The number of public car parking spaces in Ennis has reduced by almost 10% in the last 15 years.
Clare County Council figures have revealed that over 150 spaces have been lost in the county town since 2008.
A car parking report carried out in 2008 found that in the year in question, there were 980 on-street spaces and 759 off-street spaces in Ennis, making up a total of 1,739.
Fast-forward to 2023, this has dropped to 905 and 675 on-street and off-street spaces respectively, meaning the overall number of spaces is now down to 1,580.
This means that since 2008, Ennis has lost 159 car parking spaces which represents a reduction of just over 9%.
Ennis Municipal District has attributed this to a variety of works aimed at improving the safety of pedestrians and school children, ensuring greater access for disabled persons and other measures which were taken to “boost economic activity in the town centre”.
It’s been confirmed that an additional 85 public parking spaces will come on stream at the Waterpark campus in Drumbiggle in early 2024 while planning permission has been granted for a further 129 permanent spaces at the Cloister Carpark.
Including spaces provided by private enterprises such as Tesco, Aldi and Dunnes Stores, the total number of car parking spaces available for use by the public in Ennis currently stands at 2,923.
