While Paris says 'oui' to hiking up parking fees for SUVs, Cork says 'pfffff'

Cork city councillors and political reps weigh in on whether SUVs are a bad investment and how they would vote on a motion to back increasing parking fees for SUVs

A view of a billboard with a referendum poster in Paris, France via Getty

Last weekend, Parisians were asked in a referendum (direct local democracy in action) if parking fees for SUVs should be tripled (up to €18 per hour for city centre parking) as the city’s Mayor aims to cut air pollution and fight the climate crisis.

The vote on parking fees for “heavy” and “polluting” vehicles resulted in a low turn out, 78,000 out of 1 million people eligible to vote, but the referendum was carried by nearly 55% of voters.

Under the Paris proposals, were Cork’s Lord Mayor, or his driver, to make the trip to the City of Light, Cork City Council would be in line for the increased charges as the Ford Mustang Mach-E clocks in at over two tonnes, or over 2,000kgs. (In Cork, the Lord Mayor’s car is exempt from parking bye-laws while on official duties).

This week, Tripe + Drisheen contacted local politicians and representatives in Cork to ask if they would support a motion to increase parking fees for SUVs, similar to what played out in Paris.

“Chelsea tractors”

As with Paris, the turnout to our request was low, but it threw up some interesting responses.

Peter Horgan, a local area representative for Labour said that while the Paris vote is a “game changer”, he recognised we don’t have the same democratic architecture that would allow people in Cork to vote on such a proposal.

He also lamented the state of public transport in Cork city compared with Paris, saying the French capital “is a city with impeccable public transport options with la Metro and rapid bus transport while we still languish in Cork without seeing even a final route of a Cork Luas and cannot convince the Dublin Government yet to frontload funding for BusConnects elements like next generation ticketing and more frequency on high density routes.”

On the proposal to hike up parking fees for SUVs, Horgan said, “a blanket SUV ban would impinge on large families,“ while adding that he “would like to see protections for those with additional needs for driving and care-givers who require such space.”

“Certainly, though, the ‘Chelsea tractor’ element of single occupancy journeys must be addressed and the debate should happen. We must encourage people to make the switch to public transport but that is difficult in the current political climate in Cork with no obvious public transport champion in City Hall. So, if a motion were to be proposed without the other elements addressed or brought with them, I would not support such a motion.”

Drivers of SUVs coming in to Paris could now be in line for parking fees of up to €18 per hour via Getty

Speaking this week, Labour’s climate spokesperson, Senator Rebecca Moynihan, said the disproportionate contribution of SUVs to pollution “demands immediate attention”.

“Parisians recently voted to triple parking costs for SUVs and Government should outline what action it can take to follow suit.”

Moynihan added that there is a “critical need for robust measures to curb car bloat” and that the “surge in SUV ownership exacerbates environmental concerns.”

The city vs suburbs

Thomas Moloney, an Independent councillor, echoing some of Horgan’s thinking, told T+D he would be against any motion to raise parking fees for SUVs.

“I believe there is a place for larger cars for large families, as well as for people with some physical challenges getting into and out of smaller cars.” (In Paris, the charges won’t apply to people living or working in the city including taxi drivers, tradespeople, health workers, and people with disabilities).

Moloney added that any increase in parking fees would only add to the hardship for retailers in the city centre, as drivers would likely opt to shop in the suburbs at shopping centres where parking is free.

Likewise, he was not confident that exemptions would be applied equitably; he also argued that penalising eclectic car owners goes against the government’s transition to electric vehicles.

Not an SUV: Colette Finn, Green Party Councilllor and current Deputy Lord Mayor’s preferred mode of transport via X

Colette Finn, Green Party Councilllor and current Deputy Lord Mayor, said that the “car industry needs to wake up and stop selling people an expensive albatross.”

“There is also the consideration about pedestrian and cyclists. At the moment there is data that if you are hit by a car at 30km/hr you have a nine out of ten chance of not being killed. Have studies been done if you're hit by an SUV at 30km/hr does the risk remain the same?

“The weight of the vehicle I would argue is also a factor alongside speed. In housing estates where people with children are fearful of allowing them out to play, this is an added risk if everyone is driving around in the equivalent of a tank.”

The Lord Mayor’s Mustang Mach-E clocks in at nearly two tonnes.

Red flags

Her colleague Oliver Moran, a Green Party Councillor, called SUVs a “bad investment”.

Drivers are, however, flocking to SUVs; the vehicles made up nearly half the cars sold in 2022, according to data from the International Energy Agency.

“What I would say to anyone is that an SUV is a really bad investment. As well as trends like increasing parking charges for larger vehicles, there's also movements internationally to tax larger vehicles more.”

As Moran pointed out, a move to taxing cars based on their weight would penalise heftier cars, which is why he said he would wave “a big red flag in front of anyone considering buying an SUV as a family vehicle, especially in the city. While the market may be leading people towards larger SUV-type cars, small cars are where the smart money is in future."

Moran added that the increase in the number of SUVs comes at the same time there is a shift in how we are using road space.

“Car sizes are growing 1cm wider every two years now. It's common now in a car park to come across cars that simply don't fit into spaces anymore.”

"At the same time that we're redistributing road space from private cars to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport by investing in footpaths, cycleways and bus lanes, cars themselves are growing to take up more of the reduced space that's left. It's a contradiction that just can't be squared if left to the so-called market.”