James Cox
New figures show footfall in Dublin city has increased by 89 per cent since the return of outdoor dining.
Dublin City Council is launching a new campaign today to encourage everyone to enjoy all the amenities and attractions the capital has to offer.
The ‘We Can Dublin Again’ campaign comes as the latest pedestrian data shows footfall in Dublin City has increased by 114 per cent since January and is up 45 per cent since April.
When comparing May Bank Holiday Monday to June Bank Holiday Monday this year, when outdoor dining resumed, footfall in the city increased by 89 per cent (150,517 on June 7th vs 79,637 on May 3rd).
“Over the course of the pandemic, many people missed different things about Dublin,” said the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alison Gilliland.
“Whether it be a day out exploring the shops and markets; trips to the zoo, museums or galleries; or simply meeting up at your favourite restaurant or café for lunch or dinner with family or friends. There is so much this great City has to offer. After what has been an exceptionally tough time for businesses, it is heart-warming to see people, both from Dublin and from around the country, come back to the City and enjoy all of the unique and special amenities and attractions it has to offer,” she added.
A number of measures have been introduced to assist in the recovery of Dublin city, including the following:
- The widening of footpaths to facilitate outdoor dining, including on Merrion Row, Lower Baggot Street, Suffolk Street, South William Street, Drury Street and Capel Street.
- Traffic-free streets in the city to facilitate outdoor dining, including Anne Street South, Dame Court, South William Street, Drury Street, and Sandymount Village.
- Weekend evening traffic-free streets on Capel Street and Parliament Street, now extended from the original 6 weeks to 12 weeks.
- Increased public seating areas and picnic benches with parasols.
- 393 street furniture licences for outdoor dining.
- Reallocation of roadway and parking spaces, including protections to facilitate outdoor dining
- 30 new park benches across the city in memory of people who died from Covid-19.
There has also been a significant increase in cycling numbers in the city. The number of cyclists at the weekend in the city is almost double what it was pre-Covid.
The council is continuing to implement a cycle lane protection and segregation programme, protecting almost 20km of cycle lanes, since April 2020. Car traffic has also increased during the past month and is now approximately 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
“It’s just over a month since outdoor dining resumed, and two months since shops reopened, so these figures are really encouraging,” said Coilín O’Reilly, Dublin City Council’s director of City Recovery.
“The number of people in the city is 79 per cent more compared to June last year. But we still have a way to go to get back to pre-Covid levels. However, with more restrictions set to ease in the near future, we are very optimistic that more people will visit the City in the coming weeks and enjoy all the great amenities and attractions it has to offer,” he added.
