Westminster candidate Mickey Brady has welcomed what he terms as the ‘reprieve’ for some car owners who were recently ticketed outside St Catherine’s Dominican Chapel.
Speaking on the incident Mr Brady said
“What happened to vehicle owners attending the recent Novena in the Dominican caused great anger. Myself and my colleague Conor Murphy MLA contacted the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) to voice our concerns. They agreed to look into the issues we raised”.
He continued “When visiting the location the Department Officers took the opportunity to inspect the condition of the restriction’s signs and lines.
“They decided that the signs and lines are of such poor condition that they are unenforceable and as a result, an instruction was made to have Parking Enforcement Management Unit to cancel the PCNs issued on 6 November and to refund any payments that have been made.
“This is welcome news and I commend the Department for Infrastructure for this.
“Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Officials also been in contact with the PSNI and have been advised that if there is any misunderstanding regarding parking along this length of road, they will work with the church and place cones when the Novena is on again.
“This hopefully should help prevent further penalty charge notices being issued.”
Mr Brady did however warn motorists that parking in the area in that locality was still prohibited.
“The Department insist that at this location, parking restrictions are in place for road safety and to facilitate the free movement of traffic. They will issue enforcement tickets on vehicles that their staff believe compromise road safety or traffic progression. So I would urge motorists to be attentive to where they park their car”.
On the issue of Car Parking Enforcement in the wider City area, the Newry & Armagh candidate said,
“The issue of Parking in town centres is a high profile, complex and emotive issue. Fees, restrictive enforcement regimes and a lack of provision have caused much debate and at times anger not only in Newry City but in most regions.
Car Parking and the actions of Traffic Wardens continues to cause problems in Newry City.
If motorists block pedestrian access or cause an impediment on the road they deserve a ticket. However, if they are reasonably parked and causing no impediment to either pedestrians or other motorists, a degree of flexibility should be shown.
In the meantime I would encourage that Traffic Wardens/Parking-attendants provide a common sense, professional , sensitive service to all clients and that they in turn are treated in a polite, respectful manner by all”.
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