Dún Laoghaire Parking Issues to be Addressed by DLR County Council
Issued : Wednesday 3 November, 2010
Areas : Dun Laoghaire, Sandycove, Monkstown
Next Monday (November 8th) Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council's Transport Special Policy Committee (S.P.C.) will present a report for adoption to the Council on parking issues and issues associated with Parking by-laws.
The parking review makes a number of recomendations that specifically effect the Dún Laoghaire area.
Below is a copy of the report that will be presented to County Councillors. If you have any comments or queries on the proposals please do not hesitate to contact me. If you would like to attend the meeting please contact me.
MEETING OF DÚN LAOGHAIRE – RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCIL
8th November 2010
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council – Review of Parking issues and
Issues associated with the Parking Control Bye Laws 2007
Report of Councillor Maria Bailey, Chairperson of Transportation SPC
The County Council requested the Transportation SPC to carry out a comprehensive review of parking issues and to review elements of the Parking Control Bye Laws adopted in 2007.
Following a presentation made to the Transportation SPC in June 2010, the SPC established a Working Group in June 2010 to carry out this review and to bring its findings back to the next meeting of the SPC in September.
The members of the Working Group are Councillor Maria Bailey, Councillor Marie Baker, Councillor Niamh Bhreathnach, Councillor Gerry Horkan, Michael Tierney and Tom Nolan.
Councillor Maria Bailey chairs the Working Group.
The Working Group met on four occasions and the Transportation SPC met on three occasions.
The Transportation SPC asked the Working Group to consider the following issues associated with the Parking Review.
• Residential Parking Zones;
• Maximum Parking Time Limits;
• Business Permits;
• Reduction in hours of parking control;
• Reduction in parking charges in Dún Laoghaire;
• Permits for Health Workers;
• Provision of Parking Permits to apartments/houses in managed developments;
• Increase in charges for visitors’ permits.
The Transportation SPC is making the recommendations outlined below to the County Council.
Residential Parking Zones
Recently introduced parking schemes in residential areas allow residential permits to issue for the road on which the resident resides and usually on one or two adjacent roads. These schemes are operating satisfactorily. Under older schemes, residents were issued with permits to cover a wide geographical area e.g. Dún Laoghaire, Blackrock. This is causing a number of problems associated with turnover of parking spaces in retail areas. There are also equality issues, which require a consistent approach by the Council in the issue of permits to residents. It was agreed by the Working Group that some of the residential parking zones are too big and it was proposed that Dún Laoghaire should be examined as a pilot area. A proposal for the
Dún Laoghaire Residential Parking Zone was presented to the Working Group in
August and was agreed by the Transportation SPC.
The proposal will apply when residents’ permits are being renewed.
Recommendation from Transportation SPC to Council
• Pilot the Dún Laoghaire Residential Parking Zone.
Maximum Parking Limits
In general, the timeframe applied for Pay and Display controlled parking is all day or three hours. In many residential areas, the three-hour time limit applies. Arising from this constraint and from surveys undertaken to examine this issue, our analysis shows that the general application of the three hour limit is unduly restrictive to other road users.
It was agreed that the introduction of pay and display, which is designed to include double yellow lines and parking bays, enforcement and charging on its own addresses extreme non-residential and inconsiderate parking without the need to impose a three hour time limit. Residents are entitled to apply for up to four permits per household and visitors’ permits. It was agreed that the public road should be available to other road users who want to pay for the use of it.
Recommendation from the Transportation SPC to Council
• All three-hour time limits in residential areas are to be reviewed and changed to all day subject to Area Committee approval.
• Any future parking schemes in residential areas are to provide all day parking;
• Review all day charges in residential areas and change from €10 all day to €5 all day depending on parking demand in the area;
• Due to financial constraints, the Transportation SPC will develop Guidelines that will outline the criteria to prioritise the introduction of parking schemes.
Business Permits
Recommendation from Transportation SPC to Council
• Not to issue business related parking permits.
Permits for Health workers
This measure has occasionally been promoted by Councillors and was discussed at the adoption of the Parking Control Bye Laws 2007. At that stage, Council decided not to issue permits to this category of worker. The Working Group examined this matter again. In view of the fact that the category of Health Worker is so broad, difficulties with enforcement, risk of abuse and for reasons of equality with other categories of worker, the Transportation SPC is not recommending this proposal to Council.
Recommendation from the Transportation SPC to Council
• Not to issue of parking permits for Health Workers.
Provision of Parking Permits to Residents of Apartments/Houses in
Managed Developments
This issue was considered by Council at the review of the Parking Control Bye Laws in 2007. At that stage, the Council recommended that permits were not to issue to this category of resident.
