Nothing quite beats the festive atmosphere of shopping and socialising in Cork City, and now there’s another great excuse to head into the centre! The people of Cork are being given the gift of free parking!
Cork City Council and the Cork Business Association have launched a free parking initiative that will run after 5pm in Paul Street and North Main Street car parks every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from November 22 until January 12. This means for almost two months there will be 1,000 free car parking spaces available for shoppers in Cork City, three nights per week!
Not only that, but there will also be increased park and ride services, along with additional late-night buses, making the city more accessible than ever in the busy Christmas period.
Lawrence Owens, CEO of Cork Business Association, said: “Cork businesses are already extending their opening hours for the festive season and this initiative should give everyone another boost. Cork is a fantastic, compact city with the highest number of independent retailers in Ireland and we want to encourage as many people from the greater Cork area as possible to come the city centre in the run up to Christmas to soak up it’s incredible atmosphere, so this is our gift to you!”
The new free parking offer, which was unveiled by Cork City Council last Monday night, will allow more visitors and families to enjoy Christmas shopping in the city and attend attractions like the annual GLOW festival, which opens on Grand Parade and Bishop Lucey Park on Friday November 30. The initiative will also mean shoppers and visitors alike can grab a bite to eat or drink in many of the city’s restaurants, cafés and bars, or attend a Christmas panto or show without the consideration of parking costs.
The parking offer will be available at North Main Street Car Park from 5pm to 9:30pm and at Paul Street Car Park and from 5pm to midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from November 22. The offer will continue until Saturday January 12, meaning that it can also be enjoyed by New Year sales shoppers too. The promotion is only valid if you enter after 5pm.
For even easier access into the city centre, Bus Éireann plans to increase park and ride services and spaces to encompass late evenings and Sundays at Blackash and the Kingsley, and expand services to and from the city centre in the run up to Christmas. This will include a doubling of frequency on the 220 route between Ballincollig and Carrigaline, and an extension of the park and ride bus hours later in the evening and to include Sundays for the festive period.
The free Christmas parking gift comes just weeks after Cork Chamber introduced a new one4all multi-store gift card aimed to maximise support for local businesses as it can be accepted only by shops and businesses in the Cork area that have signed up to the scheme, while Cork Business Association recently launched a co-ordinated social media platform to promote shopping in the city centre, highlighting the city’s fantastic range of boutiques, high street stores, quirky shops and quality array of bars and eateries that make Cork City Centre so unique.
The Cork City Shopping social media channels can be accessed on Facebook (@corkcityshopping), Instagram (@corkcityshopping) and Twitter (@corkshopping) and the CBA is encouraging consumers and retailers alike to follow the channels to keep up to date with what’s on offer in Cork City Shopping.
