Parking mayhem near beaches as sun shines

PARKING mayhem was experienced in Magheramore and Brittas Bay as hundreds of people took advantage of the good weather to attend the county’s beaches.

And motorists parking at Magheramore and Brittas Bay are being warned to be more responsible and more considerate when parking as last weekend vehicles restricted access on the road for local residents and emergency vehicles.

In a tweet at the weekend, An Garda Siochana posted photographs of the lines of cars parked on the road and warned motorists to ‘park responsibly’.

‘There was general mayhem with the huge volume of people trying to park so close to the beaches but it seemed to be the same everywhere,’ said Superintendent Paul Hogan of Wicklow Garda Station.

He said although no emergency vehicle travelled the road while the cars were parked alongside it, the vehicles could have potentially blocked an emergency vehicle from getting through.

‘We would ask motorists to have consideration for other motorists using the roads and think of the greater good. Some local farmers offer their fields nearby to park in which proves to be safer for all road users,’ he said.

Although no cars parked in Magheramore and Brittas Bay were towed, a large number of Fixed Charge Penalty notices were issued to the motorist.

Under the new system, no actual ticket is put on the vehicle’s windscreens but motorists who were issued with them at the weekend will receive the fines in the post within a number of weeks.

‘Motorists who park like this do run the risk of having their vehicles towed away or being issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice,’ warned Supt Hogan.