CITY centre traders have warned that proposed pay parking and traffic management arrangements will drive people out into suburban shopping centres.
The fallout from the recently unveiled City Centre Movement strategy has continued with traders hitting out at proposed changes to parking charges as well as the plans to ban cars from Patrick Street.
View of Patrick Street from Capitol development, Grand Parade, Cork City.
Picture: Denis Scannell
The proposal to close Patrick Street to non-essential vehicles from 3pm to 6.30pm and increasing the pay parking hours from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, while reducing two-hour on-street parking to one hour in some zones has led to concerns about city centre trading.
The parking measures are designed to encourage more public transport use, as well as making it easier for pedestrians and cyclists.
However, Audrey Lehane, of award-winning Azure Handmade Jewellery on Carey’s Lane, called the plans “absolute lunacy” that could be the death-knell for city centre shopping because of the parking element.
She told the Evening Echo: “It is truly ridiculous – the number one issue for our customers down through the years has been the difficulty in parking in the city centre.
“This will only make it worse. In fact, it is the only real issue ever raised. This will only encourage more people to go to Blackpool and Mahon for their shopping.
“You’d like to think your City Council is working for you because of the high rates we are paying but this is the opposite.
“Parking charges are ridiculous as they are, so I can say with certainty that customers will not react well to the changes. Nobody seems to listen to retailers or customers.
“Another hurdle pops up every time we clear one. It is insanity,” Ms Lehane said.
Mags O’Connor of Cornstore Cork on Cornmarket Street was equally scathing about parking.
She told the Evening Echo: “It is much more expensive to park in Cork than Limerick, while these incentives the council bring in from time to time are at the most inopportune times. Reducing parking to one hour simply means people will either not come in or won’t spend long in town. They will not want the hassle. Those who come to do some shopping and then get a bite to eat simply will not do so. They’ll be anxious as soon as they get out of the car, knowing their time is up within an hour. Traders have been doing their level best to bring people back to the city centre and are very passionate about it. But nobody seems to listen as usual.”
Laura Harte, who works in Middle Parish and who needs her car for work, said her costs of parking would double. She said the plans were of zero benefit, other than making money off parking fines and tickets.
She said: “This is crippling to me. It was bad enough changing disks every two hours, now I’ll have to be out every hour and also double my costs. What cost me in the region of €30 to €40 per week has now doubled in a heartbeat. I am struggling to comprehend how they can come up with any benefits or reasons for making these changes.”
She added that traffic would not only be chaotic around Middle Parish, but also more so around Mahon, Douglas and Blackpool.
“Not only will all the suburban shopping centres – Douglas, Mahon etc be rubbing their hands together in glee, it’ll also have a nightmare knock-on effect for commuters and shoppers. Traffic coming in and out of Douglas Village and Mahon Point at peak times is already a horrible experience and this can only intensify.”
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