56 people fined for flouting parking restrictions on Cork’s Patrick Street

A TOTAL of 56 people have been hit with fines for flouting road traffic regulations on St Patrick’s Street so far this year.

Gardaí have confirmed that 52 of these fines were issued to motorists parking vehicles in taxi ranks.

Three fines were issued to motorists parking a vehicle at a bus stop place or stand, and one fine was issued to a motorist parking their vehicle at a bus stop sign.

The figures follow fresh criticism surrounding what was described as a lack of enforcement of the ‘Pana ban’.

Under the so-called ‘Pana ban’, private cars are banned from the city’s main street every day from 3pm to 6.30pm, with access to bus lanes restricted to public transport, taxis, cyclists, and emergency vehicles.

“One of the ironies of installing the CityTrees on Patrick Street is that Pana is supposed to be already restricted to private cars and all of the pollution that goes with them,” Green Party councillor Oliver Moran commented earlier this week.

“It’s the responsibility of the gardaí to enforce that law, but they appear entirely uninterested,” he said.

At the recent launch of the Cork City Council 2021-2026 air quality strategy and the unveiling of the CityTrees, Lord Mayor of Cork and Fianna Fáil councillor Colm Kelleher said the Pana ban needed to be reviewed, with more focus on enforcement.

“It was mentioned to me that, while these [CityTrees] were being put up the other day, 115 cars passed in the middle of the Patrick Street ban, so I do believe we need to look at that,” he said.

Mr Moran has said St Patrick’s Street should be closed to private cars on a permanent basis.

“Part of the problem is that the restrictions are only part-time.

“I took part in a direct action in 2019 to stop private cars entering the street,” Mr Moran said.

“The hours of operation should be extended so that the message is clear that Patrick Street is no place for private cars.” he added.