Social distancing: Car parks at OPW sites may be closed next week as weekend sees massive spike in visits
Wicklow County Council have already taken steps to close off the upper car park at Glendalough over social distancing concerns.
A meeting will take place on Tuesday to consider closing car parks at OPW parks across the country.
Wicklow County Council has shut the section of parking it’s responsible for at Glendalough, in an attempt to assist social distancing measures.
The upper car park in Glendalough is now closed until further notice due to #SocialDistancing concerns #wicklow @eastcoastfm @Wicklow_News @WicklowUplands pic.twitter.com/fs0YSqWK05
— Wicklow Co Co (@wicklowcoco) March 22, 2020
Minister for Health Simon Harris TD has welcomed the move – saying distancing is a core part of the country’s strategy to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, OPW Minister Kevin ‘Boxer Moran says “If that’s something we have to do, that’s what we will seriously look at.”
“We ask people to heed the advice and we won’t have to go with that step to do that if people heed the advice they’ve been given by the HSE”, he says while adding he’s aware that people still need to get outside.
Altamont in Carlow was one of the most visited OPW sites in Carlow or KIlkenny in 2018 with over 67,000 visitors passing through the site.
