A park and ride facility which opened in Dublin earlier this week has closed following discussions between the city council and the car-park operators. Tim 0'Brien reports.
The 800-space facility, located on a Dublin Port-owned site just east of the Point Depot, had promised motorists secure parking and a free bus ride into Dublin city centre for €5 per day.
Dublin City Council's on-street parking charge is up to €2.50 an hour, while multi-storey parking in the city centre is about €2.90 per hour.
The new park and ride facility opened for business on Monday last but took in just one car, a factor the operators International Car Parks Ltd (ICPL), put down to a lack of advertising. The following day, with parking sponsored by the Dublin radio station Newstalk 106, 13 cars availed of the facility.
However, it attracted the attention of Dublin City Council which questioned the legality of a park and ride facility for which a planning application had not been received.
The council told The Irish Times that the new car-park was too close to the city centre and would encourage motorists to bring their cars into the city - at least as far as the Point - which is contrary to city policy.
On Monday, Ms Rhona McLoughlin for ICPL said the company, which has three other car-parks in the Dublin area, had opened the park and ride facility in response to the need to keep cars out of the city centre and to offer secure parking near the city. She envisaged the facility being in place for an initial period of three years.
Yesterday Ms McLoughlin said that following discussions with the council and the site owners Dublin Port, it was decided to voluntarily close it down.
A spokeswoman for Dublin Port Company said it was their understanding that the facility would operate for only the duration of Operation Freeflow, which ended on January 5th.
It currently costs €80 to remove a clamp from an illegally parked vehicle while the charge to reclaim a vehicle from the pound, within the first 24 hours, is €160.
Private car-park spaces in the city can add about €36,000 to the value of an apartment.