Madam, – Minister for the Environment John Gormley’s statement condemning the lifting of bus gate for certain hours over the Christmas period (Home News, November 4th) is deeply worrying for those of us attempting to conduct business in the general Grafton Street area.
Already challenged by suburban shopping centres with ease of access and free parking, not to mention the current economic difficulties, the question many of us are now asking ourselves is, does the Minister, or do the city policy makers, see a role at all for quality retailing? Do they believe we can continue regardless of their decisions?
I would be the first to acknowledge that traffic congestion is an issue. I also support a variety of transport modes. However, if the bike and the bus get policy priority over everything else, that sends a clear signal to me and, I have no doubt, other retailers, that our interests are peripheral and we can be sacrificed.
The result may well be that what was once the high-end quality shopping experience is replaced, over time, with a limited range of businesses such as coffee shops, burger outlets, restaurants/bars and little else.
The reality of the kind of quality shopping experience of the Grafton Street area is that while the bike and the bus may be great for carrying the vegetables, the gym gear and even the brief case, neither is a mode of transport favoured by many shoppers.
The high-end shopper generally wants the convenience of being able to get from house to shop to home with ease and being able to carry their purchases without undue hassle.
I would have thought that a general principle should be that where there are a variety of stakeholders involved, a policy decision impacting so adversely on any one interest should not be contemplated, and the status quo would prevail, until such time as the broader strategic transport plan is put in place. This is assuming that such a plan exists. – Yours, etc,