Several other Irish cities have rolled out new pedestrian areas as well, including both Cork and Dublin.
Galway city, like most other towns and cities across Ireland, has been making changes in recent weeks to accommodate social distancing and new public health guidelines. Getting an upgrade in the form of additional outdoor seating, a number of different areas have been pedestrianised – including Lower Dominick Street and Cross Street.
Sharing a photo of the traffic-free area, local councillor Eddie Hoare commented that it was nice to see business owners taking advantage of the extra space.
“Nice to see businesses in Cross Street benefitting from the new pedestrian. Hopefully this is just the start as we continue to open up our streets. A key part of the Galway Transport Strategy involves the removal of cars from our city centre.”
Nice to see businesses in Cross Street benefitting from the new pedestrian. Hopefully this is just the start as we continue to open up our streets. A key part of the Galway Transport Strategy involves the removal of cars from our city centre. @GalwayLatinQtr @GalwayCityCo pic.twitter.com/evZ5wBXFJ4
— Mayor of Galway – Cllr. Eddie Hoare (@EddieHoareFG) August 12, 2020
According to Councillor Hoare, Middle Street will also be included in future pedestrianisation plans and “should hopefully be rolled out by the Mobility Team over the coming weeks”.
Meanwhile, Dublin city is coming up to the last weekend of a four-weekend pedestrianisation trial in the Grafton Street area. A big hit with both locals and business owners, there have been calls to extend the deadline past this weekend.
Header image via Twitter/Councillor Eddie Hoare