Ballina to introduce free parking for Christmas shopping

Ballina councillors have agreed to make parking free after 2pm in car parks around the town in the run-up to Christmas.

Members of the Ballina Municipal District agreed with a proposal from council officials to introduce changes to the car parking bye-laws which will allow free parking in the town's car parks from December 1 and run until December 29.

Each year, Ballina changes the parking bye-laws in the run-up to Christmas to encourage more people to shop in the north Mayo capital. At the monthly meeting of the Ballina Municipal District, councillors agreed to carry-on the practice which will be applied to council-run car parks.

Declan Turnbull, Head of the Municipal District, explained that the free car parking will not apply to on-street parking as they wanted to keep these spaces 'moving and free'. He added that normal car parking charges in car parks will apply up until 2pm when it will then be free.

The proposal was welcomed by the local councillors who stated that it is important that people are attracted to do their Christmas shopping in Ballina instead of going to other towns and cities.

Mr Turnbull also informed the meeting that the Christmas lights in Ballina will be switched on on Sunday, November 26 if the installation runs to plan.

He explained that the council have applied for funding to upgrade the Christmas lighting system in the town and if they are successful they hope to have new lights for Christmas in 2024. He added that the current infrastructure for installing the lights needs replacing and they plan to replace all the infrastructure if they are successful in their funding application.

E-Parking App

Meanwhile, motorists have been encouraged to download the Mayo E-Parking app which will allow them to use their mobile phone to pay for parking.

Orla Burke, Executive Engineer with Mayo County Council told the meeting that the number of people using the app has been steadily increasing throughout 2023 and it is a convenient way of paying for parking.

She explained that it is cost effective as it reduces the need for coin collection and the use of paper and encouraged the public to sign up for it. She explained that people having food in a restaurant can simply pay for parking on their phone and do not have to rush off and put money in the meter and place a ticket on their car.

Mayo E-Parking is also available to use for parking in Westport but has yet to be introduced for parking in Castlebar or other towns in the county.