Don’t just return to the present ‘them and us’

THE man whose story sparked the journey towards the suspension of the pay parking in town says he wants the time between now and the resumption of parking charges to be used wisely.

‘ This is a time for reflection. I spoke out some weeks ago because of the serious situation many traders were facing in relation to parking fines. They were growing by the day,’ the Annie’s restaurant owner stated.

When he called for ‘common sense’ to prevail in relation to parking around town, the local man who was already attempting to engage with the council on the legality of the bye-laws, expressed his concerns to Robbie and subsequently attended a public meeting in the Barbican.

‘ This has only become an issue because of the way the bye-laws were being enforced and in the end it was found the bye-laws were illegal anyway.

‘But between now and June, it’s time for the council to meet the traders and iron out the best way forward in respect of parking charges around the centre of town.

‘We all know that the retail parks are free and it will be very interesting to see if the suspension of parking will help traders in the centre of town.

‘ Traders would encourage people to come into town now and make the most of the free parking, but at the same time, we have to be mindful of residents in the likes of Oulster Lane and Patrick Street and elsewhere. They have to be allowed to park outside their homes so all day parkers should use the appropriate car parks.’

He says the one thing that should not happen is a ‘simple return to the usual them and us’ attitude that has prevailed in the past number of months.

‘If people are parked illegally, then they can expect to be fined, be it in loading bays, disabled parking spaces, double yellow lines, etc. That is standard practice and people - even since last week - have been fined for that.

‘But at times loading bays have cars in them and delivery drivers must pull in somewhere to unload. Traffic wardens should realise that this is happening and treat instances on their merits.

‘I have received numerous complaints from customers who could put on a ticket and then head off and get delayed - often by a few minutes - and they’ll find themselves with a ticket.

‘ There are many legitimate reasons why someone did not make it back in time. They are not necessarily ignoring the law.

‘ Tickets also do not have stubs. If they had you could place your ticket on the dashboard and bring the stub with you to remind you of the time you’ve parked until.

‘ Traders, shoppers and workers can work with the council in relation to parking, but there has to be give and take in some cases.

‘We all want people to come into Drogheda and do business. Let’s stop turning them off.’