Time to make way – stop illegal parking on footpaths

I’m trying to make progress on the issue of illegal parking on paths which obstructs pedestrians, especially those relying on mobility aids, and those with buggies.

I put down a question for the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Meeting of December 2018 as follows:
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Can the Council clarify the role of our traffic wardens in dealing with/discouraging illegal parking on paths which cause obstruction to wheelchair users, in terms of the amount of personnel designated to this task, the policies and practices followed, including tickets and fines, reporting mechanisms, and the support sought from An
Garda Siochana through TAG
– noting the Council’s expressions of support for accessibility and inclusion
-noting the Council’s support for Make Way Day?

Reply 

DLRPS Traffic Wardens working on behalf of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council operate within the Paid Parking Control areas and are charged with enforcing the regulations governing the Paid Parking Control Scheme. It should be noted that enforcement action by Traffic Wardens involves a Fixed Charge Notice being issued.

Fixed Charge Notices are issued for various offences including:
* Vehicle committing an offence contrary to Paid Parking regulations
* Parking a non-goods vehicle in a goods vehicle loading bay
* Parking a vehicle on a footway
* Parking a vehicle on a double yellow line
* Parking or stopping a vehicle in a disabled persons parking bay
* Parking a vehicle on a roadway with less than 3 lanes where there is a continuous
white line
* Overstaying a three hour parking limit
Relevant parking related issues are discussed with the Gardaí at the monthly TAG meetings. Instances of illegal parking outside the Paid Parking control areas are a matter for An Garda Síochána.
As the member has made reference to, the Council’s Traffic Wardens took part in a very successful ‘Make Way Day’ campaign this year, which resulted in a number of Fixed Penalty Notices being issued for vehicles parking on footpaths.
In addition, the current initiative in Dun Laoghaire Town Centre, whereby signage has been erected at four Disabled Parking Bays requesting members of the public to ‘Report Misuse’ – by texting a mobile number on signage, has proven very successful in reducing the amount of illegal parking in Disabled Parking Bays. We are currently looking at extending this initiative to other parts of the county.