‘Cars parked in cycle lanes should be considered dangerous driving’
Dr Darren McAdam O’Connell, of the CCC, said that enforcement does not appear to be a priority for the gardaí.
Dr McAdam O’Connell, who sits on the joint policing committee, added: “I am told, all the time, that they will tackle it, but that they can’t call it dangerous driving, that they can only give out fines. I don’t know why that is.
Photos taken by Cork-based cyclist David Beechinor show cars parked in cycle lanes outside CIT. Mr Beechinor works in a company in the Rubicon centre and cycles there from Douglas. He said he sees this behaviour every day.
“There is a simple solution: just put a single pole in each opening or end point,” he said.
“I guess they will wait until there is an accident, then they can blame the company that manages the car-parking,” he added.
“It’s a general problem across Cork and Ireland,” said Dr McAdam O’Connell. “It’s a huge problem in a lot of places and it’s caused by the lack of enforcement. Every single day, I cycle past gardaí who are walking past dangerously parked cars and they’re not doing enough about it,” he added. “It’s not up to gardaí to issue parking tickets, if a person hasn’t paid and displayed. But when somebody parks dangerously, that’s dangerous driving.
“A garda doesn’t walk past if they see someone waving a weapon about in a dangerous manner, but they do walk past when they see cars parked dangerously in a way that puts lives at risk.
“There is good work being done by traffic wardens and I fully support them, but I think they could do more. I think it’s completely inappropriate that a parking ticket is issued to someone parked dangerously, as if it’s the same as not having a parking disc. This is dangerous driving and these people need to be tackled as such, with points on their licence and a fine.”
