More age-friendly parking spaces on way across district

Additional age-friendly parking spaces have been installed in Kinnegad and further spaces were planned for Mullingar and other locations, members of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District heard at their October meeting. Cllr Julie McCourt asked how many age-friendly spaces were available in Mullingar, questioning whether the space outside the post office was the only one in the town.

She suggested that more should be considered near busy shopping areas, including Tesco and Penneys, as well as at the council offices. Cllr McCourt also called for better signage and more visible markings, saying the existing spaces were not sufficiently prominent and were still being used by people outside the intended age group.

Mayor Cllr Niall Gaffney supported the call for additional age-friendly parking and suggested that villages should have at least one or two such spaces, alongside suitable provision for disabled drivers.

The council engineer said they had submitted requests for additional disability and age-friendly spaces in Mullingar and other locations, adding that some had also been installed in Castlepollard. He said further spaces would be provided in Mullingar as the crews returned to work in the town.