AN Ulster Unionist member of the Council has issued a plea for the public to respect disabled parking bays.
Councillor Victor Warrington raised the issue at the Environmental Services Committee meeting, telling members after the Public Realm Scheme was carried out in Enniskillen, all on-street parking enforcement became “null and void”.
He said: “There are no parking restrictions from start to finish and that includes loading bays and, more specifically, disabled bays.
“Members know how strongly I feel about disabled spaces, for myself and a lot of people, and they are really, really needed.
“It hit home when I arrived at the Townhall for a meeting and two cars were parked in the disabled spaces, and it transpired one actually belonged to a worker who had just parked there, went about their job, but came back the next day and parked there again.
“I found out who the worker was, and I tried to contact them, but they probably had been made aware of my quite vocal Facebook posts and it was a case where she chose to ignore me.”
Councillor Warrington continued: “The problem is we are really waiting on the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) to put the legislation back into place again, where the ‘Redcoats’ and the PSNI can enforce parking regulations.
“At the minute, neither of them can, leaving [disabled bays] open for abuse by whoever decides to park there.”
He proposed contacting the DfI “as a matter of urgency” to try to get the legislation back in place.
Concluding, Councillor Warrington said: “I appeal for everybody to please respect disabled spaces, and leave them for the people who need them.
“They are there for a reason.”
Seconding, Democratic Unionist Councillor Keith Elliot fully agreed, adding: “There’s a big problem at the minute and it appears to be down to shop workers parking on street. It’s been raised before.”
The Director of Community, Health and Leisure, John Boyle, told the meeting: “Enforcement was stopped at the start of the Public Realm Scheme and it needs a legislative change, or a change within the DfI, to bring it back.
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