SHOULD DEASY'S CAR PARK BE LOCKED?

SHOULD DEASY'S CAR PARK BE LOCKED?

At this week's Clonakilty Town Council meeting, Sinn Féin Cllr. Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin said that the council should NOT start locking the newly-erected gates at Deasy's Car Park unless the problems we had there up to a few months ago began re-occurring.
BACKROUND: For a couple of years at least, a small group of people with no respect for the facility or nearby residents, used the car park as a gathering place for their illegal activities, which impacted on nearby residents, other users of the car park, and the general image of our town.
Gardaí were unable or unwilling to tackle the issue head on and deal with the root of the problem. Council and Councillors were inundated with complaints on a regular basis.
At last August's Council Meeting, I agreed reluctantly to the idea of erecting gates at the two entrances to the car park, and that these would be locked during certain night time hours, to physically prevent the anti-social element entering, and continuing with their disgraceful activities.
My comments at the meeting got a lot of coverage as I called it as I saw it, and left no one in any doubt as to my disgust at these individuals who were forcing the council to do this, but also how their loutish behaviour had led to misery for so many decent people. I also said at the time, that we were giving into this small minority and denying the general public the right to park their cars in a public car park, which was bought by the council for that purpose, and believed that it was an admission of failure to tackle the root cause of the problem.
In the end, the council had no choice in order to protect the people of the area, but to go for the option of erecting gates that would then be closed nightly during certain hours in order to prevent entry of the anti-social element in their cars. I also proposed that signage be erected prominently, outlining the fines for misuse of the car park or any breaking of laws or the councils own bye laws e.g. Public Drinking, Littering, etc.
So roll on. After three months, the gates were finally erected in late November/early December. However, since the August meeting, the whole issue has quietened down and the problems appear to have disappeared completely (hope I'm not tempting fate here!).
Therefore at this weeks council meeting, I suggested that given this positive development, that we do NOT lock the gates, unless the problems started up again. The gates are now hanging on the pillars and could be easily closed at any time. The signage could reflect the fact that people parking there should be aware that the car park "may" be closed during certain hours, and a telephone number to contact for clarification. Indeed temporary stand-by signs could be made, reading something like:
"PLEASE NOTE. THIS CAR PARK WILL BE LOCKED AND INACCESSIBLE FROM 8.00pm TO 8.00am TONIGHT. PLEASE DO NOT PARK DURING THESE HOURS"
and placed prominently at the entrances. These signs could be easily placed and removed on days when it is being proposed to close the gates, and removed at other times. Practical no?
However, the majority of councillors insisted on them being closed with immediate effect "on a trial basis"!! for nine months!!
I stand by my opinion that unless something is not broken, there's no need to fix it! Presently and for the last few months, the problems have disappeared. The gates are ready to be closed at any time, should the problems start re-occurring. In the meantime, the car park can remain open 24 hours/day, to be used for the purpose it is intended - Parking. That after all is why Clonakilty Town Council paid £1 million for the site over 10 years ago!