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‘It’s not fair on the residents’: Dublin Airport car park squeeze puts pressure on local estates

Residents in suburbs around the airport say that although cars are technically allowed to park there, they nonetheless make life very difficult for them

The express green car park at Dublin Airport, displaying a 'Closed' sign. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times
Cian O'Connell
Tue Aug 06 2024 - 06:00

Communities close to Dublin Airport have been voicing their concerns over passengers taking up valuable parking space in residential areas this summer.

“We live in a cul-de-sac, and it can be quite tight at the best of times,” says Padraig Murray of Santry. “In the summer, it gets really, really bad… What happens unfortunately is people literally come and drop their cars, and we’d be seeing it there for the next two, three, four, five days – up to two weeks.”

QuickPark, a car parking facility that accounts for 20 per cent of spaces at Dublin Airport, has been closed for two years as property developer Gerry Gannon looks to sell up. For weekends like this one, the shortage of spaces is noticeable.

Accessibility is a major issue for smaller roads. In a cul-de-sac with no double yellow lines, two cars parked on opposite sides of the road are technically allowed to be there, but they can make life very difficult for locals.

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“Without talking out of school, there’s a wee lass who lives down our road and she’s in a wheelchair,” says Mr Murray. “Some people don’t even care – they just park the car so far in that she can’t even cross the road.”

[ Dublin Airport car parks sold out ahead of bank holiday weekend ]

Another cul-de-sac resident is Jennifer Sheekey, who lives on Shanowen Crescent, also in Santry. “You would notice that there’s cars and suitcases travelling,” says Ms Sheekey. “Sometimes it can only be for a few days but sometimes you would see the car there for a solid two weeks.”

Again, the big concern is accessibility. Most residents on Ms Sheekey’s road have driveways with space for two cars, so it is obvious when a vehicle has been left unattended.

“We have had issues where ambulances haven’t been able to get in,” says Ms Sheekey. “Now, we can’t say that’s just down to people parking for the airport – we have a problem with the students parking as well.

“But we do have a few people that would need medical attention in the cul-de-sac, and we have had that issue where we’ve had to ring the guards before because cars that are parked haven’t been collected in a day or two.”

Dublin Airport long-term car parking. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times

Local businesses can be affected by those travelling too. Ms Sheekey uses the CrossFit Santry gym, which has a parking facility alongside other businesses at Santry Hall industrial estate.

“Sometimes you would actually struggle to get a space and you’d think ‘Oh, that car has been there ages’,” says Ms Sheekey. “And they reckon it’s definitely airport parking, because they’re quite close to a bus stop there.”

William Moran runs SunBeams Laundry on Shanliss Road. Local deliveries require him to drive to and from his workplace throughout the day, but there is limited space for both he and his customers to park near the premises.

“Last year, they used to park their cars for three or four days and head off to the airport,” says Mr Moran. “Get the bus around the corner. You’d get to know them. They still do it an odd time – they leave their car there.”

[ Property developer makes €70m-plus bid to buy car park beside Dublin Airport ]

Though he is still struggling for parking spaces at the laundry, this year Mr Moran has not noticed as many airport passengers occupying the spots.

“It was terrible,” he says of last year. “With the other car park closed since Covid, it has an effect. But like I said, I don’t see it affecting me this year. The spaces are taken up early.”

For seven years, Claire Matthews has lived by the Clonshaugh Road, a 10-minute drive to the airport. She has seen the problem exacerbated in that time. “Since the end of Covid and since that car park at the airport is closed, [it’s been worse],” says Ms Matthews.

The summer surge in air traffic at Dublin Airport has led to passengers taking up valuable car parking spaces in residential areas in surrounding areas. Photograph: Collins Photos

Traffic hotspots in her area include a bend that is often made very tight by cars left parked for several days at a time. Passengers also flock to a nearby hotel.

“If you go up there any day of the week, there’s no double yellow lines but there’s always tons of cars parked all along there,” says Ms Matthews. “There’s a shuttle service from that hotel directly to the airport.”

Gerard Gorman, a member of the Holywell Residents’ Association in Swords, has been watching the problem get worse since he moved to the area in 2008. Expense, alongside a shortage of spaces, is a huge factor.

[ Car parking at Dublin airport ‘sold out’ for a number of days over peak summer period ]

“Obviously it’s cheaper to go from there and leave their car there,” says Mr Gorman. “I don’t know what rates the airport are charging or if there’s enough room or whatever. But it’s happening continuous on both sides of the estate.”

When he first moved, Mr Gorman says he and his neighbours had space to park outside their houses, but that facility is now often taken from them. Taxi drivers, he adds, get frustrated by the short journeys that passengers require – it is a three-minute trip from Holywell to the airport.

“It’s not fair on the residents that are there a long time,” he says.