A Dublin architect has begun a campaign against 24-hour, seven-day clamping outside his home on Upper Leeson Street near the city centre.
Mr Martin Reynolds has erected signs in his garden, which are lit after dark, warning motorists clampers are "very active" in the area. He has taken to handing out leaflets to motorists warning them they face being clamped at all times.
Official signs alerting people to the fact the area is a 24-hour seven-day clamping zone are around 2.5 metres high, and face out on to the road. This requires people parking their cars to step out on to the road to read them.
Given the heavy traffic flow on Upper Leeson Street towards the city centre, this is impossible, Mr Reynolds said.
"The council sees clamping purely as a money-making exercise, they have no interest at all in actually doing anything meaningful about the parking problem in Dublin.
"I am OK because I have a permit but there are hundreds of people living around here. Many people's social lives have been very badly hit because their friends and family refuse to call on them for fear of having their cars clamped."
Up to 15 cars a day were being clamped on Upper Lesson Street before Mr Reynolds began his campaign five weeks ago but that has been reduced he says. He believes many tourists and people from outside Dublin are being "caught out" because they do no expect to find 24-hour, seven-day clamping in operation in a location outside the city centre.
He added that the City Council had failed to provide adequate parking for motorists and, as public transport was so poor, there was no real alternative to the private car.He called on the City Council and the clamping company, Control Plus, to hold a public meeting to defend clamping policy.
