‘Overspill’ car park plan at Magee site welcomed

Mr Durkan had urged Ulster University to address chronic parking shortages in the area and in 2019 appealed for the campus to use their recently acquired land at Duncreggan Road to facilitate free temporary parking arrangement.

The Foyle MLA said the problem has been “a bugbear for a number of years not only for residents but for motorists and pedestrians alike”.

“Despite University of Ulster’s initial dismissal of my proposal to use acquired land at the old Foyle College site as an interim car park to alleviate problem parking in the Duncreggan and Lower Rosemount area, I am pleased to see that my comments were at least taken on board.”

He added: “The suggested planning application, if successful will see an ‘overspill’ carpark for students and staff at Magee Campus. I await further detail on whether this parking arrangement will be free for users as per my previous proposal.

“Historically, residents around the Magee area have vented their frustrations and suffered difficulty as the result of prolonged and inconsiderate parking of, although not exclusively, University goers. These issues have no doubt been in exacerbated by a lack of affordable campus parking facilities.

“The issue is not isolated to weekdays but also weekends, where families flock to watch sports at the pitches- leaving the Duncreggan Road barely passable for both pedestrians and motorists.

“It has proved to be a persistent issue which I have consistently raised throughout the years with UU and the Provost of Magee. Evidently, this requires a longer-term solution perhaps looking towards a public transport strategy to reduce the number of cars coming into the area but for now any proposal that will alleviate parking problems on the Duncreggan Road should be welcomed.”