Putting the beat back on the streets
FOOTFALL ON TULLOW STREET HAS DROPPED A MASSIVE 50 PER CENT SINCE THE PINNACLE OF THE 'CELTIC TIGER'. NOW RADICAL NEW MEASURES AIMED TO RESUSCITATE BUSINESS IN THE TOWN CENTRE ARE TO BE FAST-TRACKED BY THE LOCAL AUTHORITY. ELIZABETH LEE REPORTS.
Tullow Street in Carlow where business has dropped.
Related Articles
RADICAL new measures aimed to resuscitate business in Carlow town centre are to be fast-tracked by the local authority after a delegation of traders last Thursday attended a council meeting. Local representatives were told by businessman, PJ Hickson that footfall on Tullow Street has dropped by 50 per cent since the heady days of the Celtic Tiger and that over 70 shop units lie vacant.
He called for radical change to be brought in, ' begging and pleading' the council to open up Tullow Street to traffic and changes to parking tariffs.
Mr. Hickson pointed out that the Tullow Street Traders group was something of a misnomer because they represent businesses from all over the town centre, including Dublin Street, Kennedy Avenue, Burrin Street and beyond.
Formed during the summer, the group's main remit is to 'protect the old town centre' which, according to Mr. Hickson, is being eroded by shopping and business centres.
' There are traders in the town centre for years that need to be protected,' he continued. 'Supermarkets are capable of eliminating smaller shops such as butchers, etc.'
He said that though business in the town centre wasn't as brisk as that in the Fairgreen Shopping Centre their rates were on a par.
Another element is the difficulty for shoppers to access the town centre because of the network of one-way streets. Mr. Hickson continued that even those who do bother to come into the Tullow Street area can't find sufficient or economic parking.
The councillors were told that punters will always favour the convenient and free parking at the Fairgreen SC and so stay away from Tullow Street, Dublin Street and the rest.
'We're not against the Fairgreen SC but we need to recognise that things aren't right,' he argued.
He called for a radical reduction in the cost of parking for the first hour, dropping the price down to a mere 20c while he also called for more bays where customers can park for free for 15 minutes.
'We're begging and pleading with you on this one,' he said about reintroducing traffic to Tullow Street during business hours.
In recent months, cars were allowed to travel down the street because of road works nearby. All shops, Mr. Hickson pointed out, experienced an increase in sales during that period before he called one final time for traffic to be allowed on Tullow Street.
