Kinnegad becoming ‘car park for airport’

Kinnegad is being used as a car park by Dublin airport passengers who are availing of airport bus services from the area.

They are adding to the congestion in a town whose empty parking spaces are all filled by early morning, local councillor Denis Leonard claimed last week, as he called at the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad for provision of a park and ride facility on the Kinnegad bypass for commuters.

Cllr Leonard said the town’s current car park is used to capacity, and warned that the problems will become more acute when the new library and town park open.

He was disappointed, however, with the response from the district executive, which stated that while the leased long-term car park in Kinnegad is well used, the town has sufficient alternative parking to provide for the additional increase in footfall to the proposed library and town park.

The reply said the council’s transportation section will develop a policy for park and ride facilities and identify suitable locations on a countywide basis.

That work would be supported by NTA funding.

Cllr Leonard said the person who wrote the response must have inspected the town on a Sunday afternoon, because on all other days of the week, the car park is full from around 7.30am.

There have, he said, been “countless complaints” from local business owners disgruntled over spaces being occupied by commuters, or by those travelling to the airport, and he wasn’t happy to see the question of a park and ride car park deferred and considered as part of a countywide park and ride proposal. He said that if the trend is towards encouraging motorists to use public transport, then a park and ride at Kinnegad was necessary.

“Can we revisit this? There’s already been discussions with the NTA (National Transport Authority) and they’re in favour of this. This is not some outlier.

“This is a commuter town where a lot of people take the bus to Dublin and a lot of other people come to Kinnegad to get the bus from a huge hinterland in the area.”

Public transport

“So how in the world do we think that a small car park in the middle of town is going to satisfy all that need – plus the two large community facilities that will be built by the end of 2024. It’s not going to happen.”

Cllr Emily Wallace said: “There is a real issue in relation to people parking and how we can facilitate those who are using the area,” she said, pointing out that there is an ongoing emphasis on using public transport, and arguing that the council needed to be proactive in facilitating that.

At the same time, she continued, the town does not want cars parked all day on the main street, which affects local businesses and elderly people who wish to run errands in the town.

Cllr Carol Okeke agreed: “I live in Kinnegad, and I can tell you that it’s difficult to move around,” she said.

“The car park is filled from morning till night, so if the two facilities that have been highlighted open, it’s going to be pretty difficult for people to navigate the parking.”

Responding, director of services Deirdre Reilly said that the matter could be referred back to the director of transportation, and she remarked that at present, there isn’t a countywide park and ride strategy.