NEW TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS which come into effect today will impact on consumer spending, according to Dublin car park owners.
A new survey by Red C on behalf of the Irish Parking Association (IPA) said the restrictions could result in a 24% fall off in shopping and entertainment revenue.
The survey which focused on high-end retail shoppers found that 41% of retail and entertainment spenders in Dublin use their cars to get in to the city centre.
City centre shoppers
Three out of five city centre shoppers who used their car claim they would not do so if the planned access restrictions were in place.
The IPA says 10% of all shoppers said they would definitely not visit due to the restrictions.
Due to the latest works on the Luas extension, College Green bus corridor will operate from Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm.
During those hours, only buses, taxis and bicycles can travel through College Green.
Outside of these hours, the corridor will be open to all vehicles – as well as on Saturdays and Sundays. When the corridor is in operation, drivers must use alternative routes.
The association said the latest restrictions will only increase the pressure on retailers who it said are already suffering following the recent closure of Clerys and the examinership of leading retailers like Best Menswear and Mothercare.
Difficult trading environment
Keith Gavin, President of the Irish Parking Association, said retailers are already in a difficult trading environment.
He said “further measures which restrict customers’ access to these retailers will only serve to exacerbate the problem and may result in other developments not proceeding”.
The fear is the new measures will serve to discourage car users and make shoppers go elsewhere.
Gavin said car users remain a significant proportion of overall visitors to the city centre and making it difficult for them to access the city centre will only drive business to competing out-of-town centres such as Dundrum, Blanchardstown and Liffey Valley where such access and parking restrictions are not a factor.
Meanwhile, Retail Ireland and Dublin Town groups have urged Dublin City Council, the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to carry out a detailed impact study and reconsider the traffic management plan.
Inaccessible areas
The Dublin City Transport Study makes large portions of the city entirely inaccessible to shoppers, said Conor Whelan Director of Eason and Chairman of Retail Ireland.
He said Dublin retailers have raised very serious concerns about the study’s proposals on car parking, tourist coach parking and crucially, the ability of commercial vehicles to conduct downtown deliveries.
We are very disappointed that the measures were published without any consultation with Dublin’s retailers, which themselves play an enormous role in city life and generate a large portion of the Dublin City Council’s income through commercial rates.
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