Clondalkin car park mayhem creates confusion over clamping
By Maurice Garvey
A car park with two separate meters operated by two separate entities, has caused mass confusion and anger for shoppers in Clondalkin village.
One half of the small carpark at Tuthills is operated on the retail side by South Dublin County Council.
However the Convent Road side of the car park, is privately operated, and managed by RFC Security Services.
While the council say they don’t operate a clamping system on their side, shoppers have not been so lucky on the private side, some discovering fines of up to €120.
“It’s mean and deceitful – when you go into a car park you don’t expect to pay money for a meter and get clamped,” said Lynn Byrne, a Clondalkin resident.
“On Friday, I met a friend who had been clamped even though he had paid for parking that would cover him for a further hour and a half. When he got through to the number, they told him that the parking meter he used was not the correct one.”
Ms Byrne subsequently discovered more residents who had been clamped in the confusion, and started an online poll which has garnered support.
She continued: “Injustices like this I couldn’t ignore. It’s a small space and it should be easy to use. If you go to Tesco or the Mill, parking is free. This needs to be clear.”
Sinn Féin councillor Mark Ward said he found the split carpark is “really confusing” upon visiting it this week.
Cllr Ward said: “I’ve been onto to the council to get clear signage, and there doesn’t appear to be a disabled space, which I’m advocating for.
“This is not an attack on the shops. The 30-minute free parking by the council was brought in to boost business in the area, but this goes against the grain, and affects small businesses by deterring customers.”
A spokesperson for SDCC said: “The spaces operated by SDCC are along the footpath in front of the shops and meters – numbers 122 and 123 – relate to these spaces.
“These meters are clearly marked SDCC and also allow 30 minutes free parking. It should also be noted that SDCC do not clamp. The parking spaces along the wall facing onto Convent Road are operated by RFC and SDCC has no involvement with these.”
It is unclear how long the split meter operation has been in place.
RFC Security Services did not respond to The Echo at the time of going to print.
