Straight answers to practical questions about driving, travelling, parking and getting around Northern Ireland.
Cushendall has free council car parks at Mill Street and Shore Street, as well as Agnews Car Park. Mill Street is listed with 42 spaces, Shore Street with 16 and Agnews with 15.
Ballymoney Seymour Street car park is free, with 65 spaces. Cockpit Brae East and West, Dervock Road and Gate End are also on the council’s free list. Castle Street/Castlecroft is chargeable.
Limavady has several free council car parks, including Main Street, Ballyclose Street, the bypass, Protestant Street and Swanns Bridge Picnic Area. Central and Connell Street are the two listed chargeable town-centre car parks.
Coleraine Waterside is the clearest large free council car park on the published list, with 201 spaces. The council also lists Andersons Park as free with 37 spaces and Christie Park as free with 31.
Coleraine Railway Road and Railway Place are both council-operated charged car parks near the railway area. Each is listed at 50p per hour from 8.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Saturday.
Yes. Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council lists both Ballintoy Harbour car park and Portaneevy car park as free. Ballintoy Harbour has 46 listed spaces and Portaneevy has 49.
Bushmills has two council car parks listed as free: Dundarave and Millennium Car Park. Dundarave is listed with 80 spaces and Millennium with 41.
Rathlin Island ferries depart from the Ballycastle harbour terminal at Bayview Road, BT54 6BT. For parking, check the council’s Harbour and Marina car parks first, then compare nearby Ballycastle council sites before leaving the car for your sailing.
No. Ballycastle Harbour and Marina car parks have seasonal charges, not a year-round council tariff. Charges are listed from 1 April to 30 September, 8.30am to 6.30pm every day, at 50p per hour.
Portstewart Harbour Hill, The Diamond, Lever Road and Pits Area are all listed as free council car parks. Harbour Hill has 62 spaces, The Diamond has 11, Lever Road has 12 and Pits Area has 22.
Portrush Harbour Road car park is smaller, more expensive and charged later in the evening than East Strand. Harbour Road is listed at £1 per hour from 8.30am to 9.30pm daily all year; East Strand is 50p per hour from 8.30am to 6.30pm daily all year.
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council lists four free Portrush off-street sites: Lansdowne Road, Magheracross, Rinagree and Sandhill Drive near the fire station. East Strand and Dunluce Avenue are chargeable.
Portrush West Strand car park has seasonal pay-and-display charges from 1 April to 30 September, 8.30am to 6.30pm, Monday through Sunday. The published rate is 50p per hour and the car park has 186 spaces.
Portrush East Strand council car park is listed at 50p per hour, with charges from 8.30am to 6.30pm every day of the week throughout the year. The council lists 537 spaces, making it one of the larger off-street parking options in Portrush.
Only some School Keep Clear markings are legally enforceable, but drivers should avoid parking on them even outside the signed hours.
Parking restrictions can operate on Sundays and bank holidays if the signs or zone rules say they do.
No. A residents parking permit is tied to the zone for which it was issued and is not transferable to another residents parking zone.
Yes, an eligible business within a residents parking zone can apply for a business permit if it meets the scheme conditions.
Yes. Eligible residents or businesses can buy visitor permit scratchcards for use by visitors.
A standard resident permit currently costs £30 a year, with some qualifying residents eligible for a free permit.
In a residents parking zone, eligible residents or businesses can apply for permits linked to that particular zone.
No private resident has a general right to reserve an ordinary public-road parking space with cones.
Parking on a grass verge is not automatically lawful simply because there are no yellow lines.
Parking across a driveway or lowered kerb can obstruct access and can be unsafe or inconsiderate even where there is no yellow line.
Do not stop in a taxi rank merely to pick up a passenger unless the signing specifically permits it.
No, unless your vehicle is a taxi class permitted to use that rank.
Yellow kerb markings indicate loading restrictions; the nearby upright sign tells you when the restriction operates.
Loading or unloading means a genuine collection or delivery activity that requires the vehicle to be there, not ordinary parking while you carry out unrelated tasks.
No. A loading bay is for active loading or unloading during the times and conditions shown on the sign.
Normally, briefly setting down or picking up a passenger can be permitted on yellow lines where no separate no-stopping restriction applies.
