This article is from page 30 of the 2011-10-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 30 JPG
GARDAÍ will only impose nighttime pedestrianisaion in Ennis town centre if the situation warrants it, a meeting has heard.
The matter of closing Ennis’ streets to traffic at night was raised at yesterday’s meeting of the Ennis Joint Policing Committee.
Rita McInerney, CEO, Ennis Chamber, asked if pedestrianisation was going to be introduced perma- nently in the town centre or on “adhoc basis”.
Insp John Galvin explained that Gardaí only take the decision to close the streets to cars and other vehicular traffic if there is a large number of people in the town centre area after closing time at the weekend. “We call it as we see it,” he said.
Supt Peter Duff said Gardaí had noticed that there are less people now spilling out onto the streets after pubs and nightclubs closed. He said the fact that people are not out socialising as much is probably reflective of the current economic situation.
The meeting also heard that Ennis could be a “test case” for a UK awards scheme that recognises a town’s nighttime activities and services.
Town Manager Ger Dollard told the meeting that while the Association of Town Centre Management (UK) is not currently taking applications from Irish authorities, the council would examine the criteria required to achieve Purple Flag status.
The award recognises UK towns where improvements have been made to the experience of going to the town at night. According to the Association of Town Centre Management, it is aimed at raising the standard and broadening the appeal of town centres between 5pm and 6am
In order to qualify for Purple Flag status, successful towns must meet four standards – wellbeing, appeal, movement and place. Towns are judged on a number of criteria including active policing, safe late night car-parking, public transport, public utilities nightlife and street activities.
Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG), who proposed the awards scheme two years ago, said the UK authority are keen to use Ennis as a “test case” for introducing the Purple Flag in Ireland. Cllr Flynn said a working group had been set up to examine the proposal