A newly-published report into the standards of Letterkenny’s disabled parking bays has found that just eight spaces are completely fit for purpose.
Problems were found in 59 spaces which are under the responsibility of the local council.
The spaces that are without key elements such as dropped kerbs are rendered “totally useless”, said Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh.
The cost of fixing all issues would amount to €31,000, according to the audit which was requested by Cllr Kavanagh last year.
The audit identified 44 disabled parking bays which do not have blue surfacing, 6 that need supplementary plates and poles, 26 needing signage, and 5 that need dropped kerbing, 8 need no intervention.
The survey included 67 disabled parking bays at car parks and on the streets of Letterkenny.
Cllr Kavanagh has welcomed the findings and said that steps must be taken to address major issues such as the provision of dropped kerbs and signage.
Speaking at the Letterkenny-Milford council meeting, Cllr Kavanagh said: “There are several disabled parking spots around the town without a dropped kerb and they are totally useless.”
Cllr Kavanagh said areas such as Lower Main Street, outside Elvery’s Sports, McFadden’s Chemist at Oldtown and the charity shop on Ramelton Road should all be addressed as they lack a dropped kerb.
He commented: “I’d like to thank the engineer and council staff for compiling the report, it’s a useful document for us all to work on, and Letterkenny is probably one of the few towns to have completed such an audit.
“Although there is no statutory obligation on the council to provide signage, blue surfacing or dropped kerbing, it is obviously desirable that all the disabled parking bays are fit for purpose and easily recognisable by both disabled drivers and able bodied drivers.
“I would now urge the council to do its utmost to identify funding and carry out the necessary works. I appreciate that this will probably need to happen over a period of time, and it would be useful if the work could be prioritised in terms of urgency.
“Providing dropped kerbing where none exists at disabled bays would probably be the most urgent task and we should try to rectify those issues immediately, the bays located in car parks are probably the least urgent and could wait longer to be dealt with, now that we know what needs to be done, we should as a council try to get the issues dealt with as efficiently as possible.”
