Parking on footpath

Jello · 15-11-2012 12:15AM #1

I parked on the footpath outside a row of houses just outside the Clonskeagh entrance to UCD today and came back to my car to find a Garda note saying I'll be receiving a fine in the post in the next while. Just wondering would anyone know if I'd have any grounds to appeal it because I have parked there countless times over the past three and a half years (along with many others - the road is always full of cars and you're lucky to get a spot there) and it's only now that I am receiving a fine? There's no double yellow lines, and the footpath is very wide so there was plenty of room for people in wheelchairs, buggies etc to pass by on the other side (I am 100% sure of this as it's a very large footpath). I was also not sticking out onto the road in any way to cause an obstruction.

Or would I not have a hope and will just have to pay the fine?

Any help appreciated, thanks!

MugMugs · 15-11-2012 12:16AM

Foot path.....

Sorry, can't see the issue really.

Supergurrier · 15-11-2012 12:17AM

I would imagine they would just fine you for the three and a half years.

Seriously footpaths arent for parking

650Ginge · 15-11-2012 12:18AM

You are having a laugh right. You broke the law and you couldn't give a monkeys about anyone but yourself...all for a bit if free parking.

You got caught, so unless that footpath is your private property then accept it and park properly in future.

Stheno · 15-11-2012 12:20AM

Just pay the fine.

The residents in the area are probably sick of people blocking up the footpath and have called the gardai.

stevek93 · 15-11-2012 12:21AM

Footpath is not meant for a car end of.

pontia · 15-11-2012 12:22AM

so you park on the path outside someones house and come here looking for sympathy ?

Jello · 15-11-2012 12:26AM

I know the people who's house I parked outside (they are students in UCD along with pretty much everyone else on that road) so I can assure you they have no issue whatsoever with me parking there and certainly didn't call the Gardai complaining about me.

Mat the trasher · 15-11-2012 12:31AM

Are you allowed drive on a footpath?^^^^^^^

edellc · 15-11-2012 12:37AM

How did you get into college....seriously I want to know because I thought you actually had to have some intelligence to go to college, ucd at that, yet you come out with a post like that op....

Footpaths are not parking spaces

CarrickMcJoe · 15-11-2012 12:37AM

FOOTPATH-Theres a clue in the word.

Knowing the residents is no excuse either.

Cuddlesworth · 15-11-2012 12:38AM

Jello wrote: »

and came back to my car to find a Garda note saying I'll be receiving a fine in the post in the next while.

Why would the Garda leave a note? The cynical side of me would question its validity.

Stheno · 15-11-2012 12:40AM

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Why would the Garda leave a note? The cynical side of me would question its validity.

He probably means those garda notices that you have committed an offence?

OP why wouldn't you just park in the car parks in UCD?

EireGreg · 15-11-2012 12:41AM

your average women driver showing her skills and know how on road rules and safety well said

Stheno · 15-11-2012 12:43AM

EireGreg wrote: »

your average women driver showing her skills and know how on road rules and safety well said

and you deduced the OP is female how?

Jello · 15-11-2012 12:43AM

edellc wrote: »

How did you get into college....seriously I want to know because I thought you actually had to have some intelligence to go to college, ucd at that, yet you come out with a post like that op....

Footpaths are not parking spaces

You obviously have no clue about the area and the parking situation do you? UCD car parks fill up by 9am thanks to the amount of workers who park there for free and get the bus in to town because it works out cheaper than paying for parking in the city centre. So it means us students have to park outside the college in the residential areas that surround it. And the roads in these areas are so narrow that everyone (I'm not using the fact that everyone does it as an excuse) parks on the footpath in order to allow cars/emergency services/whatever to pass by without causing an obstruction to the flow of traffic.

This has been an ongoing problem for years yet it only becomes an issue with the Guards now?

RandomAccess · 15-11-2012 12:45AM

Jello wrote: »

I know the people who's house I parked outside (they are students in UCD along with pretty much everyone else on that road) so I can assure you they have no issue whatsoever with me parking there and certainly didn't call the Gardai complaining about me.

