Pay parking to be introduced by Eurospar - after FREE hour

Derek Walsh: Main Street businesses impacted by long-term parking.

All-day parking by motorists at the Eurospar car park has forced the business owner to implement pay parking for anyone who stays more than an hour, writes Brian Byrne. Derek Walsh says it's not something he wanted to do.

"Unfortunately, it's the only way to provide a rotation of parking so that there are spaces for customers," he told the Diary this week. "There's a lot of long-stay parking happening." He says the free hour will give people a chance to do their shopping at no parking cost.

There are 50 marked spaces in the Eurospar car park on the Back Lane, plus room for another 20 cars in an extension on land Derek rents from the Kilcullen Mart. "But there have been many times that I might have five customers in the shop, and the car park is full. I have customers telling me they weren't able to shop because they couldn't find a space."

From early December, parking will be regulated by a specialist company. The first hour will be free; after that, there will be a €1.50 per hour charge, payable to the company via a QR code posted on prominently placed signs around the space. Regular monitoring by the company's mobile patrols will immediately notify them whether a car has overstayed its time.

"It's not a case of me trying to squeeze a few more euros out of customers," Derek Walsh insists. "I don't want to do this at all, but I'm given no choice. The way the space is being used now by a group of motorists is impacting not just my business but also others on our side of Main Street, whose customers need parking close by. It's particularly a problem for elderly customers who are not so mobile."

The Eurospar car park issue reflects the overall parking situation in Kilcullen, where the town's expansion has led to street parking becoming a growing concern. In May, a traffic and pedestrian survey of Kilcullen was undertaken on behalf of Kildare County Council to assess traffic flow, density, parking turnover, and pedestrian movements. In June, Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer sought the commencement of a process to introduce Parking Bye-Laws on Main Street, in the context of a review and updating of such Bye-Laws across the MD. "Kilcullen currently has none, so it is timely that they be introduced here," she said at the time. "We need to regularise parking and ensure efficient turnover of cars along Main Street."

Kilcullen Mart also recently installed 'Parking for Customers Only' signs at the entrance to its property, which is used extensively for parking during the week. "We were having an issue on Wednesday mart days, where we need to have space for customers' cars and trucks," mart manager Jimmy Walsh says. "There have been times when the space is taken up by buses and other trucks unloading. It's really a matter of safety for all, because traffic levels have increased significantly, and it can be quite challenging to get vehicles in and out of the car park during busy times."

He says the company has no issue with people using the space for parking on non-mart days, but it is in contact with Kildare County Council to try and determine the best way to address the matter.

There is a long-standing but unfulfilled promise from Kildare County Council for a public off-street car park in downtown Kilcullen, but councillors were told in March of this year that the delivery of a car park remains a 'priority' for the council.

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