Covid-era planters to stay as Greystones councillors told council ‘won’t budge’

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

District councillors in Greystones have been told that council officials are standing their ground and won’t remove the temporary planters, on the side of Bank of Ireland, which were installed along the town’s main street during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cllr Louise Fenlon Gaskin had brought forward a motion calling for engineers to remove them from what used to be parking spaces and create designated parking spaces for elderly, age-friendly and disabled users to improve access to local shops and services.

The motion was first discussed at their monthly meeting last October, when Cllr Fenelon Gaskin stated that the planters were introduced on Church Road as a temporary measure during the pandemic, but suggested they were now negatively impacting on local businesses as it was difficult for elderly and disabled people to get to the shops.

At that meeting, district engineer Graham Cullen indicated that this area was part of the Pathfinder Scheme, which was is due to go to Part 8 planning.

He highlighted how consultants were currently reviewing the proposals before presenting them to the members in advance of the public consultation process.

Mr Cullen highlighted issues with providing disabled parking spaces at the location as the standards had changed and spaces were now doubled in size so there may not be enough space.

In response to a query from the members he confirmed that if the motion was passed, works could only be carried out if they complied with the current standards. Mr Cullen also pointed out how the provision of parking spaces come under the parking regulations which are due to be reviewed soon.

In response to a query from the elected members, district manager Helena Dennehy stated that the review of the regulations was the responsibility of Bray Municipal District. She stated that the notice of motion passed would be sent to the Roads Section for consideration.

The matter then came back before councillors at the December monthly meeting, when Mr Cullen said it was not possible to consider making the change as it would interfere with the Pathfinder Scheme. He agreed to revert to the Roads Section regarding the motion but was not confident that they would change their stance on the matter.

Both Cllr Fenelon Gaskin and Cllr Orla Finn expressed their disappointment at the decision and asked officials to reconsider their decision.

The issue was raised again during the district’s January monthly meeting when Cathaoirleach Lourda Scott allocated time to discuss the issue.

In response to a query from Cllr Fenelon Gaskin about whether the planters could be removed, Mr Cullen said the council’s decision hasn’t changed.

He indicated the original parking spaces that the planters were put in don’t meet the standards and guidelines set out by Age Action Ireland, so they can no longer be classified as age friendly spaces.

The footpath would also need to be widened, with the district not in a position currently to carry out those works.

Adding her voice to the conversation, district manager Helena Dennehy said a review of the situation will take place in tandem with a revision of parking byelaws due for discussion shortly.

Through this process, Ms Dennehy said council officials will aim to see if more spaces can be provided and whether alternative spaces for age friendly parking can be found.

Cllr Scott, Cllr Fenelon Gaskin and Cllr Stephen Stokes all spoke robustly in support of the motion, with Cllr Fenelon Gaskin expressing her frustration at the council’s stance.

“Older members of the community need to be provided support with these parking spaces.” she added.

Since the installation of the planters an unforeseen consequence has arisen.

Bank of Ireland, AIB Bank, Core Credit Union, McGleenan’s Pharmacy and PTSB Greystones are all located near each other on the main street.

However, there is no drop off point or parking available at the commercial hub of the town. For some senior citizens and those who are mobility impaired, it remains a challenge to reach these businesses by car.

Minutes from a district meeting in September 2020 show that then district engineer Ruari O’Hanlon pointed out that the removal of parking on Church Road was an objective of the Public Realm Plan for Greystones, which had lengthy public consultation.

He stated that all businesses along the street were informed by hand delivered letters about the proposed works and invited to make a submission on the proposals, but that no submissions had been received.

He gave details of the works involved and pointed out that disabled parking bays would be provided outside McCawley’s and Boots chemists. He stated that loading bays would be extended and that the traffic wardens would monitor these to ensure that there was no illegal parking there.

The then district manager Michael Nicholson also pointed out that, while the removal of parking spaces on Church Road was a temporary measure for as long as the Covid restrictions were in place, if it proved to be successful, it might be decided to keep the measures in place which would require a Part 8 process.