A CALL from one Fine Gael councillor to have traffic wardens ticket illegally parked cars allegedly belonging to University of Limerick (UL) students in estates around Castletroy was this week deemed a “punitive measure”.
At this Monday’s meeting of the Metropolitan District, Cllr Peter Doyle proposed that traffic wardens would visit Milford Grange, Elm Park, and Hazelwood on a weekly basis during the college term and ticket any cars parked on double yellow lines.
He told Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) that he would also like wardens to attend Monday to Thursday from 8.30am when the parking issue is at its worst.
“These are residential areas and I would like UL and LCCC planners to put the residents first and not allow semi-detached houses be turned into enlarged student complexes,” Cllr Doyle said.
He told the Council chamber that “one resident in Elm Park advised me in writing that, due to the sheer number of cars illegally parked, they frequently have their driveway blocked and are unable to get to work”.
Cllr Doyle added that another resident in Milford Grange felt she and her neighbours “are held to hostage in our houses due the the fact that it is challenging and dangerous to drive from our homes with the level of illegal parked cars”.
Green Party councillor Sean Hartigan supported the motion, saying that he himself first brought this issue up five years ago and “got a lot of flack about it at the time from parents of students from Donegal to Dunmanway phoning me up to complain that their little Johnnie got a ticket”.
“One woman in Donegal phoned me and asked where her son could park. I told her that he had more choice of places to park than anyone in the country because he could leave his car anywhere between Donegal and Limerick – as long as he didn’t park on the footpath in Castletroy.”
Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan said that she could not support the motion as she considered it punitive to students, adding that she did not think it was up to the local authority to provide such measures for students who cannot get housing or parking in UL.
“This is a UL issue. They need to address this,” she interjected.
“We’ve seen in TUS that they have come up with a solution to of park and ride in the Gaelic Grounds. Similarly, in Mary I we have a pilot project where they are able to do a park and ride from the greyhound track. I would support a motion in favour of that, but I’m certainly not supporting a punitive measure to students who are already dealing with massive financial strain.”
Cllr O’Donovan’s party colleague, Cllr Shane Hickey-O’Mara, felt Cllr Doyle’s motion lacked empathy and said he wouldn’t be supporting it. Sinn Féin councillor Ursula Gavan also deemed this proposal a punitive measure to already hard-hit students.
In response, the Council said a traffic warden has been deployed to patrol suburban areas near third level colleges since November 2023. This traffic warden currently patrols the Castletroy area, which includes the Milford Grange, Elm Park, Hazelwood, and Avignon areas.
