Meeting told that Athlone's Connaught Street car park needs overhaul
A car park on the west side of Athlone, which was described as being “in a deplorable state”, could be one of the pilot sites selected for an upgrade under an Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure plan.
The condition of the Connaught St car park was raised by Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, who tabled a motion at this month's Athlone Moate Municipal District meeting seeking funding for the installation of fast e-charging points at the parking facility.
He said this would provide “a great opportunity” for the council to completely upgrade the area.
“I would like to see the council coming up with their own drawings for this area, as the car park, which is not huge, needs to be remodelled,” he said, adding that the whole area around Main Street and the Castle on the west side of the town “has been left off the council's radar for far too long.”
Cllr Frankie Keena said the Connaught Street car park was “in a deplorable state” and has a 30 to 40 degree incline, which makes it very difficult for people to access it.
He said he had tabled a motion seeking an upgrade to the area in January, and nothing had happened, but be said work needed to progress there “as soon as possible.”
District Manager, Willie Ryan, said Westmeath County Council was part of “a regional group” led by Offaly County Council, which may be looking for pilot sites for the installation of EV charging points and associated upgrades, and he added that “Connaught Street could be one of those sites.”
He said the council would hope to progress the design and costings for same “before the end of the year”.
Cathaldus Hartin, Director of Services, told members that it would be “preferable to have a strategy in place” for the Connaught Street car park “before we seek e-charging facilities”.
Cllr 'Boxer' Moran took issue with the council officials in relation to the motion which was submitted by Cllr Frankie Keena in January.
“We put down questions and motions in here, and the only reply we get from the council is 'we will come back to you' and it never happens. That, in my view, is not good enough,” he said.
The written response to Cllr Moran's motion stated that Zero Emissions Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) have a strategy to deliver Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure on a regional basis, and that preparatory work on the strategy "has commenced".
The response went on to say that the strategy "should be published in early 2025" and that Connaught Street car park, and other suitable locations "may be suitable" for the scheme.
Factors such as access to 3-phase electricity would be needed, and site appraisals would need to be undertaken.
"We understand that the introduction of EV charging may be at the expense of 2-3 conventional spaces. This may be a further limiting consideration in the case of very heavily-used car parking facilities," council management added.