Large amount of public support for free parking idea proposed for Waterford city
Cllr Adam Wyse made the parking suggestion at a recent meeting of Waterford City and County Council
There has been a large amount of public support for a free parking idea proposed for Waterford city.
Fianna Fáil councillor Adam Wyse has called for parking to be made free on Saturday mornings in a bid to increase footfall.
Cllr Wyse made the suggestion at the October plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council.
In a post on social media after the meeting, he asked his followers and the wider public what they thought of the idea.
Cllr Wyse wrote: “I’ve proposed a simple change at today’s plenary meeting. Free parking in council car parks until 12pm on Saturdays.
“You drive into Waterford on Friday night. You go out. You have a few drinks and a meal. You leave the car safely in town and get home another way.
“Why should you have to be up early Saturday morning worrying about a parking charge?
“Let people enjoy the night, come back into Waterford to collect the car and maybe grab a coffee, do the Christmas shopping or have a look around the city or Dungarvan while you’re there. One car. Two visits.”
He said that the council should be making it easier for people to come into the city centre.
“The council executive are going to look at the proposal. They’ve raised concerns about people potentially leaving cars in spaces and ‘hogging’ spots, which is fair but I think we need to look at the bigger picture.
“If we want a busy, vibrant city and Dungarvan town centre, we should be making it easier for people to come into Waterford, not giving them another reason to rush home or not come in at all.”
Cllr Wyse spoke about the merits of his idea, particularly in the context of the upcoming Christmas season.
“Especially coming into Christmas, let’s get people into our centres twice rather than once.
“That’s the idea I’ll be pushing and the council have said they will look at this as a promotion offer for the coming Christmas season.
“I hope the private carparks will also follow suit with this offer. Let me know what you think.”
The idea received a large amount of public support in the comments section.
One man commented: “People after having a few drinks after working hard all week and doing the right thing getting a taxi home should not have to worry about getting up early the following morning worrying about a parking meter. Good man Adam.”
A local woman wrote: “Excellent idea. Great thinking... I’m sure people will use this option particularly coming into the silly season.”
“Great idea - you can use public transport to come back and enjoy your time off,” another man said.
In response to Cllr Wyse’s suggestion at the meeting, Director of Services Gabriel Hynes said that the council is currently reviewing the parking situation in Waterford city.
Mr Hynes said: “Parking is complicated in relation to how you manage it. If you give free parking, it can clog up parking availability.
“What I will commit to and what we are doing at the moment is a parking review for Waterford city.
“We’re looking at all options in relation to making free parking available, the cost of parking and how many spaces we have available.”
He concluded by saying that Cllr Wyse’s suggestion would be taken on board as part of the review.