RESIDENTS in Baltimore are furious with people who are parking camper vans and leisure boats in bays that are designed for homeowners and day visitors.
One woman said she was delighted when the local authority recently re-lined the village to try and control illegal parking in the popular tourism hotspot.
Two age-friendly parking spaces were even provided outside Cotter’s shop to assist people to access local services.
‘Now, there’s no escaping the brightness of the new double yellow lines throughout the village, so anyone parking illegally is doing so at their own risk,’ said the resident.
However, parking restrictions on the sideroads – which have also been relined in a bid to maximise parking throughout the village and provide an overflow from the main road and pier area – are being abused, she said.
It is here that the owners of boats and RVs are parking diagonally over the newly lined spaces.
‘They are showing blatant disregard for the new parking restrictions, and some are even parking under the Council’s warning signs,’ said the resident.
She complained that boat trailers owned by non-residents are being ‘dumped’ on the side of the road, which means summer residents – people who have holiday homes in the area – are being denied parking.
She also complained that it is unsanitary and unfair on residents to have camper vans literally camping in local estates.
‘Some of them throw rubbish over the ditch, or even leave it behind after them,’ she said. ‘Worse still, some are emptying their black water into the storm drains.’
She said camper vans should stick to registered sites, which can cater for these sanitary issues. Alternatively, she said, a dedicated site for RVs could be developed in Baltimore.
‘If they were allocated a place for camping it would solve lots of problems,’ she said. ‘As it stands, lots of residents are frustrated. The Council has put up signs but they are being completely ignored.’
The resident added: ‘One of the residents went down to tell one of them [camper van drivers] that they can’t camp there. They got very aggressive and said they wouldn’t move.
‘They said they could camp where they wanted. My question is, where do they go to the loo?’
The resident said she has raised her concerns with the Council and has also complained of the speed at which these vehicles are driving throughout the village.
‘There are a lot of kids living here, especially in the summer, and they play outside which makes it very dangerous for them,’ she said.
A spokesperson for Cork County Council said the works that were undertaken recently were designed to ‘improve matters with regard to traffic congestion and parking in Baltimore ahead of the busy summer period.
‘Amongst the measures undertaken include new road resurfacing works with road markings and lining to facilitate the provision of additional orderly parking on the lower road.
‘Cork County Council will,’ he added, ‘continue to monitor the situation throughout the summer season.’
