Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) tonight passed a motion that will see its president and environmental officer lobby to remove all on-campus parking within a “reasonable time-frame”.
The motion, which was proposed by Physical Sciences Class Representative Dillon Broaders and seconded by Environmental Officer Áine Hennessy, aims to act as a practical step in reducing the College’s carbon footprint.
An exception will be made for staff and students with disabilities or other accessibility issues.
The decision comes after all three provostial candidates last week agreed in the final hustings before Linda Doyle’s eventual victory that traffic on campus should be reduced.
Provost-Elect Prof Linda Doyle suggested that the change be made as a part of Healthy Trinity, so as to encourage alternate forms of transport which not only result in lower emissions, but are also physically beneficial.
Speaking in favour of the motion, Broaders said that “there have been too many committees and too little action” on the issue of reducing carbon emissions.
This motion, he said, “represents a practical way of reducing College’s carbon footprint”.
Speaking against the motion, deputy STEM convenor Bev Genockey raised concerns of accessibility issues for employees such as cleaning and administrative staff.
She noted that these people “can’t stop driving to campus, they’ll just be parking in the city centre”.
But Broaders pointed out that the government’s long-held policy on reducing city-centre traffic, adding that the city has good public transport options available.
He added: “We’re not UCD, we’re not in the middle of nowhere.”
The motion noted that while there has been “much rhetoric [and] many committees,” there have been “very few specific and effective solutions proposed to reduce Trinity’s carbon footprint”.
It also referenced Trinity’s Sustainability Policy, approved by College Board, which commits to “continuous environmental improvement”.
In a statement to The University Times, Broaders said: “The college and the new provost have both committed to cutting Trinity’s CO2 emissions.”
He added: “I think this motion offers a simple, but effective solution. We are reducing the pollution by reducing the polluters.”
Council held an extraordinary meeting this evening, after it lost quorum at its scheduled meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting was adjourned after it became apparent that there were not enough members of council present to constitute a quorum.
The request for a quorum call followed a challenge by first-year PPES class rep László Molnárfi to Chair of Council Yannick Gloster over the conduct of a vote to adopt a long-term policy on College’s investments related to weapons and arms manufacturers.
