pay parkingin rural ireland

dynamos1

Has anybody got concrete evidence on the affects that the introduction of pay parking to rural towns in ireland has had on business in such towns.?Also does pay parking send out the wrong message to shoppers and visitors?

murphaph

dynamos1 wrote: »

Has anybody got concrete evidence on the affects that the introduction of pay parking to rural towns in ireland has had on business in such towns.?Also does pay parking send out the wrong message to shoppers and visitors?

Hopefully it sends out the message:"If you want to live in a one off house which forces you to drive into town for a pint of milk, you're going to have to pay for it". The people who do the right thing and form real communities in these towns deserve better than for them to be choked to death by people driving in from the surrounding countryside afterall.

mikom

murphaph wrote: »

The people who do the right thing and form real communities in these towns deserve better than for them to be choked to death by people driving in from the surrounding countryside afterall.

I'm sure the shopkeepers "who do the right thing and form real communities in these towns" think the same.........

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I agree with both above but the OP might be better not refering to those of us in towns all around the country as living in "rural towns". Even provincial towns would be preferable.
I know of no pay parking in any Rural areas around this county but some Urban areas have them - even in the smaller towns. The affect on business is hard to quantify.

witnessmenow

Sorry op i've my own homework to do

Baboushka

murphaph wrote: »

Hopefully it sends out the message:"If you want to live in a one off house which forces you to drive into town for a pint of milk, you're going to have to pay for it". The people who do the right thing and form real communities in these towns deserve better than for them to be choked to death by people driving in from the surrounding countryside afterall.

Another pointless, irrelevant comment which bears little or no relevance to the question asked. Try visiting the country sometime, you will be pleasantly surprised at how it differs from your silly notions. Mods: can we please have something done about these one size fits all posters, who use any excuse to rehash the same tired old arguments. This is nothing short of trolling.

Tullamore and Athlone are rural towns. People have chosen to live there as they are urban areas. Yet, due to lack of public transport (which is understandable) people have to drive into the centre of town from within the town area. It is not just rural people who park in these towns.

OP, in my opinion it has little effect on business and in fairness, we country folk should pay for parking just like city folk do.

Zoney

I would suspect it is more a case of short-term pain for long-term gain. If proper off-street parking facilities become available (money to be made) then even in small towns or even villages it improves the shopping environment and indeed even the traffic flow for car users (not blocked up by people pulling out/in to pop into multiple spots up the street - post office, chemist, supermarket when they could just park once and walk between them).

I don't think it particularly contributes to public transport use given that people don't usually have that option in rural areas. I think even if one-off housing was not so widespread you would still have to expect quite a bit of car use into rural towns.

markpb

Baboushka wrote: »

Tullamore and Athlone are rural towns. People have chosen to live there as they are urban areas. Yet, due to lack of public transport (which is understandable) people have to drive into the centre of town from within the town area. It is not just rural people who park in these towns.

That's only part of the picture. While there are many valid reasons for parking, in the small town that I grew up in, everyone drove to the shops, even if they lived less than 1km away and were only picking up milk, bread, etc. It doesn't occur to *anyone* to walk or cycle to the shops.

I think parking in towns needs to be curtailed (to allow access for IC buses, deliveries, emergency service vehicles and to keep the kerb clear so pedestrians waiting to cross are more visible to drivers) but this isn't trying to achieve it. In cities, parking is charged to encourage people to clear the space quickly and make space for new arrivals but this isn't usually a problem in small towns. I think this is mostly a case of councils trying to bring in cash to make up for the cash they would get from rates in other countries.

Tech3

It does affect businesses to an extent, the large shopping centres outside the towns along their bypasses take most of the trade now as they are easy to access and many are free to park in. You avoid the busy town centres and dont have to spend 10 mins looking for a parking space.

Carawaystick

Saoirse Plump Shelter wrote: »

I know of no pay parking in any Rural areas around this county

Rush and Lusk train station has it.
Glendalough upper lake car park has it.
The cliffs of Moher have it.
The Giant's Causeway has it.
The Silent Valley has it.


Athlone is hardly rural, it has two motorways leading to it
More than Cork, Limerick,or Derry....

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

tech2 wrote: »

It does affect businesses to an extent, the large shopping centres outside the towns along their bypasses take most of the trade now as they are easy to access and many are free to park in. You avoid the busy town centres and dont have to spend 10 mins looking for a parking space.

My experience is the opposite because the latest shopping centre in out provincial town had a planning condition that they charge the same as the on street parking.

veryangryman

Carawaystick wrote: »

Athlone is hardly rural, it has two motorways leading to it
More than Cork, Limerick,or Derry....

