Claremorris parking proposal is shot down

A proposal by a local councillor for set down areas in Claremorris town centre to accommodate commercial deliveries has been shot down by colleagues.

Aontú Cllr Deirdre Lawless raised the matter at last week's meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District who said commercial trucks, including heavy goods vehicles, currently do not have a place to pull in to make their deliveries. She said a set down area had been suggested at the Square.

"It has been suggested by some local businesses that the paving area is large in The Square and while it is a visual and focal point, it might be possible potentially to drop the curb at the flower shop to allow vehicles pull in there and stop blocking the main flow of the town and this might also encourage more pedestrian footfall and people to shop in the centre of town. Local businesses are calling on us to look at this and designate a specific pull-in area and not to be causing obstruction.”

However, the proposal was vehemently opposed by Independent Cllr Richard Finn who claimed such a set-down area was not necessary.

“I could not bring such a motion in here as it should refer to something that is genuine, real and needed. I have been looking out the same window from my business in Claremorris for the last 40 years, before some people here were even born, dealing with parking and everything around this town. You need a bit of the history of this. The hassle myself and Cllr Tom Connolly and Cllr Patsy O’Brien have had on this over the years. We’ve seen it all and the type of people who came along objecting to the price of parking, the way we had organised our parking, and everything to do with it. Anyone who wants to go back to what we had 20 or 30 years ago is quite welcome to turn the wheels back. But I am six days a week using the facilities [in Claremorris] and we have the cheapest parking in County Mayo, the best parking system and no gridlock, in contrast to what people might like to insinuate.

“We have a certain few elites alright and they were there in the past also and a few more are trying to stick their heads up. But the system we put in 30 or 40 years ago will be upheld and not what a few want to serve their needs.

“I travel up and down that town up to 15 times a day. There is no major problem in Claremorris with set-down. We don’t have a problem and anyway, it is mostly small vans that are delivering.

“This motion is the reason I am at this meeting today, and if we come along here to say we are going to give up parking spaces for a few people, that is not going to be the case and while I am a public representative I won’t allow it. Our system will not be broken by a few or by elites as long as I am around, and anyone who does come along after me will know the success achieved in the town will be ongoing.” 

Cllr Finn further stated: “The management’s reply on this refers to a 30-minute discretionary period already in place for deliveries and that is abided by. There are no parking attendants standing in anybody’s way. I have seen down through the years people doing deliveries are damn glad to be getting the business in the town and it is not them complaining about set downs or anything, as the reply says they are already being facilitated in town where there is no major issue with parking.” 

Seconding Cllr Finn's comments, Cllr Patsy O'Brien said it did not make any sense to try to fix something that wasn't broken.  

“What makes this unique to me is, usually representation nowadays comes in emails and virtually every councillor and TD gets the same ones, but nobody has contacted me in relation to this, so I don’t know where it has come out of and don’t understand it. I got no correspondence from anyone and am quite satisfied with the bylaws as they are, and who knows better than Richard Finn who has given his life to it."

Chairperson Cllr Damien Ryan said he was not going to comment on the specific issue in Claremorris but he did believe there was a need for loading bays in Ballinrobe to relieve traffic congestion. 

Cllr John Caulfied said he too supported Cllr Finn and agreed with Cllr Patsy O’Brien that “if it’s not broken don’t try to do anything with it”, adding: “We had people in here a number of years ago with petitions of 5,000 signatures for free parking in Claremorris. I wonder if they had got their way what would it be like now? You certainly wouldn’t be going up the street and getting a parking space. So it is working wonderfully. Five times a week I would be through Claremorris and have never had any issue or been held up by a truck. No major business in the Main Street is dependent on large quantities being delivered as most stuff comes in small vans, so I would be reluctant to make any changes in Claremorris.” 

In the absence of support for the motion, Cllr Lawless responded: “It is good to discuss these things, and I suppose a lot of businesses were not aware of the 30-minute discretionary period.” 

She clarified: “I was not advocating for a loss of parking spaces, as that isn’t something that won’t have consequences, so to have an understanding of the situation is beneficial to all; to see is there another way to do things other than losing parking spaces, maybe another way of looking at this, so I appreciate the options.” 

Cllr Finn spoke out again on the matter, saying: “Claremorris and Ballinrobe have taken on car parking and tackled it when it wasn’t very encouraging for the likes of us as local representatives to take it on. We succeeded, with very extreme difficulty from objectors. If anyone from another town wants to advocate for other towns and take on the system we have, let them talk about their own place first and then come back here and tell us we are doing it wrong. I am not going to listen to that and will pull anyone across the coals who suggests it.” 

Head of the municipal district Padraig Flanagan said the 30-minute discretionary parking period is critical “because it allows drivers find a safe place to deliver whereas a loading bay can be very confined and also will lead to loss of parking spaces". He said loading bays are being looked at in terms of the overall traffic problems in Ballinrobe “but in Claremorris I would be advocating sticking with the current system, and we definitely have not been having complaints".

Later in the meeting, Cllr Finn raised the matter again, stating that he wanted it clarified that the motion had not been passed and he wanted to be sure that was on the record, while Cllr Ryan suggested a workshop be held on the matter to discuss “what is and is not working”.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.