Footfall up but rumblings again about Cork city car ban

Footfall on Cork’s main street is up, City Hall insists, as more traders begin voicing concerns about the controversial afternoon car ban.

Footfall up but rumblings again about Cork city car ban

Footfall on Cork’s main street is up, City Hall insists, as more traders begin voicing concerns about the controversial afternoon car ban.

The figures were released following calls from Fianna Fáil Councillor Ken O’Flynn for an immediate rethink of the traffic strategy.

“What took 800 years to build could take just weeks to destroy,” he warned.

Last week, the Cork Business Association said the car ban is not the only reason trade is down, and it urged a cautious approach to the voicing of concerns.

“The more we amplify the more damage we do,” CBA chief executive, Lawrence Owens warned.

However, Mr O’Flynn said it was time for traders with concerns to “stand up and be counted”.

“Anyone that suggests to our traders that they should ‘keep quiet’ for fear of annoying Cork City Council is no friend of our city or our traders,” he said.

“It is clear to the dogs in the street that city trade has died a death in the afternoons. While everyone wants the City Centre Movement Strategy to work, if it puts them out of business, it will have been an abject failure. The afternoon trade has completely fallen away and any city trader will confirm this.”

It will be 10-weeks this Thursday since the reintroduction of the 3pm to 6.30pm daily bus lane on St Patrick’s St was reintroduced.

Wyon Stansfeld of Pinochio’s toy store on Paul St said the “quietness in the afternoon is getting beyond a joke”.

“I don’t know if it’s just us but my God is it quiet in the afternoon since the change in the parking rates,” he tweeted.

Please don’t tell me to wait and let it bed in, I can’t afford it anymore.

Duke’s Coffee Company on Carey’s Lane tweeted: “City is flying and growing. Just a pity that some folk still feel disenfranchised or ‘scared’ to visit the city late afternoons the way they used to.”

John Grace Fried Chicken on Cook St said they had recorded two of the worst days of trade in 40-years of business earlier this week.

City council chief executive, Ann Doherty, accepted that some businesses are facing challenges, but she said the city must modernise and future-proof its public transport infrastructure.

“We reintroduced the bus priority lanes and the range of supporting measures thanks to a strong partnership approach and we will continue to address whatever concerns arise using that partnership approach,” she said.

Council figures show an 11% increase in footfall on St Patrick’s St from Thursday August 9 to Sunday August 12 compared to the corresponding period before the bus lane; with footfall up 18% from Thursday August 16 to Sunday August 19; up 16% from September 13 to 16; 15% from September 20 to 23; and up 22% from September 27 to 30.

The trend continued into October, with pedestrian levels on the street about 22% above the pre-bus lane period from October 4 to 7, and higher too on October 8 to 10 - last Monday to Wednesday.Footfall levels on the street have also been higher between 3pm and 7pm since the introduction of the bus lane.

Average daily usage of the council’s two multi-storey car parks was up 12% in the first week after the car ban, and up 7% for the week ending September 26.

The extended park and ride service showed a 10% increase in passengers numbers in the weeks after the car ban. with average daily usage up 20% between October 1 to 10.

But Mr O’Flynn said: “I am hugely frustrated for our city traders and they are being pushed to their limits and this is just not fair.”

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