Writes Ciaran Dineen
Main Street Carrigaline and the Owenabue Carpark are set to operate on a new parking system, for a trial basis as a response to Covid-19. The decision has been arrived at and agreed by all parties involved in the Carrigaline Project ACT, which is being run by Cork County Council.
The new system will see Main Street Carrigaline, and part of Lower Kilmoney Road turned into a 1 hour free, ‘Green Zone’, parking limit, in order to try and promote short-duration parking with quick turn-around times.
This Green Zone will apply from the Carrigaline Garda Station, up to an area adjacent with the Carrigaline Co-op, on Lower Kilmoney Road. Furthermore, the Owenabue Carpark will divide into two zones, with the front of the carpark designated for parking up to 2 hours (Blue Zone), while the back of the carpark (Red Zone) will be for any parking over 2 hours.
Business owners will be encouraged by the Carrigaline Business Association to make use of long-term parking facilities in Carrigaline as opposed to parking on Main Street all day. Cork County Council also informed attendees at the Project ACT meeting that a traffic warden will monitor parking in Carrigaline on a part-time basis.
Speaking to The Carrigdhoun Newspaper in light of the parking update was Councillor Liam O’Connor (FG), who said, “I welcome the pilot proposals for parking time limits to be implemented at various locations around the town. These time limits are an essential necessity to support businesses. The appointment of a traffic warden will be vital to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Main Street and within car parks and will hopefully address the recurring issue with illegal parking around the town.”
All over the world, cities and towns have developed methods to encourage social interaction and exercise alongside the advice of social distancing. These involve rapid, almost temporary style measures for footpath widening and safe cycling, where planning applications and construction procurement and scheduling are eliminated, by co-opting existing parking spaces. Carrigaline's answer is to maintain all of the existing, vast parking real estate and divide it up into 1, 2 and 2+ hours free parking, noting that it was always free. This is not an adequate Covid 19 measure. existing footpaths along Church road, sections of Cork Road and the village centre are too narrow, removing some on street parking in the village, handing the space to pedestrians and retaining…