Sallins pay parking

[NB1]

Does anybody know if (when) this is kicking in ? I occassionally use sallins & last Friday I noticed what looked like fittings for a pay & display meter !!

[Mark Gleeson]

When you get back to your car and find it clamped, well they started that morning

Irish Rail won't tell you and of course charging for parking at stations is counter to all sense in the provision of integrated public transport

[2Funki4Wheelz]

I spotted a complaint about this in the letters section of the metro today.
Lots of people writing letters everywhere about IE lately.

found it

[NB1]

How do IE expect their "customers" to make alternative arrangements should the prospect of paying to park their car on top of the already hefty cost of using the train ???

[Derek Wheeler]

Originally Posted by NB1

How do IE expect their "customers" to make alternative arrangements should the prospect of paying to park their car on top of the already hefty cost of using the train ???

They don't care. Furthermore NASRUG appear to be in favour of it and the reason why is a conflict of interest. But thats their bag.

P11 policy on this issue has been developing over the last few months and we have flagged this in local media. As Mark has correctly pointed out, we believe the introduction of pay parking is counterproductive to promoting the use of rail transport for daily commutes. The issue of subsidised "local" transport to integrate with rail stations now needs to be examined in an urgent manner. Park and Ride is failing, due to poorly planned housing, a car dependent culture and the impossible provision of land to accomodate parking facilities. The real solution lies in expanding the public transport option. That should begin at local level.

[2Funki4Wheelz]

I remember when pay parking was being touted to Portarlington - it was in response to crime/vandalism levels and overcrowding - the IE stance was basically if you wanted a bigger & safer (cctv) car park you were going to have to pay for it.

People also asked about the possibility of adding the car park fare to your rail season ticket to make it cheaper, but with that level of complication the IE guy's eyes glazed over.

[dowlingm]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

charging for parking at stations is counter to all sense in the provision of integrated public transport

Well... I'm not sure I'd go that far. Unfortunately the standard cost/benefit equation doesn't allow IE to consider spending money on feeder buses and bike lockers rather than purchase less/no land for car parking - and where would IE staff park their cars if there were not a car park?

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

and where would IE staff park their cars if there were not a car park?

By the fire exit, where the security staff normally park.

[Garrett Cummins]

Please see press release issued by NRG yesterday - appreciate as much support on this one!!

Press Release

Decision Time Due for Rail Car Park

Last week councillors in Kildare County Council voted in favour of rezoning the land for the proposed new rail car park at Newbridge Railway Station. The decision to grant planning permission for the car park is now imminent.

Newbridge Rail Group (NRG) invited Irish Rail management and the candidates for the recent general election to a public meeting to discuss, amongst other thing, the proposals for the car park. Irish Rail intend to impose a new charge of €2 a day or €5 a week to use the new car park – they also intend to charge a similar fee for use of the existing car park.

NRG was mandated by the users of Newbridge Railway station to object the planning application on the following grounds:

1. The proposed development envisages pay parking at a suggested price of €2 per day. For a commuter who has an annual ticket currently costing circa €1,600 p.a., and uses the service 250 days a year, this represents a price increase of 31%. This increase will act as a deterrent to continued use of public transport and indeed lead to consumers reverting to using their cars thus leading to increased traffic congestion on major city roads and increase emissions which is contrary to recent EU statements calling for a reduction of car emissions
2. Public policy is to encourage the use of public transport. The introduction of pay parking for an existing rail service is contrary to public policy on transport

"This record level of investment in public transport will provide choice and an alternative to the private car, particularly in the major urban areas, thereby encouraging a modal shift from the private car to less polluting and less energy intensive forms of transport such as public transport"

- Extract from Dept. of Transport Statement of Strategy re Transport 21 and Sustainability.


