Free parking and road closures for Maritime Festival in Derry

The five-day celebration runs through to Sunday, July 24 and will see tens of thousands gather along Derry’s quayside where the Grace O’Malley tall ship, the Clipper fleet and a range of other visiting seacraft will be moored.

Ahead of the festival Derry City & Strabane has advised that a number of road closures and other measures will be in place to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.

Mayor Sandra Duffy urged people to plan their journey to save unnecessary delays. “We are expecting a huge volume of visitors over this year’s international festival, and to account for the wide variety of outdoor events taking place a number of changes to travel and parking will be introduced. These restrictions are there for the benefit of the public to ensure the safe delivery of the events and that disruption will be kept to a minimum.

“I would also encourage people to use public transport where possible to help reduce congestion. The Maritime Festival is always a real opportunity to showcase our beautiful City, so let’s work together to ensure this is a safe, enjoyable experience for everyone.”

There will be road closures in place at Queen’s Quay from Harbour Square to Queen’s Quay Roundabout. This will include a complete road closure from 8pm on 17 July until 8am on 27 July to facilitate the event.

On-street parking restrictions will also be in place throughout the festival, and parking will be available at usual car parks throughout the city. However, the Queen’s Quay car park will be closed for the duration of the festival to allow for events along the quayside.

There is also free event parking at Fort George and people are encouraged to avail of this facility and to refrain from parking at Sainsbury’s car park. Council would encourage people to use the city centre car parks and Magee College Car Park is also available for parking.

Accessible Parking will be at the Strand Road Car Park, and a number of other facilities have been introduced at this year’s festival, including Quiet Rooms and accessible toilets located throughout the festival site, a Changing Places toilet facility in the Festival Family Hub at the Council Building and also in Ebrington Square. Find out more about these facilities at www.derrystrabane.com/inclusionCyclists are being asked to dismount within the event zones.

Facilities on site will include Information Points and toilets at convenient locations along the Quay. All facilities will be sign-posted and stewards and event staff will be able to provide direction.

Anyone travelling from outside the city is advised that Translink are currently offering a wide range of discount bus, coach and train services – see www.translink.co.uk/foylemaritime or call 90 66 66 30.

For a full list of all traffic and travel restrictions and regular updates go to www.foylemaritimefestival.com