Double-yellow lines urged on link road to stop illegal encampment in Limerick

A CALL has been made to paint double-yellow lines along a link road which has seen a number of caravans parked on it.

At this month’s metropolitan district meeting, Labour councillor Joe Leddin raised the issue of the road which links Dock Road to the Alandale Housing Estate in the city.

“On and off, for a considerable period of time now, Travellers have been encamped on the side of the road, or on the footpaths. Thereby, they impede pedestrians from walking and are impeding motorists from the point of view of sightlines for driving,” Cllr Leddin explained.

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Council staff have placed boulders along the pavement in a bid to prevent the caravans from being parked on the footpath.
But, as things stand, Cllr Leddin says the gardai are powerless to do anything because double yellow-lines are not in place on the street.

Without this measure, officers are not able to dole out penalties for illegal parking.

“By double-yellow lining both sides of the road, it’s giving some authority to a member of An Garda Siochana in terms of the Road Traffic Act to issue fines and notices,” he said.

The City West councillor says local people and business owners have been “driven to distraction” by the caravans.

“We need to find a satisfactory solution for all concerned. The current situation cannot be allowed to continue. Parking on the side of the road is simply not feasible,” he said.

Cllr Leddin said many people use the link road, including students of Mary Immaculate College nearby.

“It’s important from that point of view that we don’t have the health and safety issue of people walking on the road because the footpaths are completely blocked by caravans,” he added. He brought the item forward as a motion to the metropolitan district meeting. It was seconded by his constituency colleague, Cllr Maria Donoghue, Independent.

In a written reply, senior executive engineer James Moylan wrote: “In principle, the roads department does not have any issue with this proposal.” He added the gardai will need to be consulted before double-yellow lines are introduced along the link road.