Cratloe Playground: Too popular, so let's get rid of it??

IceHawk

So, I'm aware that Cratloe woods is technically on the Clare side of the border, but I figure a large number of visitors are from the city, so...

Limerick Post reports that the successful new kids' playground in Cratloe is so popular that it's overflowing the car park, here.
The solution? Close it on Sundays and public holidays of course, with some residents suggesting it be moved elsewhere.

This seems absolutely ridiculous to me. I have no kids myself, but I've been up to Cratloe on a few occasions recently and the playground seems like a fantastic amenity. People are going up there, getting much needed fresh air and exercise within 10 minutes of the city, and there is a fantastic facility for kids, developed at considerable cost. And now, with the varnish barely dry, it's being closed at its most productive time!

I'm not saying the residents don't have a point, and I wouldn't be willing to put up with visitors parking across my driveway on a weekly basis, but it seems like sheer madness to react to unprecedented popularity by shutting up shop! Surely local businesses benefit from increased numbers of visitors as well.

Can people here think of an interim solution until an extended car park is provided? (Incidentally some residents apparently oppose the extension of the car park as well...)

By the way, using my CSI-like image enhancing(guessing mostly, probably not all right), I decoded the sign from the Limerick Post article:

Limerick Post Picture wrote:

PUBLIC NOTICE
The Playground is CLOSED on Sundays for the forseeable future because visitors are parking along the public road. This may be applied to other areas of the woods if high numbers of visitors are (something).
If you are using the playground, please park in the Car Park only. Those who park along the public road are not welcome in the playground.
Parking on the road and in the entrances to private houses causes inconvenience to local residents and restricts access to traffic, presenting Health and Safety risks to everyone

You know they're serious when they use red text, and capitalise Health and Safety...

langdang

Was up there recently (not in the playground, just for a walk!), what a resource, fair play in this day and age of mad H&S and insurance hassles. This hassle is probly due to some NIMBY complainer. Although there is always one clown who can't tell where the line is when it comes to dodgy parking....

Clareman

Moving this to Clare as Cratloe is in Clare and any decision made in the management of it would be to do with Clare.

ShaneMc2012

I live in near the bottom of Gallows Hill in Cratloe (the hill the main entrance is on) and I have to say the volume of traffic going up and down that hill on Saturdays and Sundays is atrocious! Honestly, normally I'm against people who complain at every little thing, but for once they have a point! With regard to it being moved elsewhere, it was originally supposed to be in the field beside the school (grotto entrance) but the school doesn't have enough space as it is so you can understand why it was moved.
I agree it is a great amenity, but the whole project was never thought out properly and the organizers have only themselves to blame! Having a playground in a quite enough area, with pretty bad roads leading to it, was a bad idea anyway. The playground was also getting more and more popular as the weeks went by and really, to give them credit, the only solution was to close the place on the busiest days

-Edit-
I forgot to mention its not just one or two complainers, a lot of people are annoyed at the actual leaders of the place, as some of them are not very pleasant to deal with at all... Try and use it on a Sunday and see what happens... They patrol the perimeter of that place like it was the Gaza Strip! :P

phog

I think it's a disgraceful decision to close such a fantastic facility. Banana republic comes to mind, build a playground and close it when most people are available to use it.

pappyodaniel

Can they not just use common sense and build a bigger carpark?

phill106

pappyodaniel wrote: »

Can they not just use common sense and build a bigger carpark?

Locals didnt like that, as they would still have the same or more amount of cars using the road.

MarkR

People were parking like idiots on that road. I can see, but don't agree with the reasoning in regard to the amount of cars using the road. It's a public road leading to a natural amenity which has been there far longer than most of the houses.

The car parking I think is the main issue. I remember thinking to myself that there was no way a truck for fire engine would get past some of those parked cars.

They should send up a garda from Shannon on a sunday, ticket the people parking dangerously. Nice story in the limerick post so everyone knows about it, and people will start parking better.

ShaneMc2012

MarkR wrote: »

They should send up a garda from Shannon on a sunday, ticket the people parking dangerously.

This was raised many times but the playground committee said the guards cant be coming out every weekend just to ticket a few cars and direct the traffic as it distracts them from any real emergencies.

Mal-Adjusted

i'm surprised that the clampers aren't already waiting there in the mornings

phog

I wonder how many of the locals that are complaining about the poor parking have parked in a similar manner when dropping/picking up their sweethearts at schools or when attending a match in Thomond Park or a GAA match in Cusack Park or the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.

MarkR

phog wrote: »

I wonder how many of the locals that are complaining about the poor parking have parked in a similar manner when dropping/picking up their sweethearts at schools or when attending a match in Thomond Park or a GAA match in Cusack Park or the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.

Ah, but that's different.

Akrasia

I haven't been to the park, but by the looks of things, this problem clearly indicates that there is a huge demand for this kind of facility for children in the limerick area. Rather than close it down, they should build a few more on different sides of the city so that everyone won't be going to the same park every weekend and that would solve the problem.

martyc5674

Akrasia wrote: »

, but by the looks of things, this problem clearly indicates that there is a huge demand for this kind of facility for children in the limerick area. Rather than close it down, they should build a few more on different sides of the city so that everyone won't be going to the same park every weekend and that would solve the problem.

This is exactly how I feel...if I'm right there isn't a single playground in the raheen/dooradoyle area.
This needs to be tackled.

On the issue of no parking, surely they could open up the lake carpark on Sundays, or god forbid run a minibus up and down hourly from woodcross.. I'm sure the pub would benefit too if it got in on the act selling nice/parent friendly lunches etc.

The locals need to think about this carefully...they are knee jerking and driving away potential business that has arrived on their doorsteps instead of nurturing it.

