Free parking in Athlone this Saturday

In a bid to encourage shoppers to come in to Athlone to do their Christmas shopping Athlone Town Council will be introducing free parking in all public car parks this Saturday and on Saturday, December 22. The initiative has been run over the past number of years by the council and there are hopes that next year the free parking could be offered for each Saturday in December, but this will of course be dependent on the 2013 budget, which is due to be decided in the coming weeks. The move has been welcomed by the Chamber of Commerce and Chamber CEO Siobhan Bigley said the Chamber had asked the council for this a number of years ago and every year the council has provided free parking on the last two Saturdays before Christmas, which has helped businesses. She said it is very useful for people and in Ennis the free parking is for the full month of December. Ms Bigley said such a move in Athlone would be welcomed, but added that parking fees provide an income for the council and if it introduces free parking for every Saturday in December it would mean losing money from the budget for something else. However, she added that the Chamber had recently made a submission to the council that wouldn't impact negatively on the budget. The Chamber has proposed the introduction of one hour's free parking at lunch times from Monday to Friday in a bid to get people on the outskirts of the town to come into the centre of town for lunch, providing a boost for restaurants, cafes and pubs serving food. She said people may also pop into the shop during the hours and it would help businesses in the town. Ms Bigley said the proposal has been with the council for a number of months and she hopes they will get a response once the council has made its budget decisions for 2013.