Ballina man stages protest over parking on footpaths
A MAN from Ballina staged a protest outside the Civic Offices in Nenagh on Monday last as part of a desperate bid to persuade Tipperary County Council to stop cars and lorries parking on footpaths in the scenic village.
Ricky Coonan (33) is a wheelchair user who says his way around Ballina is being blocked by uncaring or unthinking drivers who block his passage by parking on the pavements.
On encountering the parked vehicles owned by such drivers, Ricky has to manouvre his wheelchair off the footpath onto the extremely busy roads, putting his life in danger.
“I need more safety in my own village,” Ricky told The Guardian. “At times, when it gets busy, everyone comes out to Ballina from different parts of the country and decides to park where they want. It can be a free-for-all.
“I’m protesting because when this happens, I’m literally forced out into the middle of the road, putting my own life at risk.”
Ricky says he has been on to the council multiple times making representations on the issue, but no action has been taken to allow him free passage on footpaths.
This has greatly diminished the quality of life of the young man who loves to get out of his house and socalise with his friends.
“I’m hoping for a meeting with the council in order to listen to them explain why they cannot do what I’m asking,” says Ricky.
“However, all my previous attempts to get a resolution have been ignored, so I decided enough is enough,” he says, by explanation of why he has taken the radical step to protest outside the council’s Nenagh headquarters.
PROTEST CONTINUES
Ricky says he will continue to mount a protest every Monday into the future until officials meet him to discuss his predicament and look at ways of resolving the issue.
The problems encountered by Ricky come on a week when a new multi-million euro bridge linking Ballina and Killaloe was officially opened by the Minister for Transport Darragh O’ Brien.
Says Ricky: “I’m not asking for much. I cannot believe they built a brand new bridge with a brand new cycling lane that cost millions of euro of taxpayers’ money, and still they cannot simply fix our footpaths.”
Ricky was accompanied on his protest by a close friend and his parents Dolores and Chris.
After he started his protest on Monday his mother went into the council office to inform a staff member he was outside and would like to discuss the problems he encounters with an official of the local authority.
However, despite being there for an hour, nobody came out of the building to speak to him.
Disheartened but unbowed, Ricky resolved to continue his campaign: “I would like it to be known that I will be doing this every Monday morning until they speak with me.”
Last year the Nenagh Municipal District authority did issue a warning about parking on footpaths in the district in general. It said the practice was damaging pavements, resulting in expensive repairs. The authority also threatened enforcement moves unless the practice ceased.
A council spokesman urged drivers to consider that cars on footpaths make it difficult for people in wheelchairs to use the paths.