Ordinary residents, with or without on street parking, who live on a road with pay And display parking control are entitled to four permits per household. They may also purchase daily visitors permits.
The Transportation SPC, in reviewing this matter, was concerned that issuing these permits might reduce the supply of parking to residents who are entitled to permits under the current regime. It might also reduce the supply of parking available to shoppers and visitors.
Recommendation from the Transportation SPC to Council
• Not to issue parking permits to residents who live in apartments/houses in managed developments.
Increase in the cost of Visitors’ Permits
Residents, entitled to residential parking permits, are allowed to purchase daily visitors permits. The cost of this category of permit was set at €1.50 in 2004 and has not increased since then. The cost of this permit does not reflect the costs of administering these permits and the Transportation SPC is recommending that this charge is increased to €2. This entitles a visitor to park all day.
Recommendation from the Transportation SPC to Council
• To increase the cost of the daily visitors’ permit to €2.
Parking issues associated with Dún Laoghaire
The Working Group and Transportation SPC met independently to discuss parking issues associated with Dún Laoghaire. The issues were raised by the Dun Laoghaire
Business Association and are:
• The reduction in operational hours of Pay and Display in Dún Laoghaire;
• The reduction in parking charges in Dún Laoghaire.
Working Steps
Collecting the information required:
• Information was collected to quantify the level of paid parking between the hours of 8 am and 9 am;
• Information was collected to quantify the level of paid parking in Dún
Laoghaire between the hours of 5 pm and 7 pm;
• Information was collected on the opening and closing hours of retail businesses in Dún Laoghaire Town;
• A survey was undertaken to establish the demand for parking in the Dún
Laoghaire Area;
• The Dún Laoghaire Business Association’s parking proposal was costed and compared to the existing charging regime;
• Some interviews took place with residents in Dun Laoghaire.
Operational Hours
Change operational hours of Pay and Display parking control from 8 am to 7 pm to 9 am to 5 pm
The operational hours of Pay and Display is from 8 am to 7 pm from Monday to Friday or Saturday in Dún Laoghaire.
Research has indicated that the rationale for the introduction of these hours, when
Pay and Display was introduced, arose from the residents who found it difficult to access parking near their homes. Concerns were expressed that later parking control in the mornings would result in motorists leaving their cars over night, which would reduce parking supply in the evenings for residents. Reducing parking control from 7 pm to 5 pm would have the same impact on parking availability for residents.
Currently there are approximately 1800 on street car parking spaces in Dún
Laoghaire and 1,650 permits have issued to residents in the area. This data justifies the residents concerns about accessing parking near their homes. Furthermore, the majority of homes in Dún Laoghaire do not have access to off street parking.
Shopping Hours in Dún Laoghaire
Transportation staff undertook a survey of retail opening and closing hours in Dún Laoghaire. The findings from this survey show that: -
There are approximately 187 retail outlets in Dún Laoghaire. This does not include the shops in Dún Laoghaire or Bloomfield Shopping Centres. Of that 187 shops, 16
(8%) open before 9 am. Discussions with some of those retailers revealed that customers were stopping to buy papers or take away coffee. The early start did not impede business. However, the 15-minute grace period was acknowledged as being helpful.
The findings disclosed that the majority of shops close between 5.30 pm and 6 pm.
Loss of Revenue to the Council
Cost of new signage and recalibration of parking machines:-
The total cost of changing metres and signage in accordance with the Dún Laoghaire
Business Association proposals would cost €105,609.33.
Change operational hours from 8 am to 9 am
A survey was undertaken of all Pay and Display in on street parking areas between the hours of 8 am and 9 am. The data showed that there would be a loss in revenue to the Council of €126,000 if this change is implemented.
Change in operational hours from 7 pm to 5 pm
A further survey was carried out between the hours of 5 pm and 7 pm. The information from that survey shows that there would a loss in revenue to the Council of €158,000.
It is not clear exactly how these changes would benefit retail in the Town as the prime shopping times are between 9 am and before 5 pm and shops are not open during the proposed operational hours.
Retailers that are open (these are newsagents and cafes) are happy with the fifteen minute grace period, which allows their customers to buy newspapers or get a takeaway coffee without incurring any parking charges.
Cost in reducing Operational Hours in Dún Laoghaire:
Metres and Signage €105,609.00
Reduction in hours 8 am to 9 am €126,000.00
Reduction in hours 5 pm to 7 pm €158,000.00
Total €389,609.00
Impact on business: Minimal
Impact on residents: Negative Impact
Impact on Council finances: €389,609.00
The findings show that there is no benefit in changing the operational hours of Pay and Display. However, there will be significant loss of revenue to the Council. The loss of revenue against the background of the Council’s current net deficit would have to be achieved through further reductions in Transportation expenditure. Also, any concession in the operational hours may lead to demands for similar measures in other areas.
