Time to rethink Athy's parking policies

I AM reading comments, or more specifically complaints, on Facebook in relation to the ongoing issues concerning parking in the centre of Athy.

There seems to be general unhappiness with the present parking system, particularly in so far as visitors to the Shackleton Experience are concerned who are limited to two hours paid parking.

It is generally accepted that a tour of the Shackleton Experience can take up to a minimum of two and a half hours.

Since we hope that visitors who travel to Athy will have time to shop or have a meal after visiting the Shackleton Experience, the council should review its parking policies and see how it could best meet the needs of visitors and shoppers alike.

My personal views in relation to the council’s parking policies are well known.

I am not in favour of parking bye laws which discourage shoppers and I feel the council should adopt a variation of the parking systems found elsewhere where two hours free parking is permitted before a charge is incurred.

If such a system was adopted for Athy, a four-hour parking permit might be most suitable given the popularity of the Shackleton Experience.

Would the five local county councillors take it upon themselves to review the need for the present punitive parking policy in Athy?

Punitive in a sense that it is causing widespread difficulties for the independent shop owners in our town.

Incidentally, I continue to be puzzled how the elected councillors have somehow managed to overcome the former minister for local government’s decision to abolish urban district councils.

Remember when we had a nine-member urban district council elected every five years and a town council chairman elected by the council members who as a body exercised control over the affairs of the town.

With the abolition of the urban district councils throughout Ireland, county council members, totalling 40 in Co Kildare, took over responsibility for the town of Athy.

However, it would appear that the county councillors, whether the full council or the five councillors elected for this area, decided to establish a municipal council with an elected mayor. The so-called municipal council meets as did the former urban district council on a monthly basis which is in addition to the monthly meeting of the county council.

It doesn’t make sense to me for the Minister to have abolished the urban district council and to have a so-called municipal council operating without some apparent statutory authority.

Forgive me councillors for quibbling in relation to this matter but given the issues and identified problems facing the town, I am less than impressed with the almost weekly photographic recording of some of our councillor’s participation in local events.

I would prefer real action to resolve the issues that the people of Athy face day in, day out. Positive action is required to help independent shops to prosper in Athy and one of the initial actions suggested is the improvement of the car parking situation in the town.

I am looking not only to the councillors but also to local businesspeople to come together to share ideas and actions to save Athy from slipping further.

We lost our Chamber of Commerce some years ago absorbed into a County Chamber which as far as I can see serves no purpose whatsoever.

Athy needs a locally based and locally staffed business organisation whose prime purpose is the betterment of the town.

One other matter which has drawn a lot of comments in recent months is the one-way system put in place on the eastern side of the former Town Hall, now the Shackleton Experience. Traffic from the Carlow direction must turn left into the back square and exit onto Leinster Street at White’s Castle while traffic from the Monasterevin direction can drive directly though Emily Square towards Carlow.

There may be a sensible road engineering reason why the traffic is directed that way, but I am afraid I cannot see what it might be.

Let the traffic from the Carlow Road pass the Shackleton Experience on the left to reach the traffic lights at Leinster Street.

This would require the traffic coming from the Monasterevin direction if intending to go up the Carlow Road to turn left at the traffic lights and then proceed to get back onto the Carlow Road direction by turning right at Meeting Lane.

Another option to get to the Carlow Road would be to turn left at the traffic lights and continue on around the People’s Park, or alternatively by turning right at the traffic lights and then left down Barrow Quay.

At present, cars coming from the Carlow direction must halt at the T junction at White’s Castle and with difficulty take a right or left hand turn as traffic flows up and down Leinster Street at this point.

Reversing the traffic flow as one approaches the one-way street at the side of the Shackleton Experience would make more sense to a lay man like myself.

Apologies for so much complaining in this Eye on the Past but I would rather complain here than join in the many anonymous complainers who litter social media with their many unacceptable views on the latest gossip in the town. 

No. 1759