BUSINESS owners losing millions in revenue in Adare due to lack of car parking in the heritage town are rightly “pissed off”.
So said Fine Gael councillor Stephen Keary at this Tuesday’s meeting of Adare-Rathkeale Municipal District.
According to the former mayor, parking is an “acute and chronic” issue in Adare.
“The existing facilities are not fit for purpose,” Cllr Keary told the council executive.
He went on to suggest that pay for parking should be used in the popular County Limerick tourist town.
“It has the type of traffic movement to justify that.”
Cllr Keary also called on the Council to put a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on a site, adjacent to the roundabout in the town centre, for parking.
“People are getting very frustrated. Businesses are losing millions annually. They are pissed off with the inadequate parking. I will do all I can,” he declared.
Independent councillor Emmett O’Brien took the view that there is the perception that the Council has an “anti-Adare bias”.
“The perception is that Adare gets everything but I don’t think that is an accurate perception,” Cllr O’Brien said.
Sinn Fein councillor Ciara McMahon believed that parking “badly needs to be looked at” in Adare.
“There’s no two ways about it,” she insisted.
Fianna Fáil councillor Kevin Sheahan took the view that visitors arriving into Adare need to see parking if they are going to use it. He felt it hugely important that any additional parking in the town is not “hidden away”.
Former Fine Gael TD and Senator, Dan Neville was part of a deputation from Adare Community Trust Group to make a presentation to the Council on parking at this Tuesday’s meeting. He told council members that at a recent funeral in Adare all cars outside the church were ticketed due to the lack of parking.
Adare Community Trust Group revealed that there are over 90 businesses in the town with 1463 people employed locally and only 110 on-street parking spaces. They called for the Council to “step up to the mark” in providing additional spaces.
Director of Operations for the Adare-Rathkeale Municipal District, Caroline Curley explained that the council executive were doing what they can to increase parking in Adare.
