Councillor slams illegal footpath parking as like 'blowing smoke into a baby's face'
The scourge of illegal footpath parking has been described as akin to “blowing smoke into a baby’s face” by one Dublin city councillor.
At Monday’s North Central Area Committee meeting, Social Democrats Councillor Paddy Monahan voiced his stern opposition to those who disregard public safety and selfishly block vulnerable people’s paths through illegal parking . He said this act “should be a mortifying stigma” and that “it says something about mentalities in this country” that people are so flippant in their disregard of the law.
Cllr Monahan explained that his mother was a wheelchair user and it always “boiled his blood” when he witnessed people blocking footpaths. The result of this poor behaviour then leads wheelchair users, parents with buggies, and other vulnerable pedestrians to have to use the main road and risk a traffic accident.
As a teenager, Cllr Monahan said he used to put stickers on people’s cars to let them know they had dangerously blocked wheelchair users and called for an awareness campaign to educate people on the impact of irresponsible parking. While he commended the annual ‘ Make Way Day ,’ which highlights the need to ensure streets are accessible for those with disabilities, he said “every day should be Make Way Day, people should be mortified to have these stickers calling out their selfishness.”
The motion calling for something to be done about illegal parking was tabled by Labour Cllr Alison Field who described the “nightmare around our city” where “drivers think they can park anywhere.” She stated that schools in areas like Killester, Harmonstown, Edenmore, Kilmore, St Annes, and Raheny are overrun with illegal parking.
“This is very much impacting residents' lives. Drivers are blocking emergency exits and homes, causing dangers to our constitutions in the case of emergency vehicles not being able to access streets if emergency help is needed,” Cllr Field’s motion stated.
“I think that we need to look at this ongoing issue more seriously and not just put a plaster on this problem. I would like for us to maybe look at printing painted signs on paths for example, stressing that ‘Your parking is an obstruction to a disabled person,’ or illustrating the penalty fines.”
She questioned whether there’s a need to rethink how illegal parking is enforced through alternative measures, such as driving bans. The council agreed to write to Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien and highlight that this problem “seems to be getting worse.”
Green Party Cllr Donna Cooney called for more traffic wardens to deter those who think they can get away with illegal parking. She described the issue as “the bane of my political career” and said that people used to understand that if they parked on double yellow lines they would be fined, but these days there is not enough enforcement.
She suggested that traffic wardens double up as litter wardens and that legislation should be changed in terms of the penalties incurred by those illegally parking. From penalties points on a drivers licence to increased insurance costs, Cllr Cooney said there are plenty of ways to deter dangerous parking that obstructs vision and forces people out onto the road.
Social Democrats Cllr Karl Stanley said it’s to understand why people are parking illegally because “parking is a pain and there’s never enough,” but that this fails to recognise the huge impact it has on people “even if it’s only for a minute.” He outlined a story from when his son was very young and his wife rang him because she was trapped inside due to illegal parking.
“There was a car parked at the front door, she had a buggy at the time and couldn’t get out of the house,” Cllr Stanley said. He suggested “appealing to people’s civic responsibility" and said that more parking enforcement should be prioritised as their contract heads toward renewal.
Fine Gael Cllr Declan Flanagan said the North Central Area committee should lead the way in addressing illegal parking around the city and act as an example to other areas of what can be achieved. He suggested a “traffic warden pilot project” and said “it all comes down to enforcement.”
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