Donadea Forest - new gates at side have now closed off access?

D13exile

Haven't been up to Donadea Forest since the summer but was driving past this morning and noticed that there's new gates at the side where the pedestrian gate was (road from Connolly's pub down to Staplestown Cross) and this entrance is now gone? It was a handy way for us to get round paying the car parking fee to Coillte. Anyone know when this was done and why (car parking issues, safety, money grabbing etc?)

koheim

Great news, at it was clearly a safety hazard and also must have been very annoying for the houses just across the road...

Annual card is only 40euros and well worth it

mloc123

koheim wrote: »

Great news, at it was clearly a safety hazard and also must have been very annoying for the houses just across the road...

Annual card is only 40euros and well worth it

Yup, parking on grass verge on a narrow and busy road... the risks people take to save 40e a year

D13exile

€40 a year for what? No facilities, loos closed more often than they're open, no playground for kids, cars broken into regularly in the car park.

Don't mind paying if I'm getting something in return but Donadea's only appeal was a free walk.

Doodah7

D13exile wrote: »

€40 a year for what? No facilities, loos closed more often than they're open, no playground for kids, cars broken into regularly in the car park.

Don't mind paying if I'm getting something in return but Donadea's only appeal was a free walk.

And of course the gun being pointed at your head forcing you to go there must be very inconvenient, more inconvenient in fact than paying €40 per year...

D13exile

Doodah7 wrote: »

And of course the gun being pointed at your head forcing you to go there must be very inconvenient, more inconvenient in fact than paying €40 per year...

It's a natural resource and should be freely available to locals like myself but alas no.

baaba maal

One of the reasons the barriers were installed was the antisocial activity happening at night- if the place was left open it would become a magnet for illegal dumping and other activities.

As far as I am aware the side gate was being opened and closed by a volunteer- maybe they feel they have done enough?

L1011

D13exile wrote: »

It's a natural resource and should be freely available to locals like myself but alas no.

The park is freely available. Parking is not.

Orion

L1011 wrote: »

The park is freely available. Parking is not.

Which means the park is only free if you live beside it and can walk or cycle to it. Otherwise you have to pay for an unmaintained, insecure, car park that offers no extra facilities. I have an objection to Coillte charging for parking - not just in Donadea. This is a state-owned forest that was handed over to a commercial company just like other ones such as Lough Key. In the latter they closed the alternate carpark to make sure you had to pay to enter the Coillte owned one. Admittedly Lough Key is maintained a whole lot better but the principle is the same.

only new

passed by the main entrance last week all the cars parked out on the roadside.

evil_seed

went there for the 1st time over the bank holiday weekend. queue of cars to get in. And a fiver entry. A fiver!?!? 2 euro is plenty the greedy gets