Review of 'notorious' parking problems in Derry's Duncreggan area ‘within weeks’ – Durkan

In response to an Assembly Question tabled by Mr Durkan, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd confirmed that a review of parking activity in the area will be carried out by the department in the coming weeks.

It comes just days after PSNI officers locally issued numerous fines to people parked in an ‘inconsiderate manner’ in and around the same area.

Mr Durkan said: “This issue is one which I’ve been working hard to tackle for quite some time and regularly engage with the Magee University and the local DfI Roads section on. It has been a bugbear for many over the years and is an issue which I’ve pushed to resolve.

“This is a very busy route into the city centre and is often used by both university staff and students for parking. However, it’s clear that parking is causing a great deal of disruption for residents, motorists and pedestrians alike. Residents have complained that inconsiderate parking often blocks the entrance to their driveways, preventing them from leaving their homes. In addition, this is a long established residential area with a majority of elderly residents; health and safety concerns have been raised that the area is completely inaccessible for emergency services during the day.

“Inconsiderate parking on Duncreggan Road is notorious and while I appreciate that some steps have been taken to address the issue, they have not gone far enough.

“I had received assurances from previous Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon that she would increase the number of enforcement patrols on this route. I welcome that in recent weeks, police issued a number of fixed penalty notices to owners of vehicles. I also met with Magee University who continue to work on extending parking provision.

“I’m hopeful that these steps in conjunction with Minister O’Dowd’s plans to review parking activity in the area will once and for all resolve this ongoing problem. I will seek updates on the outcome of this review and hope adequate parking restrictions will be implemented,” Mr Durkan added.