Council drops plan to ban parking in Croke Park zone

PLANS TO ban match-goers from parking in an area up to 4km from Croke Park have been abandoned by Dublin City Council after two years’ work on the initiative.

The council began drafting bylaws, which would restrict parking to residents only during matches, in 2007 following years of complaint over the chaotic parking on match days.

Initially the council’s traffic department proposed banning non-residents from parking within a 1km radius of the stadium. Councillors whose constituents lived just outside this cordon complained the problem would be displaced to their areas, and the zone was extended to 2km.

The bylaws were then put out to public consultation and attracted more than 100 objections from councillors, members of the public and TDs. Some, including former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, were concerned the restriction would prevent people from attending Mass, while traders were worried the ban would damage business.

However, the greatest number of objections were from those living beyond the 2km cordon who feared displacement of parking into their suburbs.

Ultimately the cordon was extended so that in some places its outer limit was almost 4km from the stadium. Non-residents would be allowed to continue to park in pay-and-display spaces.

New bylaws must be ratified by the councillors before they can be passed into law. The final draft of the bylaws was put to a vote this week and was rejected by an almost two-to-one majority. Councillors who had voted in favour were mostly those whose constituents lived inside the cordon.

Fianna Fáil councillor Julia Carmichael, who represents a large number of constituents living just outside the border of the cordon, said the bylaws had been “completely irresponsible” and “an unfair proposal for the rest of Dublin city”.

Her Fianna Fáil colleague Mary Fitzpatrick, who represents residents living near Croke Park, had originally proposed the bylaws.

When asked his view before the vote was taken, city manager John Tierney said he understood the residents’ plight but was not in favour of the bylaws. “My preference would be not to have to resort to bylaws such as this.”

The bylaws were the first proposed under a 2007 amendment to the Road Traffic Acts which provides that an authority may “in respect of a specified event or events” introduce bylaws to prohibit or restrict parking “in the interests of safety of road users and preventing traffic congestion”.

Residents living near Croke Park said they were deeply disappointed with the decision.

The Iona and District Residents’ Association said the council was shirking its responsibilities. “We should expect and demand more from those charged with managing the city.”