A concerned father has said that he and his daughter have been forced to walk on the road to go to school due to bad parking across the Holyland area.
Bruce Gardiner-Crehan has called for increased parking enforcement in the South Belfast area in order to stop cars illegally parking on the pavement and grass verges.
He told Belfast Live that in recent weeks there has been an increase in parking problems across the Holylands area which mean that local residents are unable to walk on the footpaths and have been forced to walk on the road instead.
He believes the issue stems from large numbers of houses of multiple occupancy in the area, where every tenant may have their own car, making limited parking even more scarce.
Bruce said: "The issue of illegal parking has been a growing problem in the Holylands for quite some time and there are many streets where it is just not possible to walk on the footpath.
"This week I was taking my daughter to primary school and we were forced to walk there on the road because the pavements were taken up by cars.
"It is an issue that is affecting everyone who is living in the area and residents would like to see increased parking enforcement in order to tackle this ongoing problem.
"We love living in the Holylands and it has the potential to be a very attractive place for all walks of life, but there are certain issues that need to be dealt with urgently to make it an even better place to live for everyone."
Botanic SDLP councillor Gary McKeown said there has been issues with problem parking across South Belfast and has knock on effects for local residents including missed bin collections and a lack of access for the disabled and parents with young children.
He said: "Inappropriate parking in the Holylands, Lower Ormeau, Stranmillis, the Lower Lisburn Road, and other parts of South Belfast close to the city centre, is chronic, and has a significant impact on residents, including missed bin and recycling collections and pavements being blocked, meaning that people who use a wheelchair or have a pram are forced onto the road. This is completely unacceptable and is dangerous.
"I'm in regular contact with police and the Department for Infrastructure around providing additional road markings and enforcement, but unfortunately some drivers just don't care.
"This behaviour just adds to the existing challenges faced by the Holylands in particular, and builds on the idea that some people seem have that 'anything goes'. This has to stop – we need drivers to respect the area and its residents by parking legally, and we need enforcement to make sure that poor parking hits those responsible where it hurts – in their pocket.
"Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has recognised the challenges of pavement parking and recently launched a consultation on how legislation can be improved around it. I would encourage everyone to provide feedback through this process so it can be dealt with much more effectively."
A Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said: "Traffic Attendants patrol this area Monday - Friday and take enforcement action against any vehicle detected parking in contravention of a restriction on Department for Infrastructure adopted and / or maintained property.
“For clarity, inconsiderate parking causing an obstruction, such as to a driveway, is an offence that should be brought to the attention of the PSNI on their non-emergency number telephone 101, as they have the authority to take enforcement action. The Department is currently seeking views on options to address inconsiderate pavement parking and parking across dropped kerbs. The options paper and online survey are available at https://consultations2.nidirect.gov.uk/dfi-1/pavement-parking-consultation/ “
