Changes to Cork City's parking regime on the cards
Priority A To Public Towards And Parking Transport Zones Or Reinforce Policy Move Constrain The Pedestrian Active Seeks To In Travel Promote
A new car parking regime is on the cards in Cork city under a revised set of proposed changes to a policy that was introduced just six months ago as part of the new city development plan.
It follows consideration by Cork City Council of feedback during public consultation on the proposed changes, published last October.
The city is divided into four parking zone types — zone 1, the city centre, through to zone 4, the city hinterland, with the city development plan setting limits on the amount of parking permitted in each zone, depending on the land use and the type of development proposed.
The policy seeks to constrain parking in zone 1 below certain maximum levels to reinforce pedestrian priority and to promote a move towards public transport or active travel, with slightly more parking allowed in the other zones.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) were among the 43 submissions received.
TII said it had concerns that the changes would, in certain suburban zones, encourage private car dependency and create an adverse impact on the national road network, while the OPR called on the council to work with TII and the National Transport Authority (NTA) on a system to determine the most appropriate level of parking based on “an accessibility rating” for each of the zones.
City council chief executive, Ann Doherty, said the council has now engaged with TII and NTA and has drafted amendments to “align the short-term demand management of car parking” more closely with the rollout of the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS), which includes BusConnects and the delivery of a light rail system.
If the new revisions are approved, the most public-transport-accessible suburban areas, including Blackpool, Wilton, Ballincollig town centre, and Douglas, will move from zone 3 to zone 2, and the urban towns, including Blarney, Tower, Glanmire, the wider Ballincollig area, as well as lands between Ballincollig and the western city suburbs, and the Cork Airport area, will move from zone 4 to zone 3.
BusConnects Cork is proposed to serve the areas in zone 3, and it is expected that parking standards in these areas will be reduced in time to reflect the level of public transport services.
And in locations of existing or planned high-frequency public transport, the council said it will require a reduction in parking provision below the maximum standards set out in the city development plan.
The public now has four weeks to make its views known on the revised changes.