Its kind of rural though. By your logic, Kinnegad (barely even a town) would be a bustling Metropolis - sure theres 3 Motorways there!

markpb

Carawaystick wrote: »

Rush and Lusk train station has it.
Glendalough upper lake car park has it.
The cliffs of Moher have it.
The Giant's Causeway has it.
The Silent Valley has it.

None of those are the type of rural town locations that (I presume) the OP was talking about. The first two are commuter rail stations, not towns and the four after are tourist locations where parking had to be specifically constructed.

KevR

Pay and Display parking was introduced around Athenry town centre and at the railway station a couple of years back. Initially there were problems with people who used to park their cars at the train station and take the train into Galway City as they were leaving their cars in surrounding housing estates and the like rather than paying for parking. I don't think it's too much of a problem anymore.

There have been benefits at the railway station and around the town from the introduction of paid parking. Parking facilities at the train station were upgraded, a new lift and pedestrian bridge were installed at the station, information screens were installed on the platforms and, I think, additional ticket machines were put in. I would imagine that money collected from people parking at the station helped to fund these improvements.

The council also upgraded parking facilities near the church. I used to avoid the street in front of the church like the plague whenever mass was on because it was a nightmare to drive down. Much improved now.

I'm not sure of exact pricing but the Pay and Display parking in Athenry only costs a fraction of what it costs in Galway City. It's very reasonable in my opinion and I think it has actually helped the town, rather than have a negative impact on business.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

veryangryman wrote: »

Its kind of rural though. By your logic, Kinnegad (barely even a town) would be a bustling Metropolis - sure theres 3 Motorways there!

Define a Rural Town: a contradiction in terms if ever there was one. I think the use of the term shows the OPs total lack of understaniding on the subject and why he resorted to here for his homework.

Amtmann

Saoirse Plump Shelter wrote: »

Define a Rural Town: a contradiction in terms if ever there was one. I think the use of the term shows the OPs total lack of understaniding on the subject and why he resorted to here for his homework.

A town in the midst of a rural setting could be called a rural town if you were to be loose with definitions I suppose. I'd make a stab at defining it as "a town the hinterland of which is dominated by agriculture and agribusiness; where the population is generally under 4,000; and where the town in question is devoid of heavy industry and does not serve as a dormer for commuters: in other words, the town doesn't lie within or along a major commuter belt." Many former market towns away from primary routes might count: Birr, Hackettstown, Cahir, and Malin might be good examples.

Zoney

Carawaystick wrote: »

Athlone is hardly rural, it has two motorways leading to it
More than Cork, Limerick,or Derry....

Actually Limerick has two or three motorways - the M20 and M7, but also the M18 could be considered (for example one counts the M4 and M7 as leading to Dublin despite it being the non-motorway N4 and N7 that enter the city or even reach the M50).

I think a lot of towns in the midlands and so on would be considered rural towns, as well as places which in other countries might be called villages. A lot of the market towns as Furet says. Sure you'd not really consider it that urban when you visit these places even comparing just to one of the regional cities (which have plenty of countryside influence too, even in Cork).

L1011

Furet wrote: »

Many former market towns away from primary routes might count: Birr, Hackettstown, Cahir, and Malin might be good examples.

Malin's a *small* village; thinking of Carndonagh by any chance?

Amtmann

MYOB wrote: »

Malin's a *small* village; thinking of Carndonagh by any chance?

Probably!

BluntGuy

Baboushka wrote: »

Mods: can we please have something done about these one size fits all posters, who use any excuse to rehash the same tired old arguments. This is nothing short of trolling.

Soapboxing is not allowed and if we saw someone doing it we would've addressed it.

Accusing others of trolling is also not allowed by the way. If you have a complaint, use the report post feature.

Cheers,

Carawaystick

Zoney wrote: »

Actually Limerick has two or three motorways - the M20 and M7, but also the M18 could be considered (for example one counts the M4 and M7 as leading to Dublin despite it being the non-motorway N4 and N7 that enter the city or even reach the M50).

While I was being a bit tongue in Cheek, the M18 does not go to Limerick. It stops near Shannon.

The M7 doesn't go near Dublin, it only starts at Naas, while the M4 starts in Dublin.

Srameen only mentioned rural areas, I pointed out 5 rural areas.
there's no train in Glendalough markpb...

Kinnegad only has 2 motorways the M6 and M4, but three Motorway junctions, veryangry.