Pearse Street Station parking in 1960s

Qualitymark

Can anyone help here - when did the custom of gardaí double-parking outside Pearse Street station begin - was it the norm in the 1960s, or was it later?
Oh, and is there any official legal sanction for this, or is it purely custom and practice? I seem to remember some story of a long-ago parking attendant who ticketed all the cars there...?

Turner

I dont know the area but are they parking illegally?

Are they parked in Garda only spots?

Just remember also that Gardai are exempt from parking regulations when using their vehicle in the course of their duty.

Also I presume there is an officer safety aspect that has to be considered. Many Gardai have threats on their property and lives and those of their families. Maybe the whole area where they parked is monitored by CCTV i dont know.

You can be sure the PSNI are provided with secure car parking.

If you think the Gardai are committing offences (that they are not legally allowed to do) contact the Garda Ombudsman.

Qualitymark

I don't know if it's dedicated garda parking or not; all I want to know is whether the double-parking was the practice in the 1960s, and whether it was then considered legal.

My own personal feelings about this, nowadays, is that there should be a high-rise car park dedicated to garda cars there, and the road should be left clear - it's one of the busiest interchanges in Dublin city centre, and it would really help if it were clear. It would also be safer for the cars if they were in a secure, guarded car park.

goldie fish

Qualitymark wrote: »

I don't know if it's dedicated garda parking or not; all I want to know is whether the double-parking was the practice in the 1960s, and whether it was then considered legal.

My own personal feelings about this, nowadays, is that there should be a high-rise car park dedicated to garda cars there, and the road should be left clear - it's one of the busiest interchanges in Dublin city centre, and it would really help if it were clear. It would also be safer for the cars if they were in a secure, guarded car park.

Yeah, cos so many people live at the other end of pearse street....

Seriously dude, what planet are you on?

Qualitymark

goldie fish wrote: »

Yeah, cos so many people live at the other end of pearse street....

Seriously dude, what planet are you on?

I live in planet Dublin. And as a resident, I'm aware that the College Green interchange is one of the city's major throughways, which has to be closed off for hours each day because the street is half blocked. This is nothing to do with the number of people living on the street, any more than the Red Cow roundabout is to do with the numbers living on the M50 and N7.

But anyway, back to the question I'm asking: was this double-parking in operation in the 1960s, and was it then resented?

donvito99

Qualitymark wrote: »

But anyway, back to the question I'm asking: was this double-parking in operation in the 1960s, and was it then resented?

This is one of the more unusual demands I have seen made on boards.

Yes, the place is choc-a-bloc in this day and age, but you're asking if it was in the '60s? And if this practice was resented?

May we ask why? Bad parking in all its forms has always been unpopular.

Pearse St is not fit for purpose as a police station, certainly not its parking facilities or lack thereof.

Qualitymark

Indeed you may ask why. It's for a short story I'm writing.

Qualitymark

Qualitymark wrote: »

My own personal feelings about this, nowadays, is that there should be a high-rise car park dedicated to garda cars there, and the road should be left clear - it's one of the busiest interchanges in Dublin city centre, and it would really help if it were clear. It would also be safer for the cars if they were in a secure, guarded car park.

It's not really that busy. Out the front is only a through route for buses and taxis. And if the buses weren't there there'd be even more room. The back is a different story but still doesn't really block the traffic.

Qualitymark

foreign wrote: »

It's not really that busy. Out the front is only a through route for buses and taxis. And if the buses weren't there there'd be even more room. The back is a different story but still doesn't really block the traffic.

The reason it's only a through route for buses and taxis, rather than being a through route for all other traffic, is that there's no room because of all the cars parked there, surely?

Qualitymark

Qualitymark wrote: »

The reason it's only a through route for buses and taxis, rather than being a through route for all other traffic, is that there's no room because of all the cars parked there, surely?

Nope. Dublin City Councils great idea. Just like the bus gate that eventually followed.

Qualitymark

foreign wrote: »

Nope. Dublin City Councils great idea. Just like the bus gate that eventually followed.

Presumably the Corpo had this idea because the road was already blocked up?

Since there seem to be no aged gardaí who might be able to answer my question, maybe the mods might move this to the History forum or somewhere more apposite?

IRLConor

Qualitymark wrote: »

Presumably the Corpo had this idea because the road was already blocked up?

I doubt it. The Gardai stationed there didn't park as many cars out the front when everyone was allowed to drive through.

My memory is hazy, but if I remember correctly it used to be two lanes clear through the whole section of road but when the entrance at the Tara St end was narrowed to one lane and restricted to taxis and buses the Garda parking expanded a bit to use the newly available space which otherwise would have been empty.

It has been a long while since that change got made (roughly 10 years or so?) so I can't quite remember the exact layout.

Sierra Oscar

They are double parking against other Garda vehicles as it is and are not blocking the road as it is only one lane. I don't see what the issue is and why it bothers people so much.

Qualitymark

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

They are double parking against other Garda vehicles as it is and are not blocking the road as it is only one lane. I don't see what the issue is and why it bothers people so much.

Perhaps because it seems like an arrogant disregard of the law: "Parking rules? They're for the little people", to paraphrase Leona Helmsley, I think it was.

IRLConor

Qualitymark wrote: »

Perhaps because it seems like an arrogant disregard of the law: "Parking rules? They're for the little people", to paraphrase Leona Helmsley, I think it was.

The area is painted with something like "Garda - Official Vehicles" or something similar.

Qualitymark

IRLConor wrote: »

The area is painted with something like "Garda - Official Vehicles" or something similar.

Ah yes, well of course that would stop it being arrogant.

hardCopy

Qualitymark wrote: »

Presumably the Corpo had this idea because the road was already blocked up?

Since there seem to be no aged gardaí who might be able to answer my question, maybe the mods might move this to the History forum or somewhere more apposite?

I'd imagine it has more to do with the fact that cross-city traffic is a bad thing and part of a wider effort to discourage it, including use of the bus-gate and preventing left turns onto Beckett Bridge from North Wall Quay.

Turner

O/P if you wish to report illegally parked vehicles report them to the Gardai or Dublin City Council parking services.

I don't think anybody here will be able to answer your original question regarding the 1960's

Thanks.