Parking charges remain unchanged in Cavan town

Following controversial discussions about the possibility of increasing parking charges in Cavan town, members of the town council have passed a decision to maintain the same rates, as they have been since 2002, and review them annually. Pay and display is, however, to be introduced in five new locations as part of the proposal: Cathedral Road, Fair Hill, Dublin Road (the new car park at St Aidan's) and River Street. Parking will remain unchanged at either 40 cent or 60 cent per hour in designated areas. Proposals to increase these charges to 60 cent and €1 respectively had been strongly opposed by Fine Gael members of the council. Furthermore, the hours for which motorists will have to pay for parking are being reduced: whereas they previously needed to pay and display between 8am and 7.30pm, the new hours will be 9am to 6pm. Also, a new car park with 15 to 20 spaces is to be constructed in St. Aidan's Terrace, in place of two derelict houses for demolition, and the charge there will be €2 per day. On behalf of the executive, town clerk, Brian Hora, put the proposal before the members, who welcomed it unanimously. Asked if there was a possibility of reducing the minimum charge given that half-hour payments can be made in towns in Donegal, town manager Ger Finn said this was not proposed and pointed out that the charge for an hour in Cavan would only pay for 20 minutes in Donegal towns. Members expressed their delight at passing the proposal, as headlines in The Anglo-Celt about a possible increase had "caused lots of concern" according to Cllr. Patricia Walsh, with Cllr. Paddy Sexton agreeing that members "couldn't go to Tesco but you'd hear about it". "It will put business people's minds at rest that we will have the same parking charges as we've had for the past nine years," commented Cllr. Des Cullen. "This is a common-sense approach," commented newly elected chairman, Paddy O'Reilly, noting that neither had the commercial rates been increased for this year. "We want a clear message to go out that we are prepared to play our part in supporting businesses." The executive also clarified for members that resident parking permits remain unchanged at €25 per year and parking bays for disabled people also operate as previously.