Fianna Fáil TD for Kildare North Frank O’Rourke says legislative change is needed to deal with outstanding problems with vehicle parking in Kildare
Deputy O’Rourke made the comments after putting forward an amendment to the Road Traffic Bill 2016 which is currently being debated by the Dáil. If accepted, the amendment will enable Local Authorities to make small alterations to parking bye-laws to deal with problems as they arise.
“Currently Kildare County Council has to go through a full public consultation process when making changes to parking bye-laws. This is needed for ensuring there is proper oversight associated with large scale changes to bye-laws, but it is unnecessarily restrictive when dealing with small issues,” explained Deputy O’Rourke.
“For example the council has to undertake such a public consultation, which includes seeking advice from the Garda Commissioner, when simply wanting to add an additional disability parking place. This is an unnecessarily complicated process and actually discourages Local Authorities from making practical changes to parking arrangements in towns and villages.”
“The Road Traffic Bill is currently being debated in the Dáil and I have put forward proposals to deal with this problem. If accepted, my amendment will enable Local Authorities to make minor alternations to parking spaces, loading bays and the positioning of parking payment machines. This will allow for parking related problems to be dealt with as they arise and will also help cut down on excessive costs.”
“This is a common sense proposal and I am hopeful that it will receive cross party support. There are a myriad of parking related problems in Kildare and it is important that the Local Authority is equipped to deal with these issues,” concluded Deputy O’Rourke.