US cites security risks behind requirement for 40 additional embassy car spaces
Gordon Deegan
Consultants for the United States Embassy here have cited security risks behind the need for 40 additional car spaces for US Government cars and embassy staff cars at the nearby former Jury’s hotel site to serve the embassy in Ballsbridge in Dublin 4.
In documents lodged with Dublin City Council, consultants for the applicant, The United States of America, ARUP state that the US embassy’s continued reliance on external parking facilities "is unsustainable and poses operational and security risks”.
Applicant, The United States of America is seeking a five-year temporary planning permission for the surface car park at the former Jury's Hotel site to accommodate 14 US Government cars and 26 embassy staff cars.
ARUP states that the application for the 40 additional car-spaces “in both fleet and staff parking is operationally necessary and essential to meet daily functional needs and long-standing security standards”.
ARUP point out that the embassy site car park has reached its functional car park capacity and has only usable space for 15 fleet cars and points out that there are 29 US Government-assigned cars to the embassy.
The documentation lists the US Government-assigned cars, and they include three BMW X5S assigned to the Ambassador, with two stationed at the Ambassador’s Phoenix Park residence/Embassy, while the third BMW X5 assigned to the Ambassador is stationed at the Embassy only.
The planning submission includes a list of the 29 fleet vehicles in tabular format and also includes a Toyota Land Cruiser assigned to the US Secret Service and is used for VIP support.
The US Government purchased the Jury Hotel site last year and intends to spend close to $700m on the construction of a new embassy there.
Plans have yet to be submitted for the new embassy and outlining the needs for the additional car-spaces to serve the existing embassy, ARUP state that “with 29 government-owned vehicles assigned to the Mission, daily reliance on off-site parking, including paid lots, the Marine House, and Phoenix Park is unavoidable”.
ARUP states that “these fragmented arrangements have led to operational inefficiencies, restricted access, and temporary double-parking, raising safety concerns”.
The submission adds that “the current Embassy site cannot accommodate these requirements, and there is no scope for expansion”.
It states that “the availability of the recently-acquired Jury’s site has provided the Embassy with a reasonable solution to adequately accommodate the surplus fleet vehicles, the needs arising from external visitors, as well as to provide car parking to a small percentage of staff that presently require travel by car but do not have parking provided”.
The submission states that the shortfall in car spaces for fleet cars at the embassy creates “an inefficient, dispersed, and potentially non-secure system”.
It states: “Security protocols require that vehicles transporting accredited diplomatic staff be parked within premises under direct U.S. Government control to ensure secure access, monitoring, and perimeter control."
On the need for additional staff car-parking, the submission states that staff numbers have doubled since 2008, where the embassy employs 170 today, with 59 per cent commuting by private car, and 85pc of those travelling alone.
The submission states that perhaps most importantly in terms of the residual reliance on commuting by private car, is the fact that 39 per cent - about 66 staff - of staff arrive before 7 am, a period of time when the offer of public transport is limited.