3. Irish Rail do not and confirmed they will not provide a free public transport alternative to get to the train station in Newbridge like they do for Sallins, and Hazelhatch, therefore if Irish Rail want pay parking they must provide a free alternative to the car
4. Pay parking will encourage rail users to park their cars in near by housing estates to avoid the parking fee; encroaching and disturbing owners enjoyment of their property
5. Irish Rail plan to charge for parking in the existing car park, which is currently for free. This is a change of use - should a separate planning application be requested for this??
6. Effectively the parking facilities at Newbridge railway station will become a public car park with no priority for rail users. This is contrary to the spirit and intention of Council’s decision to transfer lands to Irish Rail for the purpose of providing adequate car park facilities for rail users – not as a for profit enterprise
7. The ‘pay and display’ parking machines in the car park are not appropriate for commuters. This car park will not have a constant flow of traffic rather a rush in advance of the next incoming train and then a complete fall off.
8. One pedestrian bridge is insufficient to enable rail users to access the platform from the new car park if parked nearer the town end of the proposed development
9. No provision of lifts to enable mobility impaired users access the platform from the new car park
10. Road access from the new car park causing a road hazard for traffic leaving the existing station car park

At the public meeting in March Minister for State, Sean Power T.D. stated it was “…Unacceptable and unnecessary to bring in the cost of car parking ….with modern technology the cost should be part of the rail ticket” Sean O’Fearghail T.D., Fianna Fail, was totally opposed to pay parking and was going to talk to then Minister for Transport Martin Cullen TD about it. He also promised to raise a motion against pay parking within the Fianna Fail parliamentary party.

NRG and the users of Newbridge Railway Station await this decision and warn that other towns on the Kildare line should also be wary; if the introduction of pay parking in Newbridge stations is successful it is then only a matter of time before it is introduced in other towns.

[Thomas J Stamp]

You see, if Irish Rail really wanted to discourage the usage of their car parks by non-passengers they could simply issue a pass to those with seasonal tickets.

All they have to do is issue a laminated pass for the car park with your yearly ticket. You leave it in the car window and park away for free. On showing your seasonal ticket at the station (preferably on your return) the ticket office issues a ticket (or you are provided with a code) so that you can leave.

Of course you may be simply using the train on an occasional basis. Well, what you do there is equally simple. You take your ticket from the machine at the entrance barrier. You present it to the ticket office when purchasing your ticket and it is validated there with no money changing hands. The TVM's can likewise be programmed into the system.

When you come back off you go.

So there you are.

[dowlingm]

The NRG press release is a bit much - they want free parking and they also want more footbridges and disabled access etc. If IE can't recoup this from parking charges there's only one other place it can come from and that's ticket prices. Why should the guy who walks or cycles to the railhead subsidise folk that can't be bothered, or an urban council that has no inclination to make local transit happen?

They are right on one thing - public transport is to be encouraged from door to door. Congestion is as much an issue near railheads as it is in the city centre (e.g. Clonsilla). If IE are expanding their services then a public transit service once their passenger numbers pass a threshold should be a prerequisite as a condition for their station planning applications and the responsibility should be shared between the local council(s) and IE.

[Mark Gleeson]

No to be fair, everything is local is this business and you need to know the location to understand the issues

Accessible footbridges are a legal requirement when a existing one is replaced and the one in Newbridge is fairly tricky for a able bodied person

Access from the northside of the station i.e. the new car park is by a narrow bridge with little or no space for pedestrians

The real issue is IE want to charge for the old car park when the new one opens, that doesn't seem fair and there is a 8 digit sum available for park and ride development sitting in the DoT less than half of the 35+ million available has never been allocated.

IE are claiming priority is given to pay parking since it makes a return. Strange then that the extended car park in Thurles and the new one being built in Templemore are/will be free


We recognised that the car parking thing wasn't sustainable (see election demands), particularly in Newbridge given its a good 10 minutes walk to the town centre, a bus service would do wonders

[robert muldoon]

Would you believe I have been trying all afternoon to find out when the new access and parking facility is going to open and without success,- Irish rail, leinster leader etc. i was down there 6 weeks ago and saw reasonable progress, however i went down to Sallins yesterday at 4pm, the underground car park was closed up and not a sinner around and no one I asked knew anything, I just cant believe how long this work is taking to complete, i want to use the sallins to Heuston service but parking at the moment is just too much hassle - Can anyone enlighten me please??

[robert muldoon]

I have spent a lot of this afternoon without success trying to find out when the new parking arrangement will be open. I wont use the station at the oment as there is too much hassle trying to find parking space. I cant believe its taking so long,i was down there 6 weeks ago and i thought it would open in a couple of weeks,when i went down there yesterday at 4pm, there was NO work going on and there was no one there who knew any thing

Does anyone know whats going on??