# Garda ticket for parking on footpath



## fintans (28 Feb 2008)

My neighbour got a ticket in the post from the Guards for parking partially on the pavement, as well as the road, outside his house. Based near Dun Laoghaire. The road is narrow so if we started parking all of our cars 100% on our road it could result in accidents as cars passing would have a higher chance of hitting the stationary vehices.

Anyone have experience of this? Surely the Guards could rake in millions every day as parking on pavements seems to happen in every street in the country? 

If it were me I would be tempted to challenge the ticket and go to the District Court to explain to the judge that because of the narrowness of the road that it is safer to park on the pavement to avoid accidents. 

Any advice? Any chance of a sympathetic hearing from the judge?


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## efm (28 Feb 2008)

My gut would be the judge would say if the road is too narrow to park on then don't park on it.


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## Brendan Burgess (28 Feb 2008)

You need to get onto the Dunlaoire City Council to get double yellow lines put down one side or both sides of the road. 

It is illegal to park on a foot path. End of story. 

The Gardai tend to turn a blind eye to it. But when someone complains, probably a neighbour forced out onto the road with a pram or in a wheelchair, the Gardai issue tickets.

Brendan


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## nad (28 Feb 2008)

Been done for this myself in the past,and had to take it on the chin, as the name says, FOOTPATH is for feet and not for vehicles so it should been seen a gentle reminder to your neighbour .


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## vector (28 Feb 2008)

Unfortunately for the OP the ticket appears valid.

But looking at the bigger picture...

As we all know Ireland is full of housing estates, and towards the end of the boom there was a move towards postage stamp sized front gardens and single car/two car driveways yet many houses have three cars. What happens in reality is that people park in front of their own houses on the road. 

What happens next is difficult on narrow roads;

Should one park with two wheels on the foot path (and risk get a ticket for parking on a footpath)

or

Should one park as close to the kerb as possible without mounting the footpath (and narrow the road to one lane, slowing down the flow of traffic for the day as cars pull in and flash each other, and people in a hurry race for gaps)


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## Buckshee (28 Feb 2008)

another popular myth is the one about the guards "raking in millions". absolutely nothing whatsoever in it for them except for increased paperwork. The monies involved go straight to Dept of Finance and never return to the Guards at all. Just like our road tax and vrt etc isn't used directly for the roads. you can be absolutely sure that the ticket in question was issued in response to a complaint from an individual locally.


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## dave28 (28 Feb 2008)

vector said:


> towards the end of the boom there was a move towards postage stamp sized front gardens and single car/two car driveways yet many houses have three cars.
> 
> 
> Should one park with two wheels on the foot path (and risk get a ticket for parking on a footpath)
> ...



Developers design the estates with narrow roads because of GREED - so they can squeeze more houses in ........ But they only do this if they get planning permission !!
Therefore the problem is caused by the Authorities !!! Who fine us if we park on the footpath !!
The thing to do, clearly, is , park legally on the road, not on the footpath - its too late once the road & houses are built to complain !!


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## Joe1234 (29 Feb 2008)

vector said:


> Should one park as close to the kerb as possible without mounting the footpath (and narrow the road to one lane, slowing down the flow of traffic for the day as cars pull in and flash each other, and people in a hurry race for gaps)



By narrowing the road to one lane, you could also be blocking the road for emergency vehicles, such as fire engines.


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## SillyBilly (29 Feb 2008)

Can't believe this turned into a discussion on the merits of parking on footpaths.  It's illegal and completely inconsiderate of those using footpaths.  As previous posters have said, if it's unfeasible to park on the road parking on the footpath is not an alternative (apologies for the rantish tone  )


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## Bronte (29 Feb 2008)

If you have a front garden can you turn it into a parking space and then you won't have to park on the road or footpath.  Sorry this doesn't help the person with the ticket who should just pay up as what he did was illegal but it may prevent it happening again to him.


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## fintans (29 Feb 2008)

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I think it was a bit of a shock to my neighbour as he has been parking cars outside his house on footpath for 30 years with no problems and then he gets a ticket out of the blue. 

I can see how important it is that the Guards keep our footpaths safe, we can all sleep easier in our beds knowing they are issuing soft tickets like this.


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## werner (29 Feb 2008)

fintans said:


> Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I think it was a bit of a shock to my neighbour as he has been parking cars outside his house on footpath for 30 years with no problems and then he gets a ticket out of the blue.
> 
> I can see how important it is that the Guards keep our footpaths safe, we can all sleep easier in our beds knowing they are issuing soft tickets like this.


 
Of course, suffering from a severe anarchist streak I once organised my neighbours to park opposite one another on either side of the road to effectively block our minor side road until an over reactive garda increasing his score sheet learned the errors of his ways

For some reason the local council decided not to ignore the public indignation (or perhaps because of the calls placed to them by the local garda station) and resolve a parking issue that was a running sore for ages until the local proletariat took direct action


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## Complainer (2 Mar 2008)

Brendan said:


> The Gardai tend to turn a blind eye to it. But when someone complains, probably a neighbour forced out onto the road with a pram or in a wheelchair, the Gardai issue tickets.


It's a bit harder for a blind or partially-sighted person to turn a blind eye to it. They will probably slap their shin into the car's bumper or exhaust. 

Stay off the path.


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## ClubMan (2 Mar 2008)

dave28 said:


> Developers design the estates with narrow roads because of GREED


Lots of _Dublin _housing estates built c. 50s an earlier have narrow roads. Have a look around the former _Corpo _estates of _Cabra _or _Kimmage/Drimnagh _etc. for example. In those days few people had cars and those access roads were sufficient. In these days of higher rates of car use/ownership such access roads are not as suitable but there's not much that can be done. However the bottom line as pointed out by _Brendan_ above is that it's illegal to park on the pavement so that's clear enough.


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## lemeister (2 Mar 2008)

Does a grass verge between the kerb and actual footpath also constitute the footpath or is it legal to park on part of the grass eg. 2 wheels on the grass to keep the car as much off the road as possible?


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## ClubMan (2 Mar 2008)

Pretty sure the road ends and the pavement starts at the kerb.


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## ang1170 (3 Mar 2008)

fintans said:


> Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I think it was a bit of a shock to my neighbour as he has been parking cars outside his house on footpath for 30 years with no problems and then he gets a ticket out of the blue.


 
No problems to whom? your neighbour? how about any blind person walking down the street? a wheelchair user? parent with pram?

I'm amazed that someone so inconsiderate should be complaining about being brought to account.

The law's there for a reason, and to complain about it being enforced is beyond comprehension.


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## Scott (3 Mar 2008)

Another thing to remember is that footpaths and pavements are not built to take the weight of a car and therefore tend to crumble when used for that purpose. This increases the cost of maintenance and the council will eventually charge everyone more in rates for the upkeep.


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## csirl (3 Mar 2008)

> By narrowing the road to one lane, you could also be blocking the road for emergency vehicles, such as fire engines.


 
You are not allowed park on a road where doing so blocks potential traffic. If road is too narrow, then you have to find somewhere else to park that isnt directly outside your house.

Excuse the rant, but this all comes back to people wanting other people to pick up the tab for their lifestyle choices. If you buy a car, then it is your responsibility to acquire somewhere to park it. The public highways are not a free carpark for anyone who wants to store their vehicle. And to those people who people cry "not enough room in my driveway" or "I dont have a driveway in my house" - this is something you need to take into consideration when buying a house or a car and if necessary spend the extra money to get a driveway. 

Parking spaces in Dublin are renting at thousands of euros per annum. Effectively those who permanently park on public streets are being financially subsidised by everyone else. There has been some talk recently of Dublin City Council introducing residential parking charges for all those who park on the street and restricting them to parking in specific parking spots (which dont obstruct traffic) - the sooner the better.


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## ang1170 (4 Mar 2008)

csirl said:


> Effectively those who permanently park on public streets are being financially subsidised by everyone else.


 
Hmmm. 

After spending thousands (if not tens of thousands) of Euro on VRT and VAT tax to buy a car, hundreds more to tax it every year and tens of Euro in tax each time I fill it with fuel, not to mention a few Euro more tax every time I use a toll road and you're telling me I'm being financially subsidised if I actually want to make use of the largely second rate infrastructure all that tax has paid for?????


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## ClubMan (5 Mar 2008)

Moved to _Letting Off Steam_.


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## batty (5 Mar 2008)

fintans said:


> Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I think it was a bit of a shock to my neighbour as he has been parking cars outside his house on footpath for 30 years with no problems and then he gets a ticket out of the blue.
> 
> I can see how important it is that the Guards keep our footpaths safe, we can all sleep easier in our beds knowing they are issuing soft tickets like this.


 
My father was in a wheelchair foir the last year of his life.  When cars parked on the footpath I had to wheel him out on the road to get around the car thus risking mine & his life. GRRR...this makes my blood boil.


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## shnaek (5 Mar 2008)

batty said:


> My father was in a wheelchair foir the last year of his life.  When cars parked on the footpath I had to wheel him out on the road to get around the car thus risking mine & his life. GRRR...this makes my blood boil.



My guess is that it makes blood boil on both sides of the arguement. On one hand, the law is that you can not park on a footpath. Yet many do it, and most of the time there are no penalties, but sometimes there are. It's like football, with confusion over rules due to their inconsistent interpretation!

I would say if you were to ask the person on the street, many would not know that it's illegal to park on the footpath. Perhaps what is needed here is an awareness drive.


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## Caveat (5 Mar 2008)

shnaek said:


> Perhaps what is needed here is an awareness drive.


 
...gated and treelined, and leading up to the _temple of driver consideration_ where of course there is ample parking for all.


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## batty (5 Mar 2008)

shnaek said:


> My guess is that it makes blood boil on both sides of the arguement. On one hand, the law is that you can not park on a footpath. Yet many do it, and most of the time there are no penalties, but sometimes there are. It's like football, with confusion over rules due to their inconsistent interpretation!
> 
> I would say if you were to ask the person on the street, many would not know that it's illegal to park on the footpath. Perhaps what is needed here is an awareness drive.


 
It's basic common sense that it is not a good idea to park on the footpath.  Footpaths are for pedestrians.  Some of these will be in buggies, wheelchairs, be visually impaired eyc.  Parking on the path makes life difficult for these people.  

Do drivers need an awareness campaign in courtesy & common sense perhaps??


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## Sue Ellen (5 Mar 2008)

The nice bit of parking that totally gets to me is the recent trend where some houses have more cars than their driveway permits so the last car in completely blocks the pedestrian footpath.  Find it happening regularly in our estate these days.


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## csirl (5 Mar 2008)

> I would say if you were to ask the person on the street, many would not know that it's illegal to park on the footpath.


 
Its in the Rules of the Road that it is illegal to park on the footpath. They shouldnt have a driving license if they dont know the rules.


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## Megan (5 Mar 2008)

Have alook at this link. Maybe this poster should be displayed more and maybe on seeing it you might think twice before parking on a footpath.

[broken link removed]


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## shnaek (5 Mar 2008)

csirl said:


> Its in the Rules of the Road that it is illegal to park on the footpath. They shouldnt have a driving license if they dont know the rules.



Maybe they don't have one! Sher you don't need a drivers license to be driving in this country.


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## orka (6 Mar 2008)

I've often wondered as I squeeze past parked cars with a buggy (making sure to fold in the wing mirror just to pass on a bit of the annoyance) - if I scrape the car's paintowork with the buggy, can that be considered criminal damage or is it the driver's fault for leaving the car parked badly?  It is usually at the most dangerous spots where drivers feel the need to get their car as far off the road as possible - without considering that they are forcing buggies and wheelchairs at the most dangerous spots!


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## ang1170 (6 Mar 2008)

Funny the way the OP has gone very quiet on this one.....


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