This article is from page 19 of the 2012-10-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 19 JPG
ENNIS Town Council will today announce details of plans to pedestrianise parts of the town centre in the run up to Christmas.
The council has been urged to follows last year’s system, which saw O’Connell Street closed to vehicular traffic from 12 noon to 6pm.
Parking charges were also suspended for certain days, a move credited with helping to attract more shoppers to Ennis.
Free parking was applicable to the town’s 759 off-street and 783 on- street public car parking spaces up to 12pm daily on Saturdays during the festive period.
Councillor Johnny Flynn (FG) believes the council should adopt a similar approach to pedestrianisation again this year.
He said, “Last year, it seemed to have been very successful where they pedestrianised only O’Connell Street and only from 12 noon to 6pm and offered free parking for that period. Hopefully it will be a similar approach.
“I believe pedestrianisation of Abbey Street is a total failure. It closes off the town. It gives the impression to people that the town is closed down.”
Cllr Flynn continued, “You need to bring people to the Square. You need to be able to bring people into the middle of the town to do their shopping. In the morning time, you have people from the suburbs and the outlying areas of Ennis coming in to do their shopping before 12. I think last year’s solution was very successful, just O’Connell Street until 6pm. I would hope that they bring that in again, along with the free parking.”
Rita McInerney, CEO of Ennis Chamber, said pedestrianisation on Saturday should be again introduced along with free parking.
She added, “It was a real benefit in terms of bringing people into town. It was nice to be able to come into Ennis and relax and not have to worry about paying for parking.
“The Christmas lights went on a week earlier as well, which helped. I think that they should even be switched on a week earlier this time. It gets people into the spirit that bit earlier.
“For businesses, Christmas is the most important time of the year. They can do up to 50 to 60 per cent of their business in December so it really is a crucial time for businesses.”
Ennis Town Council members are also expected to discuss an updated report on efforts to develop the town’s night-time economy.
The council is working with the local business community, Gardaí and Promote Ennis on plans that could see part of the town receive a Purple Flag status.
The Purple Flag is run by the Association of Town Centre Management (UK) and is awarded to towns based on the quality of its nightlife and the types facilities and services in place at night.