Six Nations prompts rethink on parking legislation

A major traffic management plan is to be put in place for this weekend's Six Nations rugby international at Croke Park, ahead of a legislative change which may see local authorities given new powers to create temporary parking restrictions for such occasions.

In a bid to restrict congestion and illegal parking, clamping will be in operation around the stadium with gardaí also issuing fines to illegally parked vehicles. Vehicles causing a significant obstruction may be towed.

Residents' groups have complained about the traffic congestion caused by the increase in major events and the issue was raised more than a dozen times in the Dáil last year.

The Minster for Transport Martin Cullen accepts there is a problem and has sought the advice of the Attorney General Rory Brady on whether it is possible to introduce new legislation allowing local authorities to restrict and prohibit parking close to the stadium on match days only to residents.

The issue was referred to the AG's office last summer and the Department said last night that a reply has not been received.

At the moment there is no law allowing councils to restrict parking exclusively to residents. A local residents' group says the parking issue is particularly problematic outside the Garda cordon immediately around Croke Park.

Mr Cullen said while he accepts the concerns of Croke Park residents, similar issues arise at other stadiums around the country and that, increasingly, parking congestion can arise on a daily basis where parking is availed of by commuters. Therefore he is seeking a solution to this issue nationally.

Superintendent Declan Brogan from the Garda Traffic Control Centre said illegally parked cars near Croke Park this weekend would be ticketed and that bollards would be placed on many roads around the stadium to prevent illegal parking. "The big difference between this Sunday and a normal full-capacity GAA match is that fans will be travelling from every part of the country and we have made provision for this with our traffic management plan."

Supt Brogan said gardaí would be stationed at most of the junctions on main routes out of the city after the match on Sunday to assist motorists leaving the city.

"We would ask people not to park indiscriminately around the city. If they do they are going to create problems. There will be intensive patrolling of these areas. We know where people park indiscriminately and we will seek to discourage people from doing that before the match. Anyone caught will be fined," he said.

Peter McKenna, Croke Park stadium director said the walk from O'Connell St was not that far from "alighting points" such as O'Connell St or North Circular road from where fans can walk. "We have invested strongly in a very detailed map showing how to get to the stadium, what public transport to use and it is on our website, the IRFU website, the FAI website and the competing countries websites."

Dublin City Council is currently designing a new consultative forum through which the roughly 2,000 residents within 1km of Croke Park, gardaí, the GAA and the council can deal with issues such as parking on match days.