Recommendation from the Transportation SPC to Council
• No change to Operational Hours in Dún Laoghaire
Reduction in Parking Charges in Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire Business Association’s (DLBA) proposal
The Transportation SPC examined DLBA’s proposal submitted to the Working Group and Transportation SPC in September.
This proposal outlines the following:-
Zone A €1.50 per hour (max 2 hours)
Zone B €1.00 per hour (max 3 hours)
Zone C €1.00 per hour (€5.00 all day rate)
The present position
There is a €2.00 per hour charge for on street in central Dún Laoghaire. A €1.00 per hour charge applies generally on other streets in the Town and a small number of locations where the €1.50 charge applies.
A survey of parking supply on various streets, which offers Pay and Display was undertaken over six days between the 18th September 2010 and the 24th September
2010. Each day the streets were surveyed and the results of that survey are presented in the following table:-
On Street Parking Survey carried out between 18th September and 24th September 2010
Location - Total No. of Spaces - Spaces Available - % AvailableSpaces
Adelaide Street 61 12 20%
Charlemont Avenue 19 3 16%
Convent Road 33 2 5%
Corrig Avenue 59 9 15%
Cumberland Street 24 1 6%
Georges St Lower 14 1 7%
Georges St Upper 34 3 9%
Marine Road 16 1 6%
Mellifont Avenue 50 9 18%
Mulgrave Street 68 7 10%
Northumberland Avenue 59 8 14%
Patricks Street 59 7 12%
Sussex Street 26 4 15%
The data shows that there is a very high demand for parking in the streets surveyed.
Overall, there was only 13% availability in parking spaces during the period of the survey.
The DLBA’s proposals have been costed over a twelve-month period. Figures for July and August have been used. The full year cost to the Council will be in the vicinity of
€601,100.00 if the DLBA’s proposal is implemented.
The findings from the research demonstrate that there would be no benefit to retailers in changing the operational hours of Pay and Display parking control, as the majority of retailers are not open during those hours. There would however be significant costs to the Council/taxpayer and residents who lobbied for these hours when parking control was introduced in 2001. There are about 1800 no of on street car parking spaces in the Town. Businesses along with shoppers, visitors, workers and residents are all competing for a limited number of parking spaces.
The proposal submitted by the DLBA would cost the Council €990,709.00 [comprising costs in reducing operational hours and reduction in parking charges].
This cost would result in a significant reduction in transportation related services delivered to the public.
Recommendation from the Transportation SPC to Council
• No change to charging structure in Dún Laoghaire.
Summary of recommendations from Transportation SPC to Council
• Pilot the Dún Laoghaire Residential Parking Zone;
• All three-hour time limits in residential areas are to be reviewed and option to change to all day parking subject to Area Committee and Council approval;
• Any future parking schemes in residential areas are to provide all day parking unless determined otherwise by Area Committee and Council;
• Review all day charges in residential areas and change from €10 all day to €5 all day depending on parking demand in the area subject to approval of Area
Committee and Council;
• Due to financial constraints, the Transportation SPC will develop Guidelines that will outline the criteria to prioritise the introduction of parking schemes.
• Not to issue business related parking permits.
• Not to issue permits for Health Workers.
• Not to issue parking permits to residents who live in houses/apartments in managed developments.
• To increase the cost of Visitor Parking Permits from €1.50 to €2.00.
• Not to change the operational hours of Pay and Display parking control in Dún Laoghaire.
• Not to change charging structure in Dún Laoghaire.
It is proposed to amend the Parking Control Bye-Laws, 2007 to provide for the increase in cost of the Visitor Parking Permits to €2.00. It is proposed to qualify in the Guidelines for Introduction of Pay and Display to provide that residences within managed developments comes within the definition of apartments within a purpose built apartment block. It is also proposed to amend the Parking Control Bye-Laws to include specific reference to road marking RRM016, which is not specified in the current Bye-Laws.
The following Resolution is required: -
"In accordance with Section 101 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, Section 36 of the Road Traffic Act, 1994, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Parking
Control Bye-Laws, 2007, and in accordance with the provision of the Local
Government Act, 2001, the Council resolves to amend the Parking Control
Bye-Laws, 2007 to include roadway marking RRM 016 which is a statutory road marking pursuant to the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations
1997 and 1998 and the Road Traffic (Signs) Regulations 1997. It is also resolved to increase the cost of Visitor Permits to €2.00 per permit and to amend the Guidelines for the Introduction of Pay and Display to qualify that residences within managed developments come within the definition of apartments as described in the Parking Control Bye Laws 2007 and therefore are not entitled to Resident Permits”
Cllr 
