A LOCAL POLITICIAN in Citywest has raised concerns that arguments between residents over a lack of parking will escalate into actual violence.
Locals in the South Dublin suburb have reported aggressive interactions and threatening notes being left on car windows, as residents in new apartment blocks park their cars on the surrounding public streets.
In recent months, The Journal has been reporting on the growing issue in housing estates across Dublin and surrounding commuter belt towns, where there has been increasing tension in communities over a lack of adequate car-parking facilities.
Back in April, after Dublin Mid West TD Paul Gogarty raised the issue in the Dáil, Tánaiste Simon Harris acknowledged there is a “challenge” around parking ratios for new-build housing estates and that he will raise the matter with the Minister for Housing.
However, no action has been taken on the issue since.
This week, The Journal visited Citywest, where residents have highlighted that the situation is becoming increasingly hostile.
One resident, Megan Butler, moved into an apartment in the Carrigmore Woods complex earlier this year, where she said the problem with parking has been progressively getting worse.
Located next to the Citywest Shopping Centre, parking for the 290 homes in the development was allocated on a needs-based system, with families with children and people with mobility issues prioritised.
With the Red Line Luas nearby and the 77x, 65B, S8 and W6 bus routes, the area is reasonably well-connected by public transport, but residents have still reported capacity issues, with the Luas and buses often full at peak times.
“A lot of people would say to you, ‘You knew there was no parking when you signed the lease’, but there’s a housing crisis,” Butler told The Journal.
“People are going to take houses wherever they can get them, they are going to rent wherever they can get it.”
The healthcare worker said she drives to work now because she has been late too many times when relying on public transport.
“I work in a hospital, it’s not really the kind of job where I can show up late, so it is just easier to drive.
“People are not willing to give up their cars and rely on public transport when the public transport is not there for them,” she said.
For Butler, a normal day involved “driving around and hoping for the best”.
“If I’m coming home after 4 o’clock, I’m not getting parking anywhere nearby.
“I got home late the other night, around 10 o’clock, [and there was] absolutely nowhere to park. So I parked half an hour walk away on the other side of the park,” she said.
“It’s fine now in summertime, it’s bright but in the wintertime I’d say it will get more problematic,” she added.
Butler said the atmosphere locally is “not good” and despite contacting South Dublin County Council directly with her concerns, they have never responded to any of her emails.
“People are…screaming and shouting at each other. It’s mad. It’s crazy. There’s definitely a lot of aggro.
“You’re afraid parking your car, going, ‘I’m really trying my best to park this somewhere where I’m not going to annoy someone’, but you’re terrified of being seen, because I don’t want to be parking my car in someone else’s housing estate any more than they want me to be parking there.
“Their anger is completely valid, but it is definitely coming out on the wrong people,” Butler said.
“It’s kind of becoming a worrying issue now, as well. A lot of women, in particular, are having to park 20-30 minutes from their house, their apartment, late at night. They are walking through dark, isolated parks on their own,” she added.
People Before Profit Councillor Kay Keane has been working to try and find a resolution for the residents, and has put down a motion at the council seeking to build a transport hub in the area that would see more parking spaces provided.
“Something has to be done to lower the temperature,” she told The Journal.
“I am very, very fearful that this will escalate from stickers on the car,” she added, noting also that some of the narrow streets lined with cars parked on either side are an “accident waiting to happen”.
Keane said she understands the frustrations of residents and said from her perspective, the issue is that the public transport infrastructure is not good enough for people to be able to ditch their cars.
“I’m in People Before Profit, okay? I would love to see people getting out of their cars, using the bike lane, cycling. But I’m a realist as well.
“I know people, some people do need their cars, for example, if they have mobility issues, if they have a child with special needs, they need a car to get from A to B.
“At this stage, something needs to be done,” she said.
On the prospect of a ‘transport hub’, Keane said SDCC are currently looking at whether it is feasible, but that a suitable site would have to be found.
“Honestly, I would hate the thought of a green space being filled in with concrete. The other side of the work I do, I have residents in Citywest asking me to put pressure on the council to supply pitches, a space that kids can play football, so I can see it from both sides.
“But I do agree with Megan that it’s not safe for anybody having to park 15-20 minutes away from where they live, particularly if they’re working a late shift, having to walk on their own to their own home, that’s not acceptable at all.
“There is a little green space, that used to be the old playground, in between the Citywest Shopping Centre and Carrigmore. We’ve asked could that be used for parking. It’s too small for say a football pitch, so I’d be okay with that, once it’s not taking away from the kids in the community,’ Keane said.
South Dublin County Council did not respond to The Journal’s request for comment on the issue.