Cork City Council last week denied that there is a lack of parking enforcement around the multi-million euro MacCurtain Street project, but since then, councillors and members of the public have continued to highlight the issue.
Even during construction and after different streets as part of the project were finished, the new improvements suffered from motorists parking illegally on MacCurtain Street and the streets around it, which were part of the project that aimed to give priority to buses and provide more public space.
A large percentage of the illegal parking is on the footpaths inside double yellow lines and right up to and on tactical paving, which is designed to guide people with visual impairments along the wider footpaths. There is also regular parking in bus bays, and motorists also regularly ignore bus lanes by both parking and driving in them.
The project was officially opened in November 2023 by Tánaiste Micheál Martin and then Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Kieran McCarthy. With most council’s sustainable transport and public realm projects, if there weren’t enforcement up to the launch of a project, it would kick in after the launch.
But by May, councillors and business owners were still reporting chronic issues of illegal parking around the MacCurtain Street project in Cork.
Cllr John Maher (Labour) tweeted in May: “So, you ask the law enforces what have they done above illegal parking @The_VQ_Cork [the MacCurtain Street area]” and he said that the “response was sure ‘they took away the parking'”.
He added: “That supposedly makes it okay, so, lads/lassies [can] park where ya like” and that “tweeting isn’t working and working with JPC [joint policing committee] isn’t.”
Michael Wall, a business owner on the street, tweeted in May that there’s a “ridiculous level pavement/street/path”. He said: “It’s a free for all. A fuck ton of money spent on this work, and it’s being shat upon. Who can I as a trader talk to. Who is there in City Council to listen and act accordingly?”
Sam McCormick, a sustainable transport campaigner, also tweeted in March that buses are “constantly” stuck behind several private cars illegally using these bus lanes” and that “Illegal parking blocks bus traffic carrying thousands of people daily.”
He added: “This isn’t fair or acceptable. Patrick’s Street has never been properly enforced, and after the great € work done around MacCurtain Street it looks to be going the same way.”
Following these and similar tweets, IrishCycle.com contacted the Department of Transport to question the value for money aspect of the investment in millions to give priority to sustainable transport. The questions were outlined in the context of how motoring offences were not being adequately tackled by parking enforcement by Cork City Council or by the Gardai.
A spokesperson from the Department said: “Illegal parking is a matter for the Roads Policing Unit of An Garda Síochána and Cork City Council. And the Department of Justice is best placed to address queries relating to enforcement.”
Follow-up questions were asked to the Department, including whether, if illegal parking is chronic, projects are clearly not delivering as funded, so, why the Department does not see this as an issue and if it is looking to review these issues to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.
A spokesperson said: “The Department of Transport sets policy in the area of Active Travel and provides funding to its agency, the NTA, to deliver Active Travel infrastructure. The NTA works closely with all local authorities to develop AT projects, provides funding to suitably approved projects and oversees their implementation in conjunction with the Local Authorities.”
“The Department is keen to ensure that the public gets to enjoy the full benefits of the Active Travel infrastructure that is deployed and that it encourages modal shift in line with Government policy. The Department is in regular contact with the NTA and matters, such as below, are brought to its attention as required,” they said.
The spokesperson added: “The Department will raise this specific issue with the NTA to ascertain their views on the matter. However, it believes that enforcement is a matter for the local authority concerned and An Garda Síochána.”
After apparent frustration from raising the issue for months, Cllr Maher tweeted a photo of a car parked across one of the new stone footpaths and MacCurtain Street on Saturday and said: “Not a fu1k is given – crazy carry on #maccurtainstreet”.
He tagged the city council and Garda Traffic accounts and said: “You continue to let this happen despite constantly flagging it.”
Cllr Pádraig Rice (Social Democrats) also tweeted about the street at the weekend. He said: “A significant sum of public funds was spent upgrading MacCurtain Street. It’s such a shame that the new paving has already been damaged by careless drivers.”
He added: “I walked through here last night, and there were so many cars parked on the footpath. I’ve logged this issue with the Council. I expect a considered response.”
The Twitter account “What if Cork” tweeted a series of photographs showing apparent oil damage to the paving stones around where illegal parking is rampant. It said: “This is unreal and we see it every day in the City.”
It added: “Cork City Council has been told about these problems over and over again but refuse to do anything about it, instead they get really defensive. The new MacCurtain St is already filthy from illegal parking. This is easy to fix!”
Other members of the public posted images of cars parked all along the street up on footpaths and right at pedestrian crossings.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the National Transport Authority said: “The NTA is aware of the ongoing issue of vehicles being parked in bus stops or on footpaths on MacCurtain Street, and we are liaising closely with Cork City Council on the matter. Regarding enforcement, this is a matter for An Garda Síochána and the local authority.”
Also on Friday, a spokesperson for the council said: “Cork City Council completely refutes the false accusation that we have not acted to deliver a full parking enforcement service on MacCurtain Street.”
“The MacCurtain Street Public Transport Improvement Scheme has been the subject of full parking enforcement, in accordance with the parking lines and signs that are in place, since the project and all on-street works were completed,” they said.
The council’s spokesperson said: “The area is patrolled by the Parking Enforcement Team multiple times a day, either by beat patrol warden or by mobile unit. These patrols are at random times during the day and are cover a six-day period every week, with occasional Sundays and evening shifts also taking place.
They added: “As evidence of this significant enforcement activity across all of the streets which form part of this project, please see below the number of fines issued to date since the scheme was completed.” The council provided the following table of enforcement action around the project:
| Offence | No. of Fines |
| Parking on a Footpath | 398 |
| Parking in a Bus Stop | 92 |
| Parking beyond the time permitted in a Set Down Area | 47 |
| Parking in a Disabled Bay without displaying a valid permit | 51 |
| Unlawful Parking of a Vehicle in a Loading Bay | 71 |
The Garda Press Office was contacted for this article. A holding response was given seven days ago.
It’s every city, town, village in the country… It’s unbelievable how entitled some people have become.
Finally got some feedback from our local Garda station and it appears that An Garda Siochana have their hands tied too (an active Garda member needs to witness the illegal parking for FCPN to be issued. No retrospective fines based on reports from the public.). While I understand the rationale, surely tracking the public reports and engaging when their is a clear behaviour sustained over a period would be beneficial for all.