Cycle lanes in Waterford, used for illegal car parking, will be protected “in early 2023”

— Council also said its traffic wardens and the Gardai can enforce illegal parking on the cycle lanes.

Bollards will be added to partly-protected cycle lanes in Waterford “as soon as possible” and likely early in the New Year, Waterford City and County Council has said.

The council said that the installation of bollards on the upgraded cycle route was delayed first due to a supply issue and then because workers were diverted to gritting last week.

The cycle lanes and parking restrictions on Manor Street in the city have been in place for a number of years, but the cycle lanes have been widened and partly protected recently. Bollards were only installed on part of the newly upgraded cycle lanes, leaving the rest of the cycle route open to parking.

Local cyclists took to Twitter to highlight that the upgraded lanes — one of which is a contra-flow lane — were being blocked by motorists parking. They have also said that Gardai and traffic wardens have not acted to date.

On Friday, a spokesperson for Waterford City and County Council said: “These were initially intended to be installed during the resurfacing works but were delayed by a few weeks due to a supply issue.”

“Unfortunately the crew was been pulled away from site to focus on urgent works like gritting roads etc. It is the intention of Waterford City and County Council to complete the bollards installation as soon as possible, although it is anticipated, at this stage, that it will be in early 2023,” said the spokesperson.

On the issue of tackling illegal parking, the council added: “Once the bollards are fully installed on Manor Street, this will alleviate the issue of illegal parking in the cycle lane. In the interim, parking regulations are enforced by WCCC traffic wardens and an Garda Síochána also have the authority to enforce regulations and issue fines.”

Originally tweeted by Ger Murphy (@Gerard_Murphy) on December 8, 2022.