16.38.9 Design Criteria

(See also Sections 11.1.5.3, 16.10.18 and 16.10.19)

The car-parking standards in Table 16.1 and the associated circulation and manoeuvring space must be provided within the curtilage of the building, clear of the carriageways and footways, whether public or private, giving access to the premises. The basic dimensions required for the layout of car parking areas are as follows:

Short-term parking bays (for shopping centres particularly) shall be 2.5 m wide by 4.75 m in length. In no instance shall a width of less than 2.4 m be accepted, even for long-term (office blocks) parking spaces.

Parking bay widths for people with disabilities will be a minimum of 3.0 m wide by 4.75 m long. The number of spaces to be provided will be determined by the planning authority in accordance with Building Regulations (Part M) and any other relevant guidelines (see also Section 16.38).

Pro-active Car Parking Policy

Dublin City Council will seek to discourage commuter parking while continuing to facilitate adequate car-parking provision for shopping, business and leisure use in the city through the implementation of proactive parking policies.

On-Street Car Parking Public on-street parking is a necessary facility for shoppers and business premises and is necessary for the day-to-day functioning of the city. Dublin City Council will preserve available on-street parking, where appropriate. However, the space currently occupied by on-street parking may be needed in the future for strategic transportation projects.

There will be a presumption against the removal of on-street parking spaces to facilitate the provision of vehicular entrances to single dwellings in predominantly residential areas where residents are largely reliant on on-street car-parking spaces.

Where new residential developments result in the removal of on-street parking spaces or where no parking is provided for new residential developments, residents of these dwellings will not automatically be entitled to a parking permit. In this instance, the issuing of a parking permit will be based on the current capacity of the permit parking scheme in question.

Parking in Mixed-Use Developments

Where shared car parking is provided to serve mixed-use developments, a car park management plan shall be prepared for the development to indicate how access to car parking will be controlled and managed to safeguard residential parking and limit parking for office and commercial uses to required limits.

Residential Car Parking In Apartments

Car parking standards are maximum in nature and may be reduced in specific, mainly inner city locations where it is demonstrated that other modes of transport are sufficient for the needs of residents. In other locations, it is considered desirable that one car parking space (or as required by Table 16.1) be provided off-street within the curtilage of the development per residential unit, as car storage requirements cannot be met on-street for all residents. Each space shall be permanently assigned to and sold with each apartment and shall not be sublet or leased to non-residential owners or occupiers. Where sites are constrained or provision of on-site car storage is not possible, alternative solutions will be considered such as residential car clubs or off-site storage.

Apartment parking spaces are mainly to provide for car storage to support familyfriendly living policies in the city and make apartments more attractive for all residents. It is not intended to promote the use of the car within the city. If the car space is not required in the short-term, it should be given over to other residential storage or utility uses.

1 Car parking above maximum permitted standards may be acceptable in very limited circumstances at the discretion of Dublin City Council. Such circumstances could include proposals where overspill car parking may arise, where the need to protect the primacy of the city in the regional retail hierarchy is identified, or where the need to accommodate car parking as part of a larger scheme of civic importance is apparent. In all cases, the applicant must fully engage with Dublin City Council at preplanning stage regarding the acceptability of departure from maximum standards.

Where a deviation from maximum standards is to be considered, the acceptability of proposals will be assessed against a number of criteria including, inter alia: ­

  • The civic importance of the scheme ­
  • The identified need for public car parking in the area ­
  • The accessibility of the surrounding area ­
  • Road capacity and impact on the road network
  • The mix and appropriateness of uses proposed ­
  • The impact on the public realm, streetscape and urban fabric of the city ­
  • The impact on the grain and vitality of city streets ­
  • Compliance with Section 4.5.5, ‘The Public Realm’ ­
  • Compliance with policies to make efficient use of finite urban land and consolidate the city
  • Compliance with policies to safeguard investment in public transport and encourage modal shift.     

In addition, proposals will be informed by a Transport Assessment, the scope of which must be agreed by Dublin City Council prior to the submission of a planning application. Further detail regarding the scope and content of Transport Assessments is provided at Appendix 4.

Note: In assessing car parking requirements for hospitals, Dublin City Council will have regard to the numbers of shift staff, core hours’ staff, patients and visitors