High cost of housing contributes to car parking 'contention' in Laois estates
High costs that prevent young people from moving out of their parents home is contributing to a ‘contentious and serious’ shortage of parking spaces in housing estates, a county councillor has claimed.
Cllr John King, Fine Gael, flagged the problem after he tabled a motion at a recent meeting with Laois County Council officials.
He called on the council to increase car parking facilities in Quigley Park in Rathdowney due to the limited area available in front of private houses.
Cllr King added that a survey carried out in another estate led to the creation of up to 20 car spaces. He said the pressure for places is caused by costs.
“The younger generation are not leaving the family home due to the cost of homes. There could be two or three cars outside the houses,” he said.
He said he has met the residents of Quigley Park and they are looking for extra spaces.
Cllr Conor Bergin, Fine Gael, supported the motion. He said he had made similar requests regarding estates in Castletown and Borris-in-Ossory. He asked if funding is available for extra parking in an estate.
Cllr Bergin added that even newer estates were not built to cater for extra cars.
“Most houses have two cars and parking can be a huge bone of contention in estates,” he said.
He suggested that the issue should be examined on a wider scale in 2022.
Cllr King thanked his colleague for the support adding that it is a ‘serious problem’.
He added that an additional problem is that there are difficulties faced by emergency services in estates in gaining access.
Cllr Ollie Clooney, Independent, supported the motion which was tabled at the December meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District. He added that a shortage of car parking spaces in estates is a nationwide problem.
Director of Services, Donal Brennan, said there is no specific funding available for addressing the issue.
Replying to Cllr King’s motion, Mr Edmond Kenny, Area Engineer, said an area engineer would meet the councillor on site to ascertain the extent of any issues in this location.