One of Cork City Council’s public car parks 'should be turned into homes'

Call comes amid price hikes at the car parks which have average occupancy rates of 59% (Paul St) and 55% (North Main St)

Council CEO Valerie O’Sullivan said if one of the two car parks was to be redeveloped as housing, her preference would be the one on North Main St, helping to regenerate the local area. Picture: Larry Cummins

With parking charges in Cork City Council’s two publicly owned multi-storey car parks jumping 20% this week, it has been proposed that one be redeveloped for homes.

Parking rates at the council’s North Main St and Paul St car parks increased by an average of 20%, with the council pointing out it had not raised prices in four years.

One-hour parking in both car parks now costs €3, while two-hour parking in North Main St is now €5.50, and in Paul St it is €6.50.

According to senior council management, average occupancy rates in the 330-space North Main St car park are at 55%, while the 750-space Paul St car park has an average 59% occupancy.

Responding to that low average occupancy rate, Green Party councillor Honore Kamegni has suggested that the council consider redeveloping one of the two car parks for homes.

He suggested that amalgamating parking facilities would achieve a higher combined occupancy rate, while freeing up a valuable city centre site for residential development.

Council management noted that while the car parks are around half empty for much of the year, they are busier during the Christmas period.

Park and ride 'underused'

Mr Kamegni responded that Cork should make better use of its existing park and ride facilities, which he said are underused and could help meet additional demand at peak times.

“It does not make sense to leave city centre car parks half empty for most of the year when these sites have such potential for quality residential accommodation, with services and amenities on the doorstep,” he said.

Residents 'contribute to the city every day'

He said that bringing more people to live in the city centre would also benefit local businesses through increased footfall throughout the year.

“A full-time resident contributes to the city every day.

“They shop locally, use local services, and bring life and footfall to the city centre. 

We need to look at how we make the best use of the land and infrastructure that the council already owns.”

Acknowledging the proposal, chief executive Valerie O’Sullivan said that if one of the car parks was to be redeveloped, her preference would be the North Main St car park, helping to regenerate the local area.

Mr Kamegni said this should now be seriously considered as part of Cork’s future development.

“This is an opportunity to put the Living City agenda into practice and bring more homes and more people into the heart of Cork.”