Protective bollards installed on a cycle lane in Cork City have all disappeared, with the local council now investigating the problem.
The bollards, which semi-segregated the cycle lane on Washington St in the city, were installed late last year as part of a wider plan for cycling in Cork during the height of the pandemic.
The €1.5 million cycling infrastructure plan involved the installation of new cycle lanes, repairing existing lanes and installing bollards on others; all over a combined 14km of cycle lanes in the city.
However, a set of 24 bollards valued at about €3,000 have now disappeared from Washington St and Cork City Council is now appealing for information on what happened to the new infrastructure.
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It has also said it plans to get work underway immediately to reinstate the bollards so the cycle lane is once again segregated from traffic on the inbound carriageway on the street.
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The stretch of cycle lane the bollards are now missing from has long been a problem area because taxi drivers insisted on continuing to park on the cycle lane, using it as a rank, after it had been installed.
Last year some taxi drivers voiced their opposition to the cycling infrastructure on Washington St. They added as the nearest rank was on Grand Parade they would not be moving from Washington St.
It is unclear if there is any link between annoyance in some quarters with the cycle lane and the disappearance of the safety bollards.
Cork City Council has not reported the matter to the Garda and it is not clear if they were stolen or exactly how and when they were removed.
