FREE PARKING INITIATIVE TRIAL IN MALLOW TOWN CENTRE

THE first element of an ambitious plan to address the issue of parking and accessibility in Mallow town centre will come into effect this week.

Cork County Council, with the support of its six elected member from the Kanturk/ Mallow Municipal District, will from this coming Friday introduce an initiative relaxing the pay parking regime in the town over the weekend.

The measure will see free parking put in place in the town every Friday from 1pm and all day Saturday in a bid to encourage more people into the town centre. In essence, this will allow for free parking in the town from lunchtime on Friday straight through to Monday morning.

The measure, one of a number of initiatives proposed in the council’s Mallow Town Centre Improvement Strategy, will be introduced on a trial basis until the end of August.

While it will include both on and off street parking, the normal parking regulations/ bye-laws will remain in place in relation to double yellow lines and disabled bays. While there will be free parking in the one and two hour controlled areas, the time limit will remain in place in order to ensure a regular turnover of spaces.

A spokesperson for Cork County Council said the authority, in conjunction with the Avondhu Blackwater Partnership, would be closely monitoring footfall in the town centre during the trial to see what, if any, impact the measure will have on the number of people visiting the town.

It is hoped that, should the move prove to be successful, the authority may look at introducing the measure on a full-time basis once the trial period is over.

It is understood that Mallow Chamber is also currently considering additional retail offers that might be put in place to complement the new weekend parking regime.

“We will be evaluating the results of the trial in September and that inform any future decisions,” said the spokesperson.

“The whole idea of this initiative is to raise the profile of Mallow town. As the local authority we are pointing the way forward and we need all stakeholders in the town to come in behind us.”

The spokesperson said the authority was looking at additional measures under the umbrella of the Town Centre Improvement Strategy to address the issues of parking and accessibility.

These include the setting aside of ‘age friendly’ parking spaces in the town centre and a review of traffic volumes and flow at the Clock House/Bridge junction, plus examining the impact that the proposed new boardwalk might have.