MATCHGOERS COULD be banned from parking in an area stretching almost 4km from Croke Park under new bylaws to be released for public consultation by Dublin City Council this summer.
The proposed ban is designed to stop non-residents from taking up on-street parking spaces near the stadium. However, it will not be in place for this year’s GAA season including the hurling and football All Ireland finals.
In September 2007 the council’s traffic department proposed that non-residents be banned from parking within a 1km radius of Croke Park on match days.
However, the bylaws were amended by the city councillors to extend the cordon to 2km. They were then released for public consultation and attracted more than 100 objections from the public, including several TDs and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who was worried that the parking restriction would stop people attending Mass.
The majority of objections were from residents of areas just outside the cordon who were worried that matchgoers would start to clog up their roads.
The council yesterday decided to extend the cordon to include the areas where people complained about potential displacement of the parking problem and to put these new revised bylaws out to public consultation.
The previous 2km radial cordon has not been extended evenly, but is now based on the areas where there were significant numbers of objections. At its farthest points it reaches the corner of Collins Avenue and the Howth Road near Killester, almost 4km northwest of the stadium, and to Ballygall more than 3.5km to the northeast.
The new cordon means residents of Quarry Road in Cabra, who live 3km from the stadium, are protected, but those living in Avondale Avenue, also in Cabra but only 2km from the stadium, are not. In Clontarf, matchgoers would not be able to park in Elm Road, 3.5km from the stadium, but could park in Brooklawn less than 3km from the stadium.
Fianna Fáil councillor Mary Fitzpatrick said the council must ensure it highlights public transport and other initiatives so the new bylaws get a positive reaction.
“We need to better inform people of the public transport options that offer a real alternative to driving.”
Connolly and Drumcondra stations were less than 10 minutes walk from the stadium, she said.
