South Donegal councillors are moving ahead with plans to abolish parking charges in Ballyshannon.
Independent Councillor John Campbell proposed at this week’s meeting of councillors from the Donegal Municipal District that the parking charges be abolished in the town from January 1st next.
Fine Gael Councillor Barry O Neill said these charges go back to the late 1990s or early noughties, and he felt they should never have been introduced.
A report to councillors stated there was plenty of both free and paid-for car-parking spaces in the town, giving drivers the choice of occupying a free space or paying fifty cent per hour for a more convenient space.
Councillors were also told that a previous decision to fund improvements to the town car park with a loan was made on the basis that car parking charges would be extended to a new car park.
It was also expected that surplus money would be generated by the charges and spent on improvements in the town.
But Cllr Campbell pointed out that councillors have been trying to abolish the charges for some time:
Meanwhile, these motorists in Ballyshannon were in no doubt in their opinions on abolishing parking charges when they spoke to Ocean FM News:
