Additional public car parking for the heart of Clarecastle has been sought.
Back in October 2018, Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) asked the Ennis Municipal District to explore the potential provision of increased public parking in the core of Clarecastle and to consider alternative traffic flows at The Pound. He referenced this motion in a new proposal at their March sitting. “This is now an even greater priority given the Roche remediation works that are due to commence in the not too distant future”.
Planning permission conditions relating to car parking provision in the centre of Clarecastle village is being studied by officers in the Ennis Municipal District. Such locations under consideration include where cars are parking overnight on the street, car parking usage during business hours, existing locations and potential new destinations for parking.
Senior executive engineer, Eamon O’Dea stated, “The Roche remediation planning application has not been submitted therefore the Council are not in a position to consider the requirements for traffic management on Patrick Street”. He confirmed that the local authority would proceed with traffic calming under a section 38 of the Roads Act 1994 application for the Urban and Village renewal scheme at the village centre.
“This will involve reconfiguration of the existing car park to provide the same car parking numbers with safe pedestrian access to the playground amenity,” O’Dea explained.
Access to footpaths continues to problematic for wheelchair users. Cllr Murphy outlined, “Presently there are ongoing issues with cars parked on footpaths and in cycle lanes which makes life difficult for local residents particularly those in wheelchairs or those with buggies. The imminent remediation of the Roche site is also likely to lead to increased traffic volumes in the village centre. Increased parking is required to make the Main Street attractive to prospective businesses as well as to encourage visitors to the existing businesses”.
NOTE: This meeting and discussion took place prior to the outbreak of COVID-19.
