Council: No summer parking concessions

Town councils are earning the bulk of their parking charges from summer visitors, it has emerged as Tralee Town Council ruled out calls for concessions.

Previous free parking initiatives on Saturdays and weekday mornings have been “at a significant cost” to the council. Last year free parking in one area of Tralee cost the council €950 a week, and this was only allowing free parking until 11am, town clerk Michael Scannell outlined.

He insisted that shoppers and visitors to Tralee who were only stopping for an hour or so were not put off by the parking charges which had not risen in five years.

However, allowing them free parking would cost the council significantly in “stretched” economic times.

“Parking is the one source of income that is raised locally from the wider population including visitors and is not a burden on the ratepayers of the town,” he told Cllr Norma Foley, who said shop owners wanted concessions.

Mr Scannell said the council had consulted towns like Ennis and Killarney, as well as Wexford and Letterkenny “and none had concessions in the summer period”.

“The cost to the council of major parking concessions in the summer period would be significant as it is the period where our greatest car parking income from both visitors and locals is generated,” Mr Scannell said.

However, free parking at Christmas should be considered he said.

Cllr Foley urged a joint approach with local traders on the issue.