Vol. 491 No. 7
178 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the plans, if any, he has to review the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations, 1997, particularly in relation to the establishment of by-laws against heavy goods vehicles which park in residential areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13252/98]
Article 38 of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations, 1997, empowers road authorities to prohibit the parking of large vehicles in specified areas. The article does not involve the mechanism of by-laws, but provides that where a no parking sign, accompanied by an information plate containing the symbol of a large vehicle and indicating a specified unladen weight, is in place, a vehicle which exceeds that unladen weight cannot be parked; this prohibition continues until a traffic sign is encountered indicating that the prohibition has ended.
It is not yet possible for my Department to form a considered view of the effectiveness of particular provisions of the new regulations, which came into operation on 1 October 1997. My Department is however keeping the operation of the regulations under ongoing review.
