Waterford Council has offered to take on the liability of St Benildus car park so it can continue to be used by parents for school pick-ups and drop-offs.
Parking restrictions were imposed on the church car park at the start of this school year, limiting the use of the carpark for those engaged with business in the church and its immediate surrounds.
Fr. Liam Power explained to this newspaper that the decision was not taken lightly but came after an insurance assessment deemed that there was a high risk of injury given the volume of traffic and the reckless way the carpark was being used during school drop offs.
The offer from the council to take liability and allow the continued use of the car park may come as a surprise to parish officials who had sought to prevent the car park being used for school runs going forward.
Speaking to this newspaper, Senior Engineer for Waterford Council, Paul Johnston explained the offer, saying: “The Parish of St. Joseph’s & St. Benildus & St. Mary’s recently made the decision to restrict access to the car park at St. Joseph’s & St. Benildus Church Grounds, Newtown, Waterford City”.
“Waterford City & County Council have discussed the matter with representatives of the Parish and have made an offer in an attempt to alleviate the concerns of the Parish and to retain a safe drop-off and collection point for school children. We await confirmation from our own insurers, and those of the Parish before the matter can proceed any further,” Mr. Johnston said.
GRAVES YARD
In search of a solution, Fr. Power convened a public meeting about the issue, which was attended by about 50 people. During the meeting the members of the public were asked to write their own solutions on paper, and it was requested that a committee of five volunteers be formed to take over the issue going forward.
This committee includes Cllr. Jim D’Arcy and Cllr. Declan Barry.
At the public meeting Fr. Power’s outlined his preferred solutions, with the turning circle in ‘Graves Yard’ (where the circus sets up by the park) at the forefront of proposals. The land is owned by the developer Noel Frisby and it is subject to an ongoing planning application.
It is understood the newly formed committee met two nights after the public meeting to discuss options. Both Councillors on the committee were encouraged by Council’s offer while acknowledging that this is a much larger issue.
Speaking to this newspaper Cllr. Jim D’Arcy made the point that closing the car park does not mean the risk itself is removed.
“There is a report there saying there was a risk by dropping the kids off, but by closing the church car park the risk to the children is still there. The risk doesn’t go away, it just means they are being dropped off somewhere else,” he explained.
“The BusConnects and the walkway will help but the long-term answers will have to come from central government, as we try tackle the car dependency, that really is a much larger issue.”
Regarding the Council’s offer, Cllr. D’Arcy said: “The risks would have to be looked at, but if it were accepted, I would be proposing that it becomes one way in and one way out, at the front of the church and that the council would do those works”.
“That would make it just a little bit safer,” Cllr. D’Arcy added.
Cllr. Declan Barry also volunteered to be on the committee tasked with progressing the issue.
Speaking to The Munster Express, he said: “Negotiations are ongoing”.
He explained that he contacted the Council’s Roads Department to get more detail on the proposal for the parish to consider.
He was also liaising with those involved in the development of Graves Yard.
“I can see the issue from all sides,” he said. “The delivery of BusConnects may be the answer, but in the meantime, we’ll have to find some kind of solution,” Cllr. Barry added.
AARON KENT Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
