display parking spaces.

The initiative started yesterday (Monday) and will be in place for two weeks, starting from Monday, March 23, until Bank Holiday Monday, April 5. It will be in place Monday to Thursday between 10am and 1pm only.

During these times wardens will concentrate on illegally parked vehicles and other traffic offences. Outside of these times normal parking enforcement will apply.

City Council Director of Services Ciarán Hayes said the initiative was aimed solely at shoppers and was limited to these times so that the free parking was not taken over by workers and commuters. Friday and Saturday were excluded because shops already reported a high footfall on these days and did not need the extra incentive, he said.

A council spokesman said the scheme would definitely not be introduced for a longer period.“We have no immediate plans to extend it because of the cost implications. We estimate we’re dealing with lost revenue of between €40,000 and €50,000 over the two weeks. We will review it at the end of the period and hopefully there will be some payback,” he said.

CEO of the Galway Chamber of Commerce Michael Coyle said if there was a discernible hike in business over the fortnight it may help lobby for similar initiatives in the future.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel