Call made for audit of disabled parking spaces in Limerick
A PUBLIC representative and disabled driver is calling on Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) to perform a full review of each disabled parking bay in the city.
Aontú representative Sarah J Beasley has stressed that disabled drivers need to have adequate and safe access from both sides of their car.
This is for the purpose of either the driver and/or the passenger having a disability and requiring access to the footpath.
Ms Beasley, who has a disabled parking disc herself, has been notified of several spaces where poles or trees are blocking direct access to the footpath.
She said: “In the bays which I have seen, if the disabled person was the driver there would be no option other than to park on the offside which would mean that the driver would have to exit onto the road.”
The Aontú secretary has labelled this as a “very dangerous day out” and wants the council to perform a full audit on all of the parking bays throughout the city.
Public attention has been brought to several bays across the city, which she believes, are “not fit for purpose.” One, on Cecil Street was quickly fixed by the council.
Most recently, Ms Beasley has identified a disabled parking bay on Upper Glentworth Street, which is being obstructed by a pole, a tree and also outdoor dining infrastructure.
“Due to many of these spaces being created during Covid, when the streets were quiet, very little thought was put into their design,” she told the Limerick Leader.
With the uptake on outside dining likely to continue once again this summer in Limerick city, Ms Beasley is calling on the council to perform their full review before the end of the spring.
She also hopes that the issue of parking in wheelchair accessible bays without a disabled driver parking permit can be better enforced, something she experiences “regularly” in the city.
“More needs to be done to assist with anti-social parking in the bays and other areas, and consideration given to making these bays more accessible,” she stated.