Community Engaging Lower Ormeau/Mornington Community Project

Seán Mac Eachaidh reports on life being made miserable for the residents of the Lower Ormeau Road community where he lives.

The relentless swelling of commuter parking within the local community is detrimental to community harmony. The impact of the parking issue can rightly be regarded as a root cause or prime mover for the widest range of many other local community service problems issues albeit mundane, essential or emergency and also a major obstacle to the quality of life for all residents in the community.

Commuter parking within the local community accounts for a daytime 55 hour standstill, working weekly congestion, without respite, Monday to Friday, all year round. Some residents are perplexed when they contrast the absence of any statutory crowd/traffic congestion management provided in the Lower Ormeau in line with a standard response applied to Soccer, football, Rugby games, concerts and all other crowd traffic congestion control occurrences.

When in these instances residents are inconvenienced for a maximum of 5 hours on only an occasional basis. However, to offset such crowded parking inconvenience - a procedural service necessitate Police, Hi-viz bibbed Stewards and traffic wardens to ensure a minimum disruption as possible to the quality of community life surrounding the events. This also includes the fullest partnership and co-operation of local shopping car parks being utilized to accommodate the estimated increased car parking demands. So there are solutions. This community deserves a similar quality of life.

On an individual basis many residents have and continue to report and highlight this issue to all the proper and appropriate authorities ie Council, Police, DRD and Politicians yet the issue not only remains an idle one but due to inaction, it has severely deteriorated because such individual reports are treated in isolation rather than in a correlated, flagged and collectively logged manner that would clearly demonstrate this matter overwhelmingly affects the entire community.

The following issues such as disruption or no bin collection at all, obstacles delaying vital emergency vehicles and all other prevention of essential delivery/pick-up - drop-off services are clearly symptomatic and directly consequential to the overcrowding of parked cars in the locality as outlined above.

Normal Service has become either alternative or alternating arising from the increasing uncertainty of access to our streets. Community Trust Services are delayed or prevented. Parcel, large goods and fuel delivery is either collected on the main road or more often arranged for Saturdays. While this brief depiction is not definitive or exhaustive. It is a fair, truthful and accurate overview of a deepening diminished quality of life for all residents who desperately yearn for better.

Mornington Community Project appears genuine, honest and sincere in their desire to assist the local community. Phil Rankin is forthright and clear speaking. He familiarized and assessed the over-parking issue at first hand this morning and most pertinently, he listened to the many other concerns expressed by the residents who he met in the street and outside their home.

Furthermore the Mornington Community Rep viewed the danger of the Lower Ormeau Community over parking that dangerously and directly impacts on the Mornington Premises where fire exits are completely obstructed by non resident parked vehicles.

Philip intends to arrange a public (Open to all) meeting as a matter of urgency to facilitate further input from and with the wider community. The meeting will be held on Monday February 15th at 7pm inthe Mornington Premises. This forum aims to not only provide a united voice but also the commencement of a resolving process by and from within the community itself - It is a start.

Mornington Community Project Facebook Page


A Tight fit


1 comment:

  1. Thank you Mackers for highlighting this community concern. The specific 5 Local Botanic Ward councillors were informed and notified about the public meeting, 2 attended, Councillors Emmet McDonough Brown (Alliance Party) and Declan Boyle (Sflp). Both have been swift to act on the constituents' concerns. This is a positive and welcome response. Once again thank you for your assistance and to all at the TPQ Censor Offender.

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