Phoenix: It's getting worse

It was recently announced that two nice local shops are to close their doors. One, Finders Keepers in Michael Street is retiring from business as far as I know and the other Beibhinn on Parade Quay is shutting up shop temporarily due to refurbishment works on the buildings owned by the council in that area. 

It is not clear who, if anyone, in the council's Economic Policy area or indeed in Waterford Chamber is responsible for understanding the closure rationale, the impact on the city’s retail profile, or in lobbying national retailers to secure a local presence.

Several factors are combining to make life difficult for those trying to access the historic city centre. The layout of the city like a fan with all the main routes radiating from Reginald’s Tower, the huge increase in private car ownership from something like 750K in 1990 to 2.2 million currently poses massive challenges, and the tolled bypass, which is not really fulfilling its function. 

Anyone using the Outer Ring Road from Ardkeen to the Cork Road can see huge traffic volumes. 

The toll bridge section is a massive disincentive to wider use. The obvious result of these factors is that traffic through the city and along the quays by those who simply want to pass through is still very high and increasingly obvious. Public transport, which is a vital part of the solution, is fine but not easily realisable, but the city centre has developed a reputation of inaccessibility, especially for those wishing to drive into the city centre for shopping, leisure or business. 

Some people blame pedestrianisation for the current situation but if Barronstrand Street, Michael Street and John Street were reopened to traffic it would do little except make the urban environment in those areas very unattractive. 

Going back is not an option. 

Making the quay four-lane simply moves traffic from one area to another. Difficulties in Lombard Street would remain.

The problem is exacerbated by the continuing development of housing on the Dunmore Road, in the Lacken area, in Ferrybank and in Tramore. Every house built in Ballygunner means a three-mile journey into the city centre. 

Using Kavanagh’s bus service finds you sitting in interminable traffic at Park Road, William Street and Lombard Street. Journeys from Slieverue or Abbey Park to the city centre can be lengthy. 

Similarly with those travelling from Tramore to the city centre. Traffic volumes can mean long delays for buses all along Parnell Street, The Mall and the Quays. 

The only people who can travel easily by public transport to 'the cross', the historic heart of the city at Michael Street/ Patrick Street, are those living in the older parts of the city from Ballybricken westwards.

Something has to be done by council road engineers. They are responsible for traffic movement. 

The end result of difficult access is visible damage to the already very fragile business and retail core of the city. Some blame a perceived lack of focus on the city in recent years, post amalgamation with the county, while the development of the North Quays took precedence over everything else. 

The North Quay project is vital to the city’s future, but the problems which affect the historic city centre retailing, office space, hotel, restaurant, pubs, housing and access are complex and not easily solved. 

The council is doing its bit to deter urban dereliction by issuing Compulsory Purchase Orders. This is having an effect as proposals have emerged to convert some empty pubs and other property into accommodation, which must be beneficial in the long run. The more people we can get living in the city centre, the more vitality will ensue.

In the interim, from an access viewpoint, the closure, for instance, of New Street car park is incredibly difficult to justify. 

The notion of easy access to parking in the city has to be fostered while the chicken and egg situation with retail supply and variety in the city centre is being solved. 

The bottom tier of City Square car park is regularly closed because of high prices. Multi-storey car parks in the Glen and Railway Square are rarely full. 

Meanwhile, the system of vacant car parking space notification, put in place nearly two decades ago, has been broken and out of use for many years. 

The big broken sign on the centre of Rice Bridge that is held together by a cargo strap symbolises a lack of awareness, as does the grubby and unloved nature of the bridge itself. 

Signage indicating where car parks are is small, not visible or does not exist. This has fostered conspiracy theories that the council is deliberately deterring people from driving into the city centre to divert passing traffic to the bypass! 

It is self-evident that direction signage to car parking must be visible and there must be clear signage indicating that spaces are or are not available.

Meanwhile, the new pedestrian bridge at the Clock Tower will make Ferrybank to the Clock Tower actually walkable. There is demand for a European-style plaza along the quays, instead of the current car parks, and this is a wonderful idea, but many people will still want to use their cars to come into town while we wait for public transport nirvana. Where will they park? 

Bordeaux in France has a riverside location much like Waterford, albeit much bigger. They have made a lovely boulevard along the river, which is easily accessed by public transport, but there are also expensive public underground car parks everywhere. 

Nearly all the main off street car parking in Waterford is privately owned, which creates its own dynamic. Some people have suggested a park and ride service but this has not worked anywhere in Ireland except Dublin at the Red Cow Luas station, and population size and demand may not support it in a small city like Waterford.

We are in a very difficult situation with the historic city centre. While tourism is developing in the Viking Triangle, perceived and real difficulties in accessing the historic core have to a greater or lesser extent undermined the vitality of the city centre. There are probably no easy answers.