Sligo County Council says bollards in Castle Street and Grattan Street had nothing to do with delays and heavy traffic in and around Sligo town yesterday afternoon
The bollards have been erected to enforce social distancing in the effort to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yesterday an ambulance had difficulty in getting to a person in the area who needed help.
Council Director of Services Tom Kilfeather said if the bollards hadn't been there, vehicles would have been parked in the area.
The incident involving the ambulance yesterday afternoon arose as traffic generally around the town has been experiencing delays and congestion in recent weeks, particularly on weekday afternoons.
Traders in the Grattan and Castle Street area says they had warned the council about what could happen because of the measures introduced to fight the Covid pandemic, which have led to reduced parking spaces.
However, council Director of Services Tom Kilfeather says the bollards in Castle Street and Grattan Street had nothing to do with delays or heavy traffic yesterday afternoon.
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Mr Kilfeather says the council has a responsibility to put social distancing measures in place, which are for the benefit of all.
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He says the fact that the town is busy as well as major roadworks currently taking are also causes for delays.
And he insists there is plenty of parking space in Sligo town.
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Finally, he says the reopening of O Connell Street this morning should help the traffic situation.
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