Almost 100 parking fines issued in and around new-look MacCurtain St
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Almost 100 parking fines have been issued in and around Cork’s new-look MacCurtain St since its revised road layout opened two weeks ago.
The figures were confirmed in the wake of dozens of complaints about illegal parking on the street since its €14m revamp was officially opened on November 25.
The parking problems have prompted several calls from councillors for increased enforcement from City Hall wardens and gardaí, with Labour's John Maher appealing for the reintroduction of towing.
Green Party councillor Oliver Moran asked city officials for a detailed breakdown of how many parking tickets have been issued for illegal parking on MacCurtain Street since the revised street layout was formally opened.
The data shows that 99 parking tickets have been issued to motorists on MacCurtain St, Coburg St, Pine St, Devonshire St, St Patrick's Quay, and Leitrim St between November 25 and December 10.
Most have been issued for parking on a footpath, with 38 fines issued for that offence. The others include:
- 21 tickets for unlawful parking of a vehicle in a loading bay;
- 18 for failure to display valid disc;
- 8 for parking a vehicle at a time prohibited;
- 6 for parking a vehicle on a roadway to which a no parking sign applies;
- 4 for failing to display a current vehicle licence disc;
- 3 for parking a vehicle wholly or partly within a bus stopping place.
- Just one fine has been issued for parking a vehicle illegally on double yellow lines, and one for parking ‘with flow bus lane’.
Mr Moran asked if anything was preventing the council from fully enforcing the parking laws in this area, and was told by the council’s director of operations, David Joyce, that the areas in question could now be the subject of parking enforcement in accordance with the parking lines and signs which are in place.
“All signage and lining works associated with the MacCurtain Street public transport improvement scheme are complete, save for the introduction of a night-time taxi rank outside the laundrette and Café Spresso, which will be installed over the coming weeks," he said.
“Parking enforcement since the re-opening of the street has involved liaising with drivers to advise what is permissible on the street together with enforcement.”
In response to a question from the Green Party's Dan Boyle, councillors were also told that MacCurtain St will be patrolled by traffic wardens in the evenings and on Sundays under a new pilot project to extend their hours of enforcement activity, which will start in the new year.
In general, parking enforcement operations take place from 8.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday, with occasional extra hours to cover specific events.
As reported by the last week, councillors approved an additional €30,000 budget for 2024 to deliver an out-of-hours extended traffic warden service on a pilot basis, which will see them working until 8.30pm and on Sundays.
Mr Joyce said work designing the pilot scheme is underway, that it will begin in the first quarter of next year, and run for 10 weeks.
“At the end of this pilot, an evaluation will be undertaken. This will inform our 2025 budget application process,” he said.
He said the extended enforcement activity will occur city-wide but will focus on areas where there are increased illegal parking problems, especially after 6.30pm and on Sundays.