Parking and traffic in Phoenix Park

beauf

Shefwedfan wrote: »

...
The zoo parking well it depends, if a good day you have zoo parking alright but you end up back up before Aras because of all the people who park for work along that strip.

Stop those people parking and it would make it easier to get to zoo.

...

Bank holiday and weekends are worse. People park on the grass all along the North road for the zoo..

... and you've just removed about 60% of the zoo's parking on those days.

trellheim

Parking for the Zoo and the Criminal Courts far outweigh other parking.

You aren't going to get Guards for the CCJ to park anywhere else and the Park Rangers aren't going to upset them.

AGS park in the depot and walk down, Zoo has its own carpark beside polo grounds.

Shefwedfan

beauf wrote: »

Bank holiday and weekends are worse. People park on the grass all along the North road for the zoo..

... and you've just removed about 60% of the zoo's parking on those days.

Oh I know.....I was just responding to work days who parks around.....


At weekends it is just find a space and throw the car in, doesn matter where or who its blocking.



A park n ride with adequate spaces is the only option

beauf

trellheim wrote: »

AGS park in the depot and walk down, Zoo has its own carpark beside polo grounds.

Pre covid unless you were down early that zoo car park was often full. Parking on the road outside of the car park or north road was normal because of this.

We would have a annual pass. So would often drop into the zoo for the last hour or so of the day to avoid parking issues. We also would frequently have blue badge holder with us and couldn't get those spaces either. You'd have to drop them off at the bus entrance and go park some distance away. When you've an annual pass you can be more flexible about when you go.

Not anymore.

Dravokivich

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Oh I know.....I was just responding to work days who parks around.....


At weekends it is just find a space and throw the car in, doesn matter where or who its blocking.



A park n ride with adequate spaces is the only option

That happens everywhere and is not an issue unique to phoenix Park.

Hurrache

Larbre34 wrote: »

Primarily, what both the OPW and various zealous posters here are failing to do is to acknowledge that permanent changes to the Park are being made a) in untypical times, failing to consider the full impact when life approaches normal again and b) without adequate public consultation as they are bound to do. This is a NATIONAL amenity and even an international one, both the OPW and many people here who can walk to it are utterly remiss in considering that and think its their own personal back yard.

Now is the perfect time to do anything like this, throughout the country.

beauf

Dravokivich wrote: »

That happens everywhere and is not an issue unique to phoenix Park.

I must use about 4 or 5 parks on a regular basis. The Phoenix Park is the only one I know where people are forced to park on the grass normally and there isn't enough car parking for decades.

Decades...

Hurrache

Unless the park rangers hold a gun to their head, nobody is forced to park anywhere, they chose to park where they park.

polesheep

beauf wrote: »

I must use about 4 or 5 parks on a regular basis. The Phoenix Park is the only one I know where people are forced to park on the grass normally and there isn't enough car parking for decades.

No one is forced to park on the grass. If there are no parking spaces free then you just have to take your car elsewhere.

beauf

Hurrache wrote: »

Unless the park rangers hold a gun to their head, nobody is forced to park anywhere, they chose to park where they park.

In that case...

If don't penalise anyone for doing it, it must mean they want people to do it.

North road is open for parking today. Also a gang of workers putting tarmac in & lining the car park beside the cricket club.

Still no parking on the avenue.

maxsmum

I think the issue of where the Guards park, and why, and how necessary it is to land your car on any verge or kerb or roundabout they feel like deserves a thread of its own.
What do other countries' police forces who also attend court on a regular basis do - is this a CCJ issue (insufficient planning for car access) or an inability of Gardai to take public transport, or to get lifts and get dropped off by their colleagues if they are giving evidence for example... why are they all parking in an actual public park to go to work?

beauf

The Garda and others used to park inside parkgate gate to the first roundabout. Lined it both sides. They stopped them doing that. They could do that elsewhere if they wanted.

jackofalltrades

Larbre34 wrote: »

Primarily, what both the OPW and various zealous posters here are failing to do is to acknowledge that permanent changes to the Park are being made a) in untypical times, failing to consider the full impact when life approaches normal again and...

