Published: Wednesday, 12th May, 2010 5:00pm

Parking charges in Cavan town

At a time when the news seems relentlessly bad in Cavan, there are proposals to increase parking charges in the county town. Cavan Town Council is considering new bye-laws that would double parking charges in some areas and extend the metered parking zones.

The measure aims to prevent parking in locations where there is no charge, which stops residents from parking at their homes.

At the May meeting of Cavan Town Council, members expressed concern that the measures would push motorists further out of the town when they were trying to attract people into it, and it is hard to disagree with that view.

Given the state of the national economy, and the way things are going for Quinn Insurance, the local authority - and every other authority for that matter - should be doing everything possible to encourage business.

A vibrant centre is vital for the economic, social and cultural life of any town. Encouraging shoppers to spend their euro at out-of-town centres does not make sense. Of course, those centres have their place in the economy of Cavan town, but they already enjoy significant advantages in terms of the large, free car parks.

The town council is considering an increase in parking charges from 40c/hour to 80 cent for off-street parking and from 60/c to €1 per hour for on street parking. A new charge of 20 cent for 20 minutes in all areas is being proposed, but there appears to be a difficulty with enforcing that, according to town council officials. That requires further explanation.

Do officials fear that motorists would try to save 40 cent for each hour's parking by only getting 20 cent tickets and replacing them each 20 minutes? That doesn't sound realistic. There has to be a way of making a 20-20 parking ticket work. It makes so much sense and would encourage those who are just nipping in for something at one of the shops that so badly need business to get a ticket rather than resent having to pay for an hour when they only need ten minutes and being inclined to chance it.

The town council also wants to encourage motorists to use the multi-story park in the centre of the town, where it costs only €2 per day to park. That car park is a story in itself, as it costs the council €400,000 a year in repayments, and the maximum occupancy at any time is just 30% (as reported in this newspaper in January).

Maybe increased charges for parking on the streets will drive motorists to the multi-story. Maybe that's what the council wants?

In any case parking generates an estimated €750,000 for the town council annually, so it's a vitally important issue.