Carparks shut to thwart boy racers

Date Published: 05-Feb-2008

A MASSIVE Garda presence and the closure of key city car parks are thought to be behind one of the quietest Galway rally weekends for years.

The traditional influx of ‘boy racers’ did not present Gardaí with any major problems, according to a Garda spokesman in the city.

“It went very well. People were very well behaved. There were no major incidents. We did have an extensive Garda operation in place on the roads so maybe the increased presence is why it passed off relatively peacefully,” he said.

At the request of Gardaí, Galway City Council closed its main carparks around the city to deter any racers gathering to perform manoeuvres.
Silverstrand and Toft Park in Salthill were closed from Friday evening until Monday morning while the Dyke Road was closed to the public Friday and Saturday evening from 6pm.

The Council had to deploy staff at the Dyke Road to allow those who had parked their cars during the day to exit and Gardaí manned the carparks the ensure nobody breached the barriers.

The move appears to ………