Parking outside shops ‘has become a joke’
By Maurice Garvey
LOCAL politician blasts parking as “a joke” as car owners have driven off before enforcement action can be taken by Dublin City Council outside shops in Ballyfermot.
Dublin City Council say the majority of motorists who fail to pay for parking outside shops in their administrative area, are overwhelmingly staff members working at adjacent retail stores.
Meanwhile, income from pay and display ticket machines in Ballyfermot dropped dramatically in the five years leading up to 2016 – from €42k collected in 2012 to just €12k in 2016.
The local authority say this has coincided with increased levels of payments made through parking tags in Ballyfermot – however purchased tags can only be tracked back to zones rather than specific areas where they are used.
Independent Councillor Vincent Jackson says parking outside shops in the area is “becoming a joke.”
Cllr Jackson has long called for the council to enforce bye laws to alleviate parking problems on Ballyfermot Roads.
His recent pleas at an area meeting for a traffic warden to be deployed to the area was dismissed by DCC, who say a system is already in place which has led to nine enforcements carried out in May and June.
Traffic wardens recently operated under the auspices of gardai but did not enforce pay and display parking offences during that time.
DCC say they do not engage the services of traffic wardens and “enforcement is by way of mobile patrol provided by Dublin Street Parking Services (DSPS) under contract with the council.”
This ensures “geographically wide enforcement in the most cost effective manner.”
In the year to June, DSPS have received 42 specific requests for enforcement on Ballyfermot Road.
Income for pay and display ticket machines in 2012 was €42,878, which dropped incrementally each year and in 2016, income from ticket machines was €12,072.
