OVER 30 valuable car parking spaces were occupied by boats and trailers in Baltimore village on one day during the recent bank holiday weekend, according to a Council official.
The annual issue of seeking additional parking for the popular seaside village was raised by Cllr Brendan McCarthy at a meeting of the Municipal of West Cork last week.
The Fine Gael councillor asked for a report to be provided on what plans can be put in place to provide additional parking over the busy tourist season.
‘The lack of sufficient parking in Baltimore is the issue in the village right now. Businesses in the village are losing out as people visiting there simply leave again, due to insufficient parking, while islanders regularly miss their ferries as there is no place for them to park up,’ he said.
‘It is a tourist hotspot in so many ways including as a gateway to the islands of Sherkin, Cape Clear and Heir, and there has been a massive increase in the amount of visitors to the village in recent years but there has been no increase in terms of the provision of parking.’
He highlighted the fact that Fáilte Ireland recently sold the old railway station site to a private individual but had offered it to Cork County Council initially, and that part of this site would have provided parking for 100 cars.
‘Fáilte Ireland also owns another field which was used over the recent bank holiday weekend to provide parking for those attending the ‘Open Ear’ festival which took place on Sherkin Island. A local person counted 117 cars in that field at one point.’
He pointed out this field could be used throughout the summer season, and added that ferry operators often have to inform people when they are booking tickets, to expect difficulties in finding parking and to factor this into their plans.
Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) seconded his motion and asked if the Council could approach the new owners of the railway building to rent the car park for the summer season, as it is adjacent to the existing car park.
Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) said he was in Baltimore last week and he had to drive around for about 20 minutes before he found a car park space.
‘If you are tight on time then it’s a big problem,’ he said.
Noreen O’Mahony, senior executive officer, said the Council is currently reviewing the existing parking arrangements in Baltimore to address the increased demand during the summer, and noted that a key issue is the amount of boats and trailers taking up valuable car park spaces.
‘We completed a survey last Friday (May 30th) and found that there were 30 spaces occupied by boats and trailers, particularly on the new spaces provided along the lower road in recent years,’ she said.
She said measures to manage and mitigate this issue are under consideration in conjunction with the local community.
‘We are also engaging with the greenways team regarding their plans for the West Cork Greenway from Skibbereen to Baltimore as they develop route corridors, to see if there is potential to develop long term additional parking in conjunction with their plans.’
Cllr McCarthy was informed by Municipal District Manager Nicola Radley that the issue of the field would have to be investigated further, and that the Council didn’t sign off on it being used during the bank holiday weekend.
