“Do you get the minutes of Traffic Management Committee meetings?” Cllr Pa O’Driscoll asked Cllr Frank O’Flynn at the recent meeting of the Fermoy electoral area committee of the county council. Cllr O’Flynn affirmed that yes, he did indeed get a copy of the minutes of such meetings. “Then read them!” Cllr O’Driscoll retorted.

Cllr O’Flynn had tabled a motion for the meeting calling on Cork County Council to give an up-to-date review and report on the provison of disabled parking bays in Fermoy. But as the subsequent discussion showed, the matter had already been well aired.

The reply he received was that there are a sufficient number of disabled parking spaces in the town, with over half of them located within the town centre core. An overall audit of disability needs in the town is to be arranged by the town council in due course. It will study existing footpath layouts that hinder easy access to the existing spaces and will make recommendations to relocate or propose additional locations.

Cllr Noel McCarthy explained that they invited a representative from the disabled community to their recent traffic management meeting. “We took their views on board and provided an alternative outside of Dick Barry’s premises on Patrick Street. The taxi rank was wanted. We were trying to facilitate all groups,” he outlined.

It was pointed out that plans for the taxi rank were advertised in The Avondhu with submissions invited, and that there was a public consultation period but no one came out against the plan at the time.

Cllr O’Flynn asked why the disabled parking space and the taxi rank couldn’t both have been put on Patrick Street. Council engineer Brendan O’Gorman explained that the Fermoy Business Action Group felt that the buildouts that were constructed on Patrick Street took away parking spaces. When the idea of two taxi spaces was mooted they felt they needed to move the disabled space from outside the bank and made a space outside the credit union instead. However, when their representative attended the traffic management committee meeting, they wanted another space and that was established, outside Dick Barry’s office.

The engineer also said that the extra spaces freed up on the street by the free parking in off-street car parks was a help to the disabled in finding suitable parking. Cllr McCarthy commended the chairman of the traffic management committee, Michael Hanley for the work he’d done on the issue and pointed out that they are now inviting a member of the disabled community to join the committee.