Dublin City Council plan to continue clamping 'for the foreseeable future'
Dublin City Council state they are “not ending clamping in the city”.
Executive Manager for Traffic Brendan O’Brien has apologised “for any confusion” as a recent report around the council’s new parking enforcement contract led to media coverage that clamping in the city would be largely replaced by towing and fines. He confirmed this was not the case and they plan to continue clamping “for the foreseeable future”.
The confusion came from a new plan to introduce foot patrols in the city centre. Rather than replacing clamping, Mr O’Brien said this is an additional measure that serves to complement parking enforcement measures already in place.
He revealed the foot patrols will “have the full panoply of enforcement at their beck and call” and can issue fines, call in clamping vans and tow away vehicles where appropriate. He stressed they are “not saying goodbye to clamping” and it is “very much” part of the new contract.
The current parking contract with Dublin Street Parking Services (DSPS) was due to expire last July, but has been extended until October. APCOA Parking have been officially appointed as the new contractor and are due to take up the role from November 1.
Based on a workshop with elected members from the Mobility and Public Realm SPC, a new procurement contract is being developed. This aims to divide the six into distinct zones that can better address parking enforcement needs of different areas.
Each zone will have a “permanent patrol presence” during peak hours, and different areas will focus on different measures. Zones 1 - 4 include outer city areas and will prioritise illegal parking and addressing public complaints. Zone 5 is the outer city centre and focuses on the movement of traffic and achieving vehicle removals and relocations. Zone 6 is the inner city centre and this is where foot patrols are being introduced.
Mr O’Brien likened the new foot patrols to prior traffic wardens, but said this does not “translate into a policy to reduce clamping”. He said that their research shows a “a mixture of enforcement” works best and in some areas clamping is effective, while in orders fines or removal of vehicles works better.
“Some say clamping is out of date - the simple truth is across the city clamping works well in some places. Towing away works the best, but we don’t tow away unless we really have to,” he said.
Ultimately, the new contract aims to address enforcement on a more “regional scale” and address the areas outside of the city centre that the council have been told are “under enforced”. But Mr O’Brien stressed to truly address the level of illegal parking across all of Dublin they would need to multiply their investment by several times.
“We won’t be able to enforce every single item every single day. That is not feasible. We would eat up the entire revenue from parking on just enforcement,” he Mr O’Brien said.
Making the public aware that they can call in complaints and building flexibility into their enforcement capacity is also a key component of the new contract. This allows the council “ramp up” enforcement when needed or implement measures like towing cars causing obstructions to adjacent streets for clamping, rather than using up time and resources by towing them all the way to the pound.
The new model of enforcement will be going through a gradual transitioning period over the coming months with the full benefits of the contract to be seen in 2027. Chair of the Mobility and Public Realm SPC Councillor Janet Horner requested an overview of the contract’s success be brought to their committee within one year.
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