Kildare Co Council dismiss push for change to parking enforcement
Áras Chill Dara
PARKING management company, APCOA, is nearing the end of its contract with Kildare County Council but calls for reforms fell on deaf ears at its recent monthly meeting. A proposal for a community warden model of parking enforcement was met with a reponse by the executive that it would not be the most efficient use of resources.
Fine Gael councillors Evie Sammon, Kevin Duffy, William Durkan, Brendan Wyse and Ivan Keatley brought forward a motion at the most recent full council meeting requesting “that the council considers moving to a model of community wardens, where wardens would have broad enforcement powers in the areas of parking enforcement, litter fines and enforcement of responsible dog ownership, similar to the model in place in Cork City Council and Dublin City Council.”
The council currently use a hybrid model for the regulation of parking bye-laws, split between itself and parking management company APCOA. APCOA’s contract with the council is near its end.
The council administers and enforces parking bye-laws and traffic regulations throughout Kildare through the operation of bye-laws in seven pay parking bye-law towns and three maximum stay bye-law towns. APCOA regulates the pay parking towns which are Athy, Kildare, Newbridge, Celbridge, Maynooth, Celbridge and Leixlip.
Council wardens regulate the three maximum stay towns of Sallins, Clane and Kilcock as well as the rest of the county outside of the pay parking bye-law towns.
The response to the motion, issued by Mark McLoughlin, acting director of services in the transport, mobility and open spaces, said: “The model of enforcement of parking regulations by community wardens was in operation a number of years ago and did not prove to be an efficient use of resources. This matter was discussed and addressed at the Transportation and Public Safety Strategic Policy Committee in 2016.”
Mr McLoughlin’s response further detailed that the community warden model was ineffective as the combination of duties involved in the role (litter fines, dog fouling, and other duties) leaves “a substantial gap in the visible on-street presence that is necessary to ensure compliance with a managed parking service".
The report highlighted the significant cost implications of the move to a community warden-based system, which would include an increase in administrative staff, investment in hardware and software systems, and the procurement of cash collection services as well as a system to manage payment services.
Cllr Sammon outlined that she wanted change so that the public are not under the impression that the council are clamping them in instances where the private contractor is responsible for the clamping. She noted stories she had heard of elderly people being asked to get out cars in the heavy rain during instances of clamping.
Cllr Chris Pender took issue with the report’s reliance on information from a 2016 meeting.
The council plans to set about a procurement process once a framework prepared by the office of government procurement, which they view as being “the most economically efficient means of delivering the service and best practice of managing parking services in bye-law towns for the foreseeable future.”
The report further detailed that pay parking surpluses are used by the municipal districts for improvement works on local and regional roads, footpaths, public lighting and road safety measures. The budgeted estimate for these works is €1,106,752 for this year.
