The annual cost of residents’ parking permits in some parts of Dublin city could increase from €50 to €225, a 350 per cent hike, under a review of parking control bylaws by Dublin City Council.
Councillors will be asked to consider bringing the annual charge for people to park on the public road outside their homes more in line with existing pay-and-display on-street parking charges in the city.
The council’s parking enforcement section is reviewing the bylaws and considering the potential of a “zonal approach” to permits, where residents would pay more based on the proximity of their home to the city centre.
All residents whose homes are on roads governed by pay-and-display parking pay a flat fee of €50 per year, or €80 for two years, to park on the street, a fee which has not increased since 2011.
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However, non-residents parking in the same street pay meter rates that increase with proximity to the centre.
The high demand “yellow zone” includes the city centre but stretches to streets around the Mater hospital in Phibsborough on the northside, and Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, on the south side. On-street parking costs €4 an hour, and residents’ permits could be increased to €225 a year.
The surrounding “red zone” includes Ranelagh, Rathmines and the rest of Ballsbridge on the south side and parts of Stoneybatter and the northeast inner city on the north side. On-street parking in those areas costs €3.50, and residents’ permits could rise to approximately €200.
The larger “green zone” encompassing Miltown, Harold’s Cross, Dolphin’s Barn and Kilmainham on the southside and the remainder of Phibsborough and parts of Cabra and Drumcondra, has an on-street charge of €2, and residents could be charged about €110.
The outer orange zone, which encompasses much of the rest of the inner suburban area, has on-street charges of €1.20. Residents’ permits here would likely be in the region of €70 annually.
The parking enforcement section said it wanted to ensure “fair access to on-street parking for all road users”.
The current blanket permit fee “has not taken into account inflation and is not in line with parking charges increases”, it said. “For context, in the yellow zone, paying for 12 hours of parking is equivalent to the cost of all-year parking for a resident in the yellow zone.”
If councillors support the proposal, a public consultation process will be held in advance of the introduction of new bylaws. The council is also considering bylaws to reduce hourly parking charges for zero-emission vehicles and ending the ability to pay for parking by mobile phone in the streets around Croke Park to curb “problematic” match day parking.
Separately, the council has awarded a 10-year contract to bike hire company Bleeper to provide 300 secure bike storage spaces across the city. The so-called bike bunkers, which take up one car parking space, can accommodate six bicycles. The annual charge for a space is €100 per bike, twice the current residents’ parking charge.