It was meeeeee that called em! Great gas altogether.
Seriously though, even if it were not a daft assumption that "pretty much everyone" is ok with you parking on a footpath, that leaves pretty much everyone else who might not be.

If its any consolation they were just making sure that you didn't start a trend. Illegal parking can get out of control real fast and your car is like a decoy duck, there will be tons more landing nearby if you are allowed to stay there.

NOT a real duck...

Stheno · 15-11-2012 12:47AM

Jello wrote: »

You obviously have no clue about the area and the parking situation do you? UCD car parks fill up by 9am thanks to the amount of workers who park there for free and get the bus in to town because it works out cheaper than paying for parking in the city centre. So it means us students have to park outside the college in the residential areas that surround it. And the roads in these areas are so narrow that everyone (I'm not using the fact that everyone does it as an excuse) parks on the footpath in order to allow cars/emergency services/whatever to pass by without causing an obstruction to the flow of traffic.

This has been an ongoing problem for years yet it only becomes an issue with the Guards now?

Get into college early so?

I would imagine that every year come October, the residents get this happen, and this time they have complained. Or the gardai are fed up with the situation and are clamping down?

EireGreg · 15-11-2012 12:48AM

Stheno wrote: »

and you deduced the OP is female how?

just a wild guess maybe

paddydriver · 15-11-2012 12:48AM

Jello wrote: »

You obviously have no clue about the area and the parking situation do you? UCD car parks fill up by 9am thanks to the amount of workers who park there for free and get the bus in to town because it works out cheaper than paying for parking in the city centre. So it means us students have to park outside the college in the residential areas that surround it. And the roads in these areas are so narrow that everyone (I'm not using the fact that everyone does it as an excuse) parks on the footpath in order to allow cars/emergency services/whatever to pass by without causing an obstruction to the flow of traffic.

This has been an ongoing problem for years yet it only becomes an issue with the Guards now?

OP - You need to stop digging. You cannot legally park on foot paths, there is no excuses or defence.

Some Guard's may take a blind eye view but eventually you are going to have one that doesn't. As regards the note - my understanding is that Guards no issue all fines electronically so they don't get the "satisfaction" of putting the sticky notice on the window. Fact you got a written note means the Guard took great satisfaction in doing you... with good reason too!

fullstop · 15-11-2012 12:52AM

I presume you're talking about Wynnsward drive? The footpath is not "very wide", so if you're parked fully on the footpath, you're obstructing the footpath and if not you're obstructing traffic. It's an absolute pain in the ass trying to get through those lights in the evening, contributed to in no small way by idiots parked blocking the road.

And you say the car parks are full by 9am, rarely. If you're stuck there's always space down by Newstead until near 10am.

Pat Mustard · 15-11-2012 01:33AM

Jello wrote: »

I have parked there countless times over the past three and a half years (along with many others - the road is always full of cars and you're lucky to get a spot there) and it's only now that I am receiving a fine? There's no double yellow lines

From your description, it doesn't sound like there is anything preventing you from parking normally on the road.

From what you've written, you parked on the footpath in order to minimise any obstruction that your car might have caused to passing motorists. Unfortunately, it was your altruism that caused the difficulty.

One thing though. You wrote that there was a note stating that you will get a fine. I would have thought that you should have got an on-the-spot-fine, but your description doesn't tally with that.

Throw up a scanned copy of the paperwork from AGS, for the craic.

magnavox · 15-11-2012 01:56AM

fullstop wrote: »

I presume you're talking about Wynnsward drive? The footpath is not "very wide", so if you're parked fully on the footpath, you're obstructing the footpath and if not you're obstructing traffic. It's an absolute pain in the ass trying to get through those lights in the evening, contributed to in no small way by idiots parked blocking the road.

And you say the car parks are full by 9am, rarely. If you're stuck there's always space down by Newstead until near 10am.

Agree totally with this. I especially despise the inconsiderate fools who think it's ok to park fully in the road blocking the whole lane. Causes chaos with the amount of people who use the road all day long. Would love to see the the Guards arrive with a low loader and lift them all away....:D

I think they need double yellow lines from the lights down to the gate.

