Parking time limit to come into force on trial basis in Moate

A time limit on parking in the centre of Moate looks set to be introduced by the council in a bid to stop motorists taking up spaces on Main Street for long periods of the day.

A “two-hour restricted parking area in the centre of Moate on a trial basis” was suggested by Cllr John Dolan at the September monthly meeting of the Athlone Municipal District.

The proposal was agreed by the six other members of the local authority and the public will now be consulted on it in the coming months.

Council official Barry Kehoe said the recent meeting was “the first time the council has been unanimous on the need for parking control in Moate.”

Cllr Dolan told the meeting his “phone has been hopping” over parking issues in Moate, and that the Moate Action Group - of which he is a member - had carried out a survey on the problems.

He spoke about plans from Buckley’s Super Valu to develop a new 50-space car park at 'the McCormack site’ which is situated roughly halfway between the supermarket and St Patrick’s Church.

This new car park was “only part of the solution” and, while he didn’t think anyone was in favour of paid parking, the issue of long-stay parking needed to be addressed.

“It’s affecting the trade of the town, because if people can’t get parking they will take their business elsewhere,” remarked Cllr Dolan.

He suggested that the area where the two-hour restriction might apply should be between “the bus stop and St Patrick’s Church.”

Cllr Dolan added that some Moate businesses had staff members parking outside their premises all day, which was “absolute madness” because they were taking up valuable spaces for their customers.

Cllr Michael O’Brien said: “I’m 36 years old and as long as I’ve been involved in various associations, and going to meetings, parking has been a bone of contention in Moate.

“I can’t go in for a bottle of milk and a sliced pan without getting it in the neck in relation to parking.”

Cllr O'Brien was in favour of a two-hour restriction in a wider area of the town than that suggested by Cllr Dolan. He said there was a problem with Moate CS students “parking outside the school and taking up spaces that people coming into town for lunch, or going to the post office, could use.”

He added that residents would have to be issued with permits exempting them from the two-hour limit, as would “businesses that do have to park on the street because there’s no other parking available to them.”

Cllr Frankie Keena and Cllr Tom Farrell also spoke in favour of the proposal, while Cllr Paul Hogan suggested that the council should not “over-complicate” it.

Director of Services Barry Kehoe said the elected members’ support for the scheme was welcome. A bye law will have to be drafted and approved by the council in order for the time limit to come into effect.

Mr Kehoe said two key aspects of the bye law, which must be decided, are the time limit and the area to which it applies.

He said the council would draw up a map of a proposed area for the time limit, and would put it out to public consultation to get locals’ views on it.

“This is a start. We should wait for the submissions to come in from the public and take it from there,” concluded Cllr Dolan.