RESIDENTS and
councillors in Dun Laoghaire have clashed in a row over pay-and-display charges
in the town.
Earlier this
year the local authority introduced a new residential parking permit system.
The scheme entitles locals using their parking permits to park within their
allotted geographical zone in Dun Laoghaire.
In many cases
the boundaries of the zones mean that residents can only park on two to three
streets near their homes.
If residents
park anywhere outside of their allocated zone the new permit system means that
they have to pay the going pay and display rate of
?¬2 per hour.
However,
councillors recently voted at a committee meeting of the Dun Laogh-aire area of
the county council to reinstate a single pay parking zone for the town and its
residents.
If the motion
by Cllr Melisa Halpin (PBP) is passed at a full monthly council meeting of all
28 councillors, the local authority will have to revert to the old parking
permit scheme.
Ann Joyce of
the Dun Laoghaire Community Association claimed that the zone system meant that
local people who drove into the centre of the town to shop were being forced to
pay up to e800 extra per year.
“The council
has handed the parking over to some private company,
? she said.
“This means
that if I cannot park outside my door or cannot get a space on the next street
I will be out of my zone.
“The council
will say that if I have not paid and displayed they can give me a
?¬40 ticket.
For the pleasure of living in Dun Laoghaire I would pay maybe
?¬800 extra a year
that someone in Blackrock doesn’t have to pay.
?
Ms Joyce, who
runs Costello Flowers on North-umberland Avenue, also claimed the parking zone
regime was severely affecting businesses in the town.
“If all my
neighbours who used to shop in the centre of town are now going to Cornelscourt
and Ballybrack to shop you don’t have to be a genius to work out that
businesses are being affected,
? she added.
“I was talking
to another shopkeeper today and he said he hasn’t made one penny profit in the
last two years. He said the woman in the shop next door is pulling her hair out
because she is making no money.
?
Cllr Halpin
said there had been widespread anger among residents and local traders since
the council’s new parking scheme was introduced earlier this year.
“Residents and
local traders are absolutely furious about the new parking scheme for Dun
Laoghaire, which forces them to pay punitive parking charges to shop or do
business in the town when they already pay for an annual parking permit,
? she
said.
“It is nothing more than a scheme to rattle more money out of local
residents and generate revenue for the council. It is also doing further damage
to trade in the town by discouraging residents from doing their shopping in the
local shops.
?
But Monkstown
based councillor Patricia Stewart (FG) said she would vehemently oppose any
attempt to scrap the existing zone parking permit scheme.
She said many
local residents and businesses in Dun Laoghaire were strongly in favour of
maintaining the current system as it allowed for a greater turnover of parking
spaces.
“The smaller
zones were introduced because the old way just wasn’t working,
? she said.
“People with residents’ permits could park for an unlimited time anywhere in
the pay-and-display areas. This deprived the shops and business areas of
quicker turnover of cars which is so necessary for survival.
“If the full
council ratifies this decision we are back to square one. It is unfair because
it gives preferential treatment to people who are already within walking
distance of the shops and reduces general availability of free spaces.
?
A spokesperson
for the council said the final decision on the matter would be referred to a
future monthly meeting.