The impacts have been considered. DCC have been trying for years to restrict car access into the city and give over more road space to other forms of more sustainable transport.
This has been proceeding at a glacial pace. This pandemic has finally provided the opportunity to speed this up. The OPW have joined in on this too, by converting a hard shoulder into a cycle lane.
The congestion seen in the park is going to be replicated right around the city, as things reopen.

...b) without adequate public consultation as they are bound to do

What exactly are the rules around these public consultations?

This is a NATIONAL amenity and even an international one, both the OPW and many people here who can walk to it are utterly remiss in considering that and think its their own personal back yard.

It's a public park, that's it. We can ascribe all the other labels to it that we want but it's just a public park. There's no obligation for the OPW to provide unlimited free parking for everyone that wants to show up for a day trip.

maxsmum

jackofalltrades wrote: »

It's a public park, that's it. We can ascribe all the other labels to it that we want but it's just a public park. There's no obligation for the OPW to provide unlimited free parking for everyone that wants to show up for a day trip.

This. Imagine bringing the argument that we should be able to park in the city's public park to Berlin, or Paris, or London. Yes they have better public transport systems, but that's not the OPW's remit. There are car parks dotted off the main road around the Phoenix Park and they are there for park users. If there's not enough for the zoo, people will have to come by another route. Again, a matter for our public transport system or a possible park and ride but the solution is not to turn the Phoenix Park into a car park. The Zoo is there for everyone to enjoy, but just because you live in Westmeath you don't get an automatic right to drive right up to its door.

beauf

Close the gates and just leave pedestrian access.

End of.

liamog

Maybe that's the problem, is Phoenix Park a city park like Le Jardin du Luxembourg or is closer to Bois de Boulogne where there are roads passing through the park and onroad parking to allow users to use the park.

Larbre34

beauf wrote: »

Close the gates and just leave pedestrian access.

End of.

Áras an Uachtaráin
The US Ambassador's residence at Deerfield
St Mary's Hospital
Ordnance Survey Ireland HQ
Farmleigh House and Gardens inc Markets and events
Ashtown Castle Visitors Centre
St Mary's Hospital
Garda Headquarters and Mounted Unit facility
Civil Defence facilities
The Polo Club, Cricket Grounds and dozens of playing pitches
Dublin bloody Zoo

Have I missed anything? Comments like yours are just moronic and are symptomatic of the failure by people including OPW to address the reality of the life and functions of the Park.

I've had enough of the nonsense and will be organising with residents groups in the adjoining neighbourhoods and pinch points likely to be adversely affected by traffic to push back against this Empire building and exclusion by OPW and its cheerleaders.

Larbre34

jackofalltrades wrote: »

It's a public park, that's it. We can ascribe all the other labels to it that we want but it's just a public park. There's no obligation for the OPW to provide unlimited free parking for everyone that wants to show up for a day trip.

I would argue that that is PRECISELY their obligation, among others.

I'll refer you to my post above, its OPWs job to operate the Park and all the NATIONAL amenities in their portfolio for and on behalf of the taxpayer that fund them, to make them accessible and enjoyable for the leisure and cultural education of citizens and visitors.

beauf

Most of those have a nearby gate. You shouldn't need to try halfway around the park to access them. But that's the traffic plan the OPW have in place.

polesheep

Larbre34 wrote: »

I would argue that that is PRECISELY their obligation, among others.

I'll refer you to my post above, its OPWs job to operate the Park and all the NATIONAL amenities in their portfolio for and on behalf of the taxpayer that fund them, to make them accessible and enjoyable for the leisure and cultural education of citizens and visitors.

That's exactly why they are stopping the Park from being overrun with cars.

