Get Parked
For those of us that live on the Luas line, we know firsthand how hard it is to find parking on a daily basis. I am talking about the people who like to leave their cars on our roads, then jump on the Luas, then return later on in the evening.
The problem is so bad it’s nearly impossible to get a car parking spot outside your own front door. For residents who live on Mallin Avenue, Clarks Terrace, McCarty Terrace and surrounding areas, know only too well of these situations involving what is becoming known as fly parkers. Fly parking is a term used for people who park their cars in an outer city area then head into the city for the day to collect their car later.
The main problem local residents are having is that the roads that lead to the Fatima & Rialto Luas stop are completely blocked with cars on one side, making it very hard for drivers to see coming on to the dry canal road. It’s fast becoming a very dangerous blind spot. If you are pulling out of Mallin Avenue in Fatima on to the canal road it’s almost impossible to see the road. Of course, people who are parking solely to use the Luas see a tram coming down the track’s they tend to just run for it, and because the drivers can’t see with all the cars parked there has been quite a few near misses.
For the past few months we saw the Luas on strike, with a couple of days here and a couple of days there no services. This resulted with less traffic on our roads, and at times we could actually pull out on to the road, without having our vision blocked with parked cars. The problem is so bad that locals are expressing deep concerns over the lack of parking faculties in our area.
The problem will surely only get worse with the pedestrianization of college green. There are the knock on affects for a greener city.
