Traders demand return of free parking in Kilkenny

Traders have signed a petition calling on Kilkenny County Council to reinstate 15 minutes of free parking on High Street.
Businesses claim that they are being adversely affected by the changes which, they claim, are driving customers out of the city centre.

“The 15-minute free parking was removed without consultation with the traders of both John Street and High Street,” the petition reads.

“We attach a petition to demand the reinstatement of this parking for our customers convenience and for the continuation of our businesses, without which we cannot pay local authority rates.”

Reversal

Councillor David Fitzgerald is also calling for a reversal of the removal of the 15-minute free parking.

“As the only councillor who voted against the new parking regime, I support the calls for the reversal of the removal of the 15-minute free parking,” he said.

“Schools, businesses, workers and shoppers have been seriously affected by the changes which discourages shoppers and visitors to Kilkenny City centre. Children’s safety at school drop offs and livelihoods are being needlessly being put at risk by removing this practical free parking allowance which has served the city well since parking charges were introduced over 25 years ago.

“I call on the council to restore the 15 minutes free parking and introduce park and ride car parking for city workers immediately,” he added.

High Street trader, Anne Ryan who runs Ryan’s Electrical said that trade has been effected negatively since the removal of the 15 minute grace period on High Street.

“Elderly people and people with mobility issues are being negatively impacted by this change. It is time for the council to go back to the drawing board and consult with the traders who are ratepayers after all,” she said.

The 15-minute free parking was removed from High Street in January.

According to Declan Brett, who runs Brett’s Hardware on John Street, local businesses are losing business under the new traffic management plan.

“The removal of that grace period is having a substantial negative effect on all traders in the city. We have noticed a drop-off in customer numbers already since the removal of the 15 minutes free parking. Customers are almost afraid to come into the city centre now in fear of receiving a €40 fine.

“Most city centre businesses rely hugely on customers to come into their premises every day of the week and anything that deters them from visiting the city will severely impact all businesses.

“We are seeking to have the first 15 minutes free parking reintroduced immediately to reduce the damage it is causing to local business,” he added.

Director of Services at Kilkenny County Council, Tim Butler said that the review of parking management was undertaken by Kilkenny County Council to address concerns raised regarding availability of public parking both on-street and in car parks in Kilkenny City.

“In relation to the specific issue raised, the 15 minutes free parking period for on-street parking was never in the original parking bye-laws but was introduced to allow people to get change for the pay and display machines which at that time only accepted payment by coin.

Widely abused

“It was however used as a free parking period which was fine up to a point apart from the fact that it was widely abused with people parking for prolonged periods without paying and impossible to manage. This led to reduced availability of parking and a lot of inequity whereby those paying for parking whose time expired were as likely to be fined than those who did not pay for parking at all,” he said.

“The cost of parking on John Street during the hours of operation of the parking bye-laws is €2 per hour with a maximum stay of 1 hour or 50 cent per 15 minutes. This would not be unreasonable for premium city centre parking,” he added.

“For High Street there is provision for set down and accessible parking. Both High Street and John Street are in close proximity to barriered car parks where customers can avail of first 15 minute free parking. It will no doubt take some time for all users to become accustomed to the revised charges but we have already received positive feedback and the revisions are in line with the priorities coming from the Sustainable Urban Mobility Process currently underway.”