'Bring in feeder buses if we are to have no beach parking'

A TRIAL feeder bus system taking passengers from Laytown public car park on the coast road into Bettystown is needed to combat a lack of parking in the area ahead of the busy summer season, that's according to a local councillor.

Independent Cllr Carol Lennon urged Meath County Council to consider trialing the idea at a recent Laytown/Bettystown Municipal District area.

In their response Meath County Council said it is not within their remit to provide transport links. Thy said that the NTA who oversees the delivery of public transport services across the country under its TFI brand can be contacted to assess the viability of a new route.

“Bettystown/Laytown has been severely impacted since the parking on the beach was banned and we know that's a contentious issue, however, businesses have lost up to 70 per cent of their football as a consequence,” pointed out Lennon.

“On the day of the opening of the civic building a feeder bus was put on from the car park at Tara Road even though we as community have been told since the Covid in 2020 that this was only a short walk,” she added.

“So apparently it is a short walk for regular people, but not so short of a walk for dignitaries who got an invitation to the opening of the civic centre.”

Lennon referenced a similar local authority initiative that was launched in Dún Laoghaire that was “hugely successful before adding that the walk from the beach car park in Laytown was not practical for everyone.

“I sent a young person out for a walk to tell me how many minutes it took to get from that beach car park walking at a normal pace, up to where the part of the beach where the lifeguard is in action and it took 17 minutes,” she said.

“That was one adult by themselves. If the adult is holding a child's hand, pushing a wheelchair, pushing a pram, carrying beach materials, it is going to be significantly more,” added the independent councillor.

“It's all right to say you're a two minute walk from Bettystown beach but that's not the reality. You might be a short walk from the parts of the beach that's not life guarded in summer. It's the part of the beach that doesn't have soft sand and it's a part of the beach that people don't want to be with the result that we don't have visitors the way we used to have and we need to get them back.”

“I'm not satisfied that it's up to the NTA, because Dún Laoghaire Rathdown didn't need the NTA. I'd like to see Meath County Council fund it for 12 weeks, and if it doesn't work well we tried and failed.

Sinn Fein Cllr Maria White echoed Lennon's thoughts.

“The issue of parking hasn't been resolved. In actual fact, it just continues to get worse. Connectivity on the coast is an issue anyway so I would suggest, again, we, as an MD put a request in writing to the NTA and TFI in relation to a local link service for our community.

“We're not even connected with footpaths on the coast and we can't even safely walk to these places.

“You actually can't easily reach one place via a public transport. People are having to get a bus to Drogheda changing in Drogheda to get to another part of our community, it's absolutely shocking.”

Fine Gael Cllr Paddy Meade said:

“I suppose the council isn't in the habit of being a bus company or doesn't have buses. However, I think we all have to accept at this stage that business has severely been affected. People in my area are now going to Port and Termonfeckin beaches now that’s our rate payers and businesses that are losing out, tourism is losing out. That is the reality.

“So I think the council should seriously consider this because if they don't, then there's going to be a push to reopen the beach.”

In another parking related motion, Cllr Carol Lennon called for Meath County Council to consider Compulsory Purchase Orders for land for parking purposes in the vicinity of the Laytown train station and Bettystown village.

“The Fairer Fares is due to come in the coming weeks that while that's going to be fantastic for commuters, it's going to be an absolute disaster for people in the vicinity because already they're blocked in by people parking illegally.

“We keep allowing planning for housing, Our housing estates are getting bigger and bigger. Our population has grown and grown, and our car parks are getting reduced.”

Cllr Paddy Meade said:

“You see it every day outside the shops, people illegally parking, and that's what they have to do if they have to get to the post office and you feel sorry for them but at the same time you could have an ambulance or something that gets stuck and things like that. So definitely parking is a serious issue in the area.”

A Meath County Executive said that the onus was on Irish Rail to provide additional parking solutions for the area. Lennon responded saying she believed it was up to the local authority to get relevant organisations around the table to thrash it out.