Galway Councillors back drive for free parking

A proposal to change the parking byelaws to include a six month trial of two hours of free parking at any time of the day has been adopted by Galway councillors.

The measure will cost Galway County Council in the region of €120,000 per annum in lost revenue.

It will also require full-time parking enforcement by wardens to ensure motorists do not exceed their time limit.

It will not be introduced until early next year to allow time for the parking machines to be recalibrated and organise for increased monitoring.

The decision went further than the strategic policy committee had agreed. They wanted to implement free parking for the first two hours in the morning.

However Councillor Gerry Finnerty (FF) said that would be absolutely useless to address the downturn in the county towns, fighting to attract the same customers who are being lured to out-of-town shopping centres with free parking.

He tabled a motion for the most radical option of free parking for two hours at any time of the day.

Galway County Council officials were totally opposed to this due to the cost and the need for continuous monitoring by traffic and community wardens in Athenry, Ballinasloe, Clifden, Gort, Loughrea and Tuam.

“ Such monitoring will require wardens full time working on paid parking and this would mean that the Community Warden Service would not be available for work in other areas such as litter, dumping, environment,” according to the council’s report into parking in large towns.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.