Shortage of car parking spaces leading to intimidation at Laois estate

Householders are being subjected to intimidation due to the lack of parking spaces at a Laois estate. 

That was the claim from a councillor at a recent meeting of the Portarlington Graiguecullen Municipal District. 

Independent Cllr Aisling Moran tabled a motion asking  “that Laois County Council allocate a marked car parking space per house, with the remainder to be allocated as communal. This needs to be done immediately in Heatherhill Square, Graiguecullen as it is causing undue stress to many residents and  to make it part of planning conditions going forward.”

She explained that there was provision for just one parking space when the estate was first built but the demand for spaces has grown. 

“Some are using three or four spaces while other people are having to park outside,” Cllr Moran claimed. 

“It is not fair what is going on there. There is one family and they have no parking space,” she said. Cllr Moran said the situation was leading to intimidation of some residents. 

She asked the council to consider putting numbers on each of the car parking spaces so that they matched the house numbers. 

Fine Gael Cllr Vivienne Phelan agreed with Cllr Moran and said cars are parking up on kerbs particularly at the weekend. 

In response to the motion, Senior Executive Engineer Philip McVeigh said “this request for a disabled parking spot and numbering of the parking spaces can be considered subject to funding being made available”.

Cllr Moran said it was important that the issue was looked at and she urged the council to ensure that adequate parking is included in all new planning applications.