28 September 2016
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
The Green Party in Cork have welcomed the decision of Cork City Council to introduce car-free hours on St. Patrick’s Street.
Speaking this morning, Oliver Moran, the Green Party representative in Cork North central said:
“The car-free movement is based on the idea of returning to a city centre that prioritises the free movement of people, rather than the free movement of cars. If people are freer to wander between shops and businesses then the idea is that they will breath more life into city centres.”
“That doesn’t mean banning cars altogether. But it does mean being more orderly in how and where cars are allowed. A suburban shopping centre wouldn’t allow cars to disrupt people wandering between shops and businesses, for example. Cars park outside. People shop inside and are free to wander between businesses. Why would a city’s shopping centre be any different?”
Cork Green Party member, Mark Cronin, emphasised the importance of following through on the initiative with improved access to the city centre:
“City centre traders are losing out to the convenience of suburban shopping centres. Car access is an issue both for access to and mobility around city-centre shopping districts. A car-free shopping district and better thought through parking areas are good for mobility. We would also emphasise the need for improved public transport, bike access and park-and-ride sites around the city. The idea should be to make it as convenient as possible for people to get in to the city and shop freely in a car-free environment while there.”
