Kinnegad will become the third town in Westmeath to introduce restricted parking after the first draft of bye-laws was presented to councillors at the Mullingar Area meeting this week.
These proposed measures will not see the imposition of paid parking at this stage, but will see time limits of up to two hours put in place to coincide in the main with the yellow lines already in place.
The measures are being adopted in an effort to tackle the problem of “sleeper” parking in the town and allow a bit of breathing space to its traders.
One of the major drawbacks of Kinnegad being an important bus hub is that an increasing number of Dublin commuters in the area are driving into the town early in the morning and parking all day.
“It’s been an ongoing problem with Kinnegad for countless years,” said Cllr Denis Leonard in the chamber this week as the draft measures were introduced.
The proposals are at an early stage and will not be publicly advertised for another week or two until all final street measurements have been submitted to the engineering department.
Once this has been done and the public notified of the council’s intent, the plans in all their technicolour glory will be available for inspection at the council offices in Mullingar for a six week period.
After all submissions and informed opinions have been examined by the Executive, it is expected the final draft proposals will be presented to the full council for adoption at the June meeting.
Opinion amongst the Mullingar members seemed favourable at this week’s meeting.
Projections for paid parking receipts in Athlone and Mullingar for 2010 are estimated to be in the region of €1.2m.
