Residents in one housing estate in Galway have employed private clampers, to deter motorists from parking in their area.
People living on the private Seamount estate in Salthill took the decision after drivers kept parking outside their homes when visiting the village.
Local Fine Gael Councillor Clodagh Higgins told Lunchtime Live hundreds of parking spaces along the promenade were recently closed off.
"A housing estate - Seamount housing estate - which is just off Threadneedle Road, it's approximately 100 metres form Blackrock Diving Tower and the promenade, they've taken measures into their own hands by employing clampers.
"This obviously is going to have further consequences for other estates in the area, as it will no doubt push people into those estates - thus creating health and safety issues."
Councillor Higgins said "hundreds of parking spaces" have been closed off along the village's promenade.
"These measures were taken in order to prevent people from coming to Salthill, but the measures taken aren't working because people are still coming to Salthill.
"And they've made that clear over the last number of months - that they're going to come."
She said she understands that people want to get out of their homes.
"Everyone wants to get out and about, and here in Salthill today the sun is shining... and people want to visit.
"And the reality is we're in lockdown and people want to get out - whether it be walking cycling, swimming - and Salthill has that to offer".
'Pavement parking'
Councillor Higgins said the number of people parking in the estate was not only hindering residents driveways, but there was also a fear that emergency services would not be able to get through.
"Seamount residents are going to be erecting signage there this week, and clamping I believe is going to be taking place from next week onwards".
Eoin, a resident in the Salthill area, said this has been an ongoing problem.
"Before the pandemic, there's always been this phenomenon of pavement parking - there's a certain social acceptability about it, I think.
"And it does make life very difficult for residents, but particularly any residents with mobility difficulties.
"There's a huge problem too, now, of people using footpaths as a hard shoulder.
"The roads are narrow, cars are getting very big, and so they drive in onto the footpath... and that's actually dangerous."
Eoin said the council needs to be more inventive.
"There's so much of the surface area in a place like Salthill that's already taken up by parking in normal times, and now the car parks have closed.
"You can go down to these car parks on the seashore and you can see people using them for things like teaching their kids how to cycle, playing ball games, all sorts of healthy outdoor activities.
"I'm not saying people shouldn't drive, I drive myself - but I'm saying we can obviously have people visiting within 5k to a seaside location, but we should be more inventive and more ambitious when talking about how people get there.
"It shouldn't be all about maximizing the car parking space available".