Jello · 15-11-2012 01:59AM

The Mustard wrote: »

From your description, it doesn't sound like there is anything preventing you from parking normally on the road.

From what you've written, you parked on the footpath in order to minimise any obstruction that your car might have caused to passing motorists. Unfortunately, it was your altruism that caused the difficulty.

One thing though. You wrote that there was a note stating that you will get a fine. I would have thought that you should have got an on-the-spot-fine, but your description doesn't tally with that.

Throw up a scanned copy of the paperwork from AGS, for the craic.

Yeah that's exactly right, nothing preventing me parking on the road and as you said the reason I parked with two wheels on the path rather than completely on the road was to minimise obstruction I may have caused to motorists.

In fact recently there has sometimes a car parked with all four wheels on the road on the opposite side of the road to where I parked. In the evenings when it's busy it has meant that only one lane of traffic can pass through because of where this car has been parked which makes it an absolute nightmare for people getting in and out. I'm not trying to defend parking on the path but it certainly makes it far easier for motorists entering and exiting the college.

I don't have access to a scanner at the moment but the note is basically a small piece of paper about 8cm x 4cm with the Gardai symbol next to two boxes with "No Parking" (and an x in this box) and "Non Display of Tax Disc" and "Fixed Charge Penalty will be issued by post" written below this.

fullstop wrote: »

And you say the car parks are full by 9am, rarely. If you're stuck there's always space down by Newstead until near 10am.

Considering I arrived in at 9:25am this morning and that was the first place I looked for parking (it was obviously full) I think 10am is quite an ambitious time to be expecting to get any sort of parking in UCD!

Stheno · 15-11-2012 02:02AM

Look you are just going to have to suck it up and pay the fine, you've no defence here.

Try to get into college earlier if you are driving or use alternative forms of transport in future.

Pat Mustard · 15-11-2012 02:07AM

Stheno wrote: »

Look you are just going to have to suck it up and pay the fine, you've no defence here.

Try to get into college earlier if you are driving or use alternative forms of transport in future.

He can park legally with all four wheels on the road. Realistically, this is what he is likely to do.

Iwannahurl · 15-11-2012 02:09AM

Stheno wrote: »

Just pay the fine.

The residents in the area are probably sick of people blocking up the footpath and have called the gardai.

And AGS are probably sick of receiving complaints from residents, so have finally got round to issuing Fixed Charge Notices.

A parking fine blitz by AGS once every 3.5 years sounds remarkably frequent to me, btw.

Which reminds me: IMO an unfortunate side-effect of the FCN system as used by AGS is that no parking ticket is placed on vehicles. If there was, other motorists would see that fines are being issued, and the rest of us would know that AGS are doing their job.

Stheno · 15-11-2012 02:09AM

The Mustard wrote: »

He can park legally with all four wheels on the road. Realistically, this is what he is likely to do.

They should double yellow the road then

The roads around UCD for the most part are too narrow for parking.

Chris_Heilong · 15-11-2012 02:15AM

not all the residents on my road have drive ways and it is a thin road so many including me park two wheels off the road in front of our houses, I dont see an issue with this unless there is not enough room for people to easily pass. It would not be possible for cars on both sides of the road to park on the road as it would restrict traffic coming and going. Maybe the OP's situation is different. Can someone put up a google map view of the area?

Iwannahurl · 15-11-2012 02:16AM

Jello wrote: »

1. the roads in these areas are so narrow that everyone parks on the footpath in order to allow cars/emergency services/whatever to pass by without causing an obstruction to the flow of traffic.

2. This has been an ongoing problem for years yet it only becomes an issue with the Guards now?

1. No they don't. They do it out of habit, because everyone else does it, because they get away with more often than not, and because pedestrians and disabled people are also-rans.

2. It takes an awful lot of effort to get AGS to tackle this rampant problem. You got away with it for 3.5 years, right?

3. By the way, without giving away any personal information, can you give a rough indication of the nature of your commute?

Pat Mustard · 15-11-2012 02:45AM

Stheno wrote: »

They should double yellow the road then The roads around UCD for the most part are too narrow for parking.

Or simply regulate parking, and issue permits to residents if necessary.

Parking on footpath

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