Marty.

phog

Akrasia wrote: »

I haven't been to the park, but by the looks of things, this problem clearly indicates that there is a huge demand for this kind of facility for children in the limerick area. Rather than close it down, they should build a few more on different sides of the city so that everyone won't be going to the same park every weekend and that would solve the problem.

There are 4 playgrounds that I know of around the the city, the attraction to Cratloe is that it offers something more, woods, lake, cycle tracks. Long before the playgound opened Cratloe was a busy amenity.

rainbowdash

There is a huge novelty factor here, a lot of people are probably coming from far and wide and may rarely visit again, also as the days get longer the window for visiting gets longer so congestion should ease.

Extra parking may not help because The swings and slides already had queues of kids waiting.

I am not sure what the locals are complaining about, it's less severe than living near croke park etc., also there's only about 3 houses really opposite the place, and you can be sure if they were selling their homes they would be trumpeting the proximity to the forest park and playground as a selling point.

colm_mcm

More people around might make the car park more secure, my OH's car was broken into twice there.

mikemac1

If the locals were cute then instead of complaining they'd get a van and start selling coffee/tea, hot food and icecream

A icecream van at this site would make a killing

Sure the council might even be able to take bids and use the money for the carpark

martyc5674

mikemac1 wrote: »

If the locals were cute then instead of complaining they'd get a van and start selling coffee/tea, hot food and icecream

A icecream van at this site would make a killing

Sure the council might even be able to take bids and use the money for the carpark

Ha.. They'd probably run the ice cream man on account of noise pollution!!

If I'm brutally honest I think the locals have gotten too used to having this PUBLIC amenity to themselves and are now miffed that it's no longer exclusive.

Marty.

digbychicken

I live a few miles up past that entrance to the wood, on Sundays I would be literally unable to get past the cars. Visitors would sit in their cars on the road, engine running, in the hope that somebody would be leaving soon. There would sometimes be 5 or 6 cars waiting like this. Other cars were parked dangerously and in some cases as if they had just been abandoned. That road is the only option for me to get to my house, it had gotten to the point that on a Sunday we would have to plan any trips out and be sure to home before 12 or 1, we had to stop making any sorts of plans on a Sunday for people to call up, it was just too hard to get up to the house. I pleaded with the Playground committee to do something months and months ago. The committee replied that the parking was nothing to do with them and if I had an issue I should contact Coillte directly. These are the same people who had knocked on my door a year previous asking me to support the project. Its really disheartening. And now its just an unusable resource on a Sunday - plus I am sure when the summer arrives along with some good weather it will probably start getting shut on a Saturday. All that money for what?

digbychicken

Marty I think your idea to run a minibus up and down is fantastic, and as you say the woodcross could get in on the act, it would make a killing! Its just sadly a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

rainbowdash

digbychicken wrote: »

I live a few miles up past that entrance to the wood, on Sundays I would be literally unable to get past the cars. Visitors would sit in their cars on the road, engine running, in the hope that somebody would be leaving soon. There would sometimes be 5 or 6 cars waiting like this. Other cars were parked dangerously and in some cases as if they had just been abandoned. That road is the only option for me to get to my house, it had gotten to the point that on a Sunday we would have to plan any trips out and be sure to home before 12 or 1, we had to stop making any sorts of plans on a Sunday for people to call up, it was just too hard to get up to the house. I pleaded with the Playground committee to do something months and months ago. The committee replied that the parking was nothing to do with them and if I had an issue I should contact Coillte directly. These are the same people who had knocked on my door a year previous asking me to support the project. Its really disheartening. And now its just an unusable resource on a Sunday - plus I am sure when the summer arrives along with some good weather it will probably start getting shut on a Saturday. All that money for what?

If you live a few miles past it you live nowhere near the place, why even go that way?

It certainly is not your only way to get to your house, about a half mile after the playground there is a junction, turn left brings you into Sixmilebrige, turn right brings you out near the country club, straight on brings you over the golfballs with further left and right options towards Limerick and Sixmilebridge.

digbychicken

Most certainly not half a mile, and of course I know the roads ,but being that I have no occassion to head towards Limerick, and the road down to sixmilebridge was closed for six weeks while they laid pipe and dug up the road, the route past the woods is my way up and down to my parents house, quickest way and the best of those roads that you speak of.

golden8

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phill106

golden8 wrote: »

..

An insightful post, that truly analyses mans relationship to man. My vote for post of the day!

MarkR

golden8 wrote: »

..

He just never got to finish his post. Meant to be this.

@__
..... ___//___?____\________
...../--o--Buzz Killington

---

@}
....`=={@}=====+===={@}--'

cplayg

Cratloe Playground was closed temporarily for health and safety reasons.
We ask that anyone using the Woods for any reason to never park on the road.
There are other entrances which can be used such as the Meelick Gate (4km walk or maybe bring the bikes to the playground) or the Grotto Entrance (aprox 1km but up lots of steps - not suitable with a buggy though).
The committee never wanted to close on Sundays (and we hated every minute of it) but we took the drastic measure because we felt we had no other choice. It did get the word out there and that was our long term goal and the issue has not returned although the playground has not closed in about a month.
We will not be closing again.

Cratloe Community Playground

OldGuysRule

Great to hear and thanks for update

CiaranMT

Great news.

Now for the ice-cream van!

cplayg

Yes great idea - the ice cream van but I want coffee too!!
But must figure out a way for the Playground to get some of the income from it - we are still fundraising in a big way to pay for the balance owing and of course maintenance!! But we don't have the time or energy to actually go up and sell them ourselves.:)

CiaranMT

Maybe contact a few local businesses that run that type of service to see it they'd be interested in selling snacks, ice-cream or coffee, whatever, and have them contribute towards balancing what is owed, in return for some kind of contract ensuring that they will be the sole vendors for a certain period of time after?