Statement on Free Parking in Westport

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04b785a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Councillor Keith Martin </B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Councillor Keith Martin "><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="news21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News"><U><I><B><U>Back to news page</U></B></I></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="07189bd0.jpg" border=0 width="137" height="189" ALT="Large photo Councillor Keith Martin" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Statement on Free Parking in Westport</I></div> <bR> <div> I continue to campaign to bring in 2-3 hours of free parking because I believe it will bring people into town to shop. I don't think that parking revenue is the way to raise funds for local government. I believe our current parking fees and system is hampering business in Westport.</div> <bR> <div> We are trying to have our cake and eat it when it comes to retail. We want more people to shop here and we want them to pay for the privilege. Castlebar with its free car parking and its rebate of car parking fees to shoppers is an enlightened approach and is reaping great dividends for the town. We should have limited free parking for shoppers and this will help Westport's retail sector no end. </div> <bR> <div> My point is that we pay €80,000 for two traffic wardens and only take in €22,000 in fines while other town's and cities actually make money from parking fines. </div> <bR> <div> I believe that making illegal parking i.e. parking in Disabled Bays and on Double Yellow lines more expensive we can stomp this selfish practice and increase revenue so that we don't have to increase charges on services such as bins etc. The day when you can park illegally has come to an end and we should vigorously enforce the law in this area. </div> <bR> <div> I also think that Westport Leisure Park which costs €150,000 a year to run is a huge drain on the town's resources for little return. Westport already has four Leisure Entrees (Atlantic Coast Hotel, Westport Woods, Hotel Westport, Castle) and Knocker are beginning to build their new one. All of these offer the same services at the same price. </div> <bR> <div> Westport Leisure Park doesn't offer a discount to the unwaged either which I think is failing its community service obligation. I think we shall have to look hard at the Centrex's future as a local government service. We must have value for money. </div> <bR> <div> The town's public toilet is a disgrace and it was a mistake to bring the horrible €34,000 per annum eyesore to this town. Westport Town Council should look at incorporating a proper public toilet into Westport Leisure Centre.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>