PARKING fines are dropping in the city but dangerous parking is still an “extreme problem”, a cycling advocate has warned.

There was a 17% reduction in parking fines issued in the city centre in 2018, compared to 2017, with the number of tickets issued in Patrick Street down by more than half.

Numbers on the city’s main thoroughfare dropped dramatically from 1,491 to 719 due to the private vehicle ban which operates from 3pm to 6.30pm each day.

South Mall had the highest number of parking offenders with 2,312 tickets issued there; 844 were given to drivers on Morrison’s Quay and 724 on Cornmarket Street.

More than 43% of fines (12,916) were issued for failure to produce a valid disc. A total of 5,989 tickets (more than 20% of total fines) were issued for parking in a loading bay, where there is a ‘no parking’ sign and parking on double yellow lines.

In total, fines dropped from 35,764 in 2017 to 29,629 last year.

Cork city Joint Policing Committee member Darren McAdam-O’Connell of Cork Community Bikes said he is concerned fines are dropping but some vehicles parked are still causing several obstructions on a daily basis in the city centre.

“I’m a bit dismayed to see there is a 17% drop in the number of parking tickets issued for parking in dangerous places. [There are a lot] of people coming to me every single day talking about dangerous parking in the city, particularly in cycle lanes,” said McAdam-O’Connell.

“I was on John Redmond Street and it was bumper to bumper from start to finish. This also happens on South Main Street, Washington Street, Bishop Street and just about everywhere it is possible to park dangerously.

“This is an extreme problem. I’m not saying we should ignore people with late parking discs but the priority must be tackling dangerous parking.”

Chief Superintendent Barry McPolin at Anglesea Street said gardaí will monitor the situation.

“Cork City Council and An Garda Síochana are responsible for issuing parking tickets for vehicles which are deemed to be an obstruction for other road users and that includes cyclists or pedestrians. We will keep an eye on it because it is an issue,” he added.