BY DAVID FORSYTHE
CORK County Council is currently looking at options to provide a car park for residents of Castle Street in Dunmanway.
The issue was raised in a motion by local FF councillor Deirdre Kelly at the recent meeting of the council’s Western Municipal District.
The motion stated: ‘The County Development Plan de-zoned land referred to as DY- R-05 located just off Castle Street in Dunmanway. Would it be possible to again discuss the possibility of repurposing this land as a car park which would facilitate taking cars off what is already a very narrow street.’ Cllr Kelly said that residents in Castle Street, a narrow but busy road just off the main square in Dunmanway were constantly suffering damage to their cars as there was n to enough room to park them on the street safely.
‘They don’t want anything state-of-the-art, they just want somewhere safe to park their cars, chipping would do. Anything would be safer than the current arrangements.’
Cllr Kelly said that in recent weeks two residents had seen the sides of their cars ‘totally gone’ while damage to wing mirrors was a regular occurrence.
She added: “There is council land there, even if we put up signs saying ‘park at your own risk’ it would be so much welcomed by the people that live there.”
Cllr Noel O’Donovan (FG) supported the motion. ‘This is a no-brainer. The solution is there, it has been talked about for years, we just need to do it.’
In response to the motion Cork County Council said: ‘We are in discussions with the Housing Directorate assessing the possibility of a carpark at this location.
‘Due to the narrow width of the street there are design constraints which need to be addressed at the proposed entrance to the site off Castle Street.’
