Sir, - In your article "Two French cities can boast of light rail's success as a civilising option" (October 30th) you say, in relation to the Strasbourg light rail project: ". . . not a single shopkeeper had to close during the construction period". This is at odds with what a delegation from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce discovered on visiting Strasbourg in January of this year.Over the period of construction of the system the Strasbourg Chamber of Industry and Commerce monitored business activity on the routes affected and surveyed 200 shops in La Grande Isle, the main shopping district in the city centre. Their results indicated that:
. 15 per cent of shops on the route closed, a typical closure rate is 5 per cent.
. turnover of retailers on the route fell by 25-30 per cent. After construction was completed turnover began to rise by 1-2 per cent per annum.
The Strasbourg City Council allocated a total of Fr15 million (£1.8 million approx) to compensate shops on the route of the light rail in La Grande Isle. Amounts paid to retailers varied from as little as Fr1,500 (£180), to as much as Fr1.5 million (£180,000). - Yours, etc.,
Research Executive, Dublin Chamber of Commerce,
7 Clare Street, Dublin 2.