30-minute free on street parking suggestion for Twin Towns - Views diverge  

Ongoing debate over on street parking around the county continued at this week’s meeting of the Lifford - Stranorlar Municipal District (MD) with one councillor formally suggesting that a 30-minute period of grace should be given to those using on street parking within the Twin Towns. 

The matter was raised by Cllr Gary Doherty (SF) who said that a customer of a local business in Ballybofey had pulled into an on street parking bay on Saturday, right beside the business in question. 

One wheel of the vehicle was over a yellow line, and there followed what Cllr Doherty described as “a robust exchange of views” with a parking attendant who was nearby. 

Cllr Doherty said that the end result was that the customer left without going into the shop, which had not pleased the business owner in question, to whom he had spoken.

The councillor added that there were at least seven or eight other businesses in Ballybofey and Stranorlar who “were of the view that something needs to change as regards the on street parking.”   

He formally proposed a 30 minute free period in both towns.

He said that there did not appear to be any issue regarding the same free period in Letterkenny “so I can’t see why there should be any issue why we can’t have the 30 minutes free in Ballybofey and Stranorlar. 

He said: “We can keep the normal charges for the car parks, keep the normal charges for anyone parking over 30 minutes, but I think that we need to give the 30 minutes free on street parking.”

He recalled the last time this was raised, there was a county wide review and that they could not change the bye laws before that, but he was formally making the proposal. 

Cathaoirleach Cllr Patrick McGowan said that he had spoken to the business owner himself at the weekend, but street parking issues were an ongoing thing and not a simple issue in Ballybofey.

He said that if Ballybofey and Stranorlar adopted the 30 minute rule, it would be the same as what is happening in Buncrana and it wouldn’t pay for itself. 

He said that there is a ten minute grace period which some businesses weren't aware of and the machines from which the ticket is issued, are calibrated, which means the machine cannot issue a ticket, before ten minutes after the vehicle was first scanned, by the parking attendant.

He explained that there was no discretion or “grace time on yellow lines, parking on footpaths or disabled bays”.

He added that he had spoken to the parking section that deals with Donegal Town and Bundoran and that Ballybofey had the cheapest charges in the county and that one could park for 24 hours in the Navenny Street car for €1.20.

As agreed two years ago at the local MD, the money raised from the parking charges was to pay the traffic warden, which is paid by each town individually. Then the money left over (some €70,000) goes to local street sweeping. He added that the local Chamber of Commerce had entered a contract with the council, which means there is a sweeping machine available with a full time employee, who uses it to clean the town every morning. 

He suggested that this would cease immediately, if the 30 minute free rule came into effect, adding that the takings from parking in Buncrana were barely covering the cost of their traffic warden.

He said that Letterkenny was different as they already had such staff including traffic wardens, road staff and gardeners before the abolition of their local Town Council.    

In Ballybofey’s situation, he said that this would require taking money out of other road services and that it had been agreed that the Donegal County Council traffic section would meet with both local MD members and the Chamber of Commerce to explain the full extent of the situation. 

He asked Cllr Gary Doherty to hold back on his formal request for the 30 minute free on street parking, until this local meeting with businesses had been held and these issues had been addressed.   

Replying, Cllr Doherty said that the issue of the ten minute leeway “was to allow you to get a ticket” and regarding the previous Saturday, there was, as seen on the CCTV,  28 seconds when the car was parked at the location, that he had referred to earlier.

As most of the money came from car parking charges, not on street parking, he said that a 30 minute free parking rule would have negligible effect on the income coming in. He was “not short” in explaining to businesses and residents where their car parking money does go on. 

“This council needs to be totally open and transparent about this process, about where those funds go,” he said.

He said that he was happy to hold off his suggestion until there was a meeting with businesses, councillors and the relevant council section but he would be formally proposing the motion at the next MD meeting “because I don’t think that 30 minutes free parking will have such a detrimental effect on services in the town,”