Pana car ban back and here to stay
The afternoon car ban on Cork City’s main street to improve the public bus service may be tweaked over the coming weeks but it’s here to stay.
That was the message from City Hall last night after the new traffic arrangements on St Patrick’s St were reintroduced yesterday to create a time-regulated bus priority corridor.
Business owners welcomed the package of supporting measures, which will cost up to €300,000, and said they are prepared to give the new traffic plan a chance. But they said they want the entire project reviewed within a month.
The city’s head of transportation, Gerry O’Beirne, said: “In the weeks and months ahead, we will be monitoring key criteria like the bus journey times, passenger numbers, access to the car parks, times on the quays, to get a good sense of the impact.
“We will also be engaging with the business community so as issues arise, they can be picked up and addressed very quickly.
“But this is part of an overall programme of investment in public transport in Cork that has to happen.”
He was speaking on St Patrick’s St as the so-called Pana ban, introduced last March but scrapped after just three weeks following a traders’ revolt, came into effect again at 3pm.
This time it’s different.
Gone are the no-entry signs and Garda cars at either end of the street.
In their place was an army of leaflet distributors handing out flyers advising people of the traffic changes, supported by gardaí on bikes, who were cycling up and down the street, reminding those motorists who were still driving through at 3.30pm of the changes.
Stilt walkers, a jazz band, and drummers from Burundi playing a traditional song of welcome helped create completely different mood music to the discord which emerged last March.
Private cars and trucks are now being rerouted away from St Patrick’s St onto the quays every day between 3pm and 6.30pm, with access during those times limited to buses, taxis, emergency vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.
It’s designed to improve the efficiency of the almost 1,000 daily bus movements on the street and to future-proof the city’s transport system.
City centre business owners like Aidan Duke of Dukes Coffee Company said given the experience in March, he was a little nervous about the public reaction this time. He said the conversation must be more about improving bus services and not banning cars.
Other business owners like Dan O’Brien, who runs Scoozis restaurant with wife Sheila, said people seem prepared to give the initiative a chance this time.
“But what happens in the first week or two in September? Will they throw business owners a lifebuoy if they’re going under at that stage,” he said.
English Market trader Tim Mulcahy said the changes to the park and ride service, which now brings people right into St Patrick’s St and which is free after 12 noon, are welcome but have to be long-term. “And we need more park and rides,” he said.
Pauline Burns, and her teenage daughters, from Bandon, were among those who used the free park and ride service yesterday.
“It’s so convenient. It’s just easier and cheaper than parking in the city centre. You’re in and out — no bother,” said Ms Burns.
Outside Dunnes Stores on St Patrick’s St, shopper Mary O’Shea, from Ballyvolane, said the car ban will make life more difficult for her.
“My husband would normally just pop in here and pick me up, but he can’t now. I have loads of bags and I don’t want to be lugging them onto a bus,” she said.
Mr O’Beirne said he is hopeful that people will change and adapt to the new measures in time.
And he said the operation of the new park and ride service will be reviewed after 12 months.
“Our hope is that the passenger numbers will increase and that will justify further expansion in the early morning or late evening, and that we will maintain the 15-minute frequency,” he said.
He said investment in more park and ride facilities is unlikely in the short term until roads are upgraded to give priority to buses.
The Government has allocated €200m for investment in a Bus Connects programme in Cork over the next two decades, which Mr O’Beirne said has the potential to transform the city’s public transport network.
“The network has to be adapted so the park and ride bus can get ahead of traffic,” he said.
Buses have to have priority. Part of the €200m spend will achieve that and as that is rolled out, more park and rides will become viable and will be installed.
Among the incentives is a network of 26 15-minute set down spaces, Bus Eireann Leap Card deals offering fares from €1, and the free park and ride.
The Leap Card deal expires in mid-September and the free park and ride deal expires in early October.
Mr O’Beirne said that the council’s annual Christmas parking incentives scheme should kick in a short time later.
Lawrence Owens, chief executive of the Cork Business Association, said it will be monitoring the implementation closely.
If anything positive has come from this, it’s that there is now very positive engagement with City Hall.
The Cork Cycling Campaign said it welcomes any initiative which makes the city’s streets more cycle friendly and promotes efficient use of roads, including preferring public transport and cycling over private vehicle use.
Hoping for better the second time around
Yes. Last March. But it was suspended within three weeks after uproar from traders who claimed it had decimated afternoon trade.
To give priority to buses on a street where up to 1,000 bus movements occur every day. It’s hoped that by creating a bus lane here in the afternoon, bus journey times and reliability at peak times will improve, making the service more attractive for commuters.
Maybe. But with up to 5,000 jobs due to be created in the city centre within three years, transport engineers say our reliance on cars must be reduced and public transport must be improved to avoid increased congestion. The bus corridor on St Patrick’s St is one of the key elements of the City Centre Movement Strategy (CCMS) that’s being implemented to future-proof the city’s transport system.
It did in the initial stages last March but things improved after a few days once motorists got the hang of it. City Hall says CCMS changes to the quays and other routes will cater for the extra traffic, and traffic lights are linked and computer-controlled to ensure that if delays do occur, they can be eased quickly.
Not much on the traffic side. The car ban and times remain unchanged. But this time, it’s being rolled out after weeks of consultation and with the help of a major communications and PR campaign. And crucially, it’s being supported by incentives to improve and encourage access to the city centre.
A network of 26 free 15-minute set down parking spaces has been installed along South Mall, Grand Parade, Parnell Place, Drawbridge St., and Cornmarket St. They will be monitored closely by traffic wardens.
Yes. You can park for half price in Paul St and North Main St car parks, but only if you park there after 1pm every day.
The Black Ash park and ride bus is free from 12 noon; it’s open longer, from 7am to 8pm; buses now run every 10 minutes during peak hours, 7am-9.30am and 4pm-7pm; and its new route has nine stops, including two on St Patrick’s St, one on the Grand Parade and South Mall.
The deal has been timed to encourage more people to use it during the afternoons, just as the car ban kicks in.
Yes. But that won’t happen in the short to medium term. The potential locations of new park and ride facilities will be included in a major transport plan for Metropolitan Cork, which is due to be published in the coming months.
Absolutely. But there is no funding for an expansion at the moment despite the huge success of the scheme in Cork.
Yes. But only if you have a Leap Card, only during certain times, and only for a few weeks. Adults using a Leap Card in the extended Red Zone — including Carrigaline, Ballincollig, Crosshaven, Bishopstown, and Ringaskiddy — can travel from 2pm daily until the end of each service for only €1 per trip. It’s 50c for a child. The promotion runs until September 15. Bus Éireann’s northbound 203 and 215 buses also have new stops on St Patrick’s St.
Bus Éireann says it wants to encourage more people to use Leap Cards to reduce the use of cash on buses.
You’re not the only one. City Hall says it’s unavoidable because of the various pricing structures and organisations involved.
There may be some tweaks but, basically, the car ban is here to stay this time. City Hall says it will monitor the implementation closely and provide regular feedback to trader representatives. Trader representatives said if issues emerge, they want business people to tell them, and they will bring them to the attention of City Hall quickly to have them addressed.
