Parking pressure in Kilbeggan and Tyrrellspass

“In Kilbeggan, the church car park is always full. It’s the main parking in the town, but it’s private property. If it were closed to the public tomorrow, people would be stuck. We need to look at that, and if we can do better, we should,” Cllr Liam McDaniel says.

He tabled a motion to reconsider the provision of off-street parking in Kilbeggan, Moate, and Tyrrellspass, at the September meeting of the Municipal District of Athlone Moate. His motion received broad support from colleagues, including the cathaoirleach, Cllr Vinny McCormack, as well as Cllr Johnnie Penrose and Cllr Tom Farrell.

“The more cars taken off the street, the better,” said Cllr Penrose.

Cllr Farrell added: “If people come into towns like Kilbeggan or Moate and can’t find parking, they’ll just move on to the next town. What parking is available? Could we introduce incentives for private property owners to make their spaces available to the public?”

Cllr McCormack noted that towns such as Kilbeggan function as commuter hubs, and a solution is needed for what he called “sleeper cars”.

“Is there land outside Kilbeggan, Moate, or Tyrrellspass where we could create car parks for commuters taking the bus to work? That would free up a huge amount of space in the town centres. We need to look into that,” he said.

Council official Anneke Naughton referred to the Control of Parking Bye-Laws 2024 for Kilbeggan and Tyrrellspass, which allow residents to apply for permits “to park their vehicle without limitations as to time in a parking place in the restricted parking area to which the permit relates”.

“Residents can now apply for those permits. This is a recent bye-law, so let’s see what the demand is first, and we’ll go from there,” she added.

In a written response, the council executive stated: “In Kilbeggan, the town is well served with on-street and off-street parking. Private parking spaces appear well utilised, and public opportunities are available, for example underutilised free on-street parking on Relic Road, near the town core and adjacent to the linear park.

“In Tyrrellspass, again the town is well served, primarily by private parking provision, while short-stay on-street parking opportunities are also readily available,” the response noted.