Council crackdown on illegal parking in Sligo town centre
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TRAFFIC lights and a planter box are not obstructing coaches turning right from Lake Isle Road onto Stephen Street, the Council has insisted.
But illegally parked cars on Stephen St most certainly do.
That’s the message from Sligo County Council after some coach drivers publicly complained that the corner was too tight to navigate in a large coach.
A spokesperson for the Council said: “Coach drivers have confirmed that they have no difficulty in making the turn from Lake Isle Road into Stephen Street in 13.2m coaches, provided there are no illegally parked cars on either side of the junction at the entrance to Stephen Street i.e. outside the ATM machine at the AIB or outside Lillie’s Bar.
“This incidentally is why the Council had to place a planter box on the build-out outside Lillie’s Bar – to prevent motorists from parking there illegally.
“Last year in response to a request from the coach sector the traffic signals head was repositioned and feedback received is that it no longer represents an obstacle to the majority of coach drivers,” they said.
The Council has consulted widely with drivers and found out that the vast majority of coach operators in Ireland use 12.5m-13.2m long coaches, with possibly as few as 6-8 of the larger 14.5-15m coaches operating nationally due to our narrow town roads.
The Council is “satisfied that it is catering for the majority of tour coaches and operators visiting Sligo.”