Here’s why the Patrick Street Car ban is a GOOD thing – Cork City, Ireland

7 August 2018

By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie

The Green Party in Cork has called on the public to show its support for the Patrick’s Street traffic restrictions when they are reintroduced from Thursday.

The party has invited people to come into the city centre on Saturday and Sunday afternoon to experience the new arrangements on Patrick’s Street, including free Park and Ride on Saturday afternoons and cut-fare bus services from Thursday.

The party has especially encouraged people to sign-up to the Cork bike share scheme and enjoy the experience of cycling up Patrick’s Street on a bicycle, free of traffic, which it says is a “unique experience” for the city.

The party’s representative in Cork North Central, Oliver Moran, said:

“The city council has put in the work this time to discuss the plan with traders and make the city centre even more accessible to shoppers. It would be great now to see the Saturday and Sunday of the launch being used as a day to showcase Patrick’s Street. If we saw people visibly support the scheme at the weekend, I think it would do a lot to settle the nerves that traders still have.”

“One of the best ways I think we could do that is for people to use the bike scheme to actually cycle up Patrick’s Street now that it is prioritised for them. It’s a brilliant experience cycling through the main thoroughfare of Cork almost completely free from traffic. It’s a really unique experience that can become a genuine attraction of the city.”

The Green Party led calls for better public consultation and practical improvements to the Patrick’s Street scheme when it was introduced first in March of this year. The party held a workshop with traders, the outcome of which it submitted to the city council executive.