Promotion being considered for multi-storey carpark

The elected members for the Municipal District area of the Belturbet-Cavan area have been asked to evaluate rolling-out a scheme of validated parking at the multi-storey parking facility in Cavan Town, dependent on customers proving a minimum level of expenditure in local businesses.
As proposed to the council back in July of this year by Sinn Féin’s Eugene Greenan, he again placed the matter on the recent monthly members meeting seeking an update on the scheme.
Five-months ago, he suggested there was an “appetite for free parking” in the county town and, with the local authority struggling to boost usage rates at the controversial seven-level off-street parking property, Cllr Greenan said this new initiative could attract through-put and potentially new customers.
He said at the time: “If a person parks for two to three hours and realises a minimum expenditure with local businesses in the town and the person staffing the multi-storey can see that money is spent, say €20, then there is a benefit in letting them park there free of charge.”
The council recently received approval to secure a €4m loan over a 30-year period to buy the carpark outright, fulfilling a contractual obligation as part of a deal for the Elliott’s Construction-built car park.
For the next three decades at least, Cavan County Council will shell out €100,000 in principle loan payments and a further €100,000 in interest payments. The remaining €2.68m sum after the loan payment will be provided for from existing Council coffers and paid parking fees, eventually totalling in excess of €12 million.
At the recent monthly meeting, Cllr Greenan said with the onset of the Christmas period and an increasing problem regarding on-street parking, he asked whether the Council were open to the proposal or not. “If only for a three-month period? It’s not like we’re likely to get rich from parking. It just about breaks even as it is,” he commented.
But Director of Services for Roads, Joe McLoughlin, reminded the meeting that back in 2008 a similar idea had been considered but not proceeded with.
While he said the idea could be given a “trial run”, it should be left up to the members of the local district as it was revenue for the area that would be affected. He said such a scheme, whatever way it was run, would have an impact on revenues for the Council and stated that a trial run of the idea would be carried out.