Stark

As an aside, I was coming through there today and they had a few traffic counters about the place. Also traffic counters outside on the Chapelizod road

Larbre34

Larbre34 wrote: »

I've had enough of the nonsense and will be organising with residents groups in the adjoining neighbourhoods and pinch points likely to be adversely affected by traffic to push back against this Empire building and exclusion by OPW and its cheerleaders.

What nonsense exactly? Side gates being closed?
Doesn't make much difference, I don't think.
No parking on the avenue is a welcome change.
I live in an adjoining neighborhood & I have no issue with the changes. Yeah, sometimes I would like to drive through the park, but it's not such a big deal.

Larbre34

Larbre34 wrote: »

I've had enough of the nonsense and will be organising with residents groups in the adjoining neighbourhoods and pinch points likely to be adversely affected by traffic to push back against this Empire building and exclusion by OPW and its cheerleaders.

What nonsense exactly? Side gates being closed?
Doesn't make much difference, I don't think.
No parking on the avenue is a welcome change.
I live in an adjoining neighborhood & I have no issue with the changes. Yeah, sometimes I would like to drive through the park, but it's not such a big deal.

beauf

Stark wrote: »

As an aside, I was coming through there today and they had a few traffic counters about the place. Also traffic counters outside on the Chapelizod road

At least they'll what to expect next pandemic...

Larbre34

bubblypop wrote: »

What nonsense exactly? Side gates being closed?
Doesn't make much difference, I don't think.
No parking on the avenue is a welcome change.
I live in an adjoining neighborhood & I have no issue with the changes. Yeah, sometimes I would like to drive through the park, but it's not such a big deal.

You're alright so Jack.

Lets see how you feel when the Zoo and the visitors centres and the sports pitches get back up to speed and your streets and estates get inundated with mass parking.

The Zoo itself posted a tweet the other day directing its Patrons to the Lords Walk carpark (which they already fill very easily) and "limited" parking on North Road. They can see the writing on the wall themselves already. I've emailed the Zoo Director's office asking for a comment.

Larbre34

Larbre34 wrote: »

You're alright so Jack.

Lets see how you feel when the Zoo and the visitors centres and the sports pitches get back up to speed and your streets and estates get inundated with mass parking.

There is plenty of car parking in the park, people need to stop being lazy & drive to a car park, if they start towing some of the cars parked on grass, they won't be long parking legally

ligerdub

The Park is absolutely fine as is (taking pre-COVID as the "is" status). There's plenty of parking along Chesterfield Avenue and the other off-shoots and stone areas around the Furry Glen.

There is absolutely no need to start talking about clamping cars and introducing some sort of Online system to park in the Phoenix Park. Making this a commodity or more rule based would make the park a more sterile and stress-filled experience. I don't want to be walking around and worrying if I have lost my ticket or if I need to be back in the car in 20 mins, nor should I be.

The parking available is suitable in 99.99% of all times during the year. Only on extremely hot weekend days is parking ever a real issue in the park and at that it's maybe for an hour or two max. Even then there's always the option to park outside the PP but nearby.

The problems faced at the moment are entirely temporary, and at this point possibly no longer required. The government have been draconian in their policy here as the PP was the first and most notable big case for the Twitter Karens to decry the "Co-vidiots" for not social distancing (even though they may have been) and because the park was absolutely jammed (or at least appearing to be). I'd like to see them open the side-gates at least as for the simple reason that I see no reason why they should remain closed. What is the rationale for leaving the gates closed? People are now out and about and opening the side-gates will not mean people are just going to park in random spots in the park.

deathbomber

Many people park in the park and head to work, a time limit of 5 - 6 hours should be enforced. Of course the reason for them parking there is because of the lack of public transport and rip off car parking fees

Larbre34

Interestingly Jack Chambers has just been appointed Minister of State at the Department of Finance, a position that heretofore has been in charge of the OPW.

If my previous communications with his office are anything to go by, I look forward to his support overturning the well meaning but ultimately over-zealous and I would argue, ultra vires, actions of that body.