Waterford City Centre Urban Renewal Scheme

Submission

11th August 2015

Chair of Waterford Business Group Michael Garland

(Author of Submission)

Waterford City is rightly considered as the ‘Capital of the South East’ due to its economic,

social and environmental importance within both the South East and the country as a whole.

There are many examples of International Cities that have failed to address and promote their

City Centres as an economic driver and these Cities have seen substantial declines in not only

retail investment but all other types of investment such as FDI etc.

Although the City Centre has been the driving force in its development for centuries, as with

most cities in the Ireland, over the last few decades various pressures have emerged which

challenge the position of the city centre within the wider city region. Nevertheless, the centre

of Waterford benefits from many valuable assets including its physical characteristics,

transport links and rich history. One of our key priorities for the City is to maintain and

enhance the City Centre’s potential as a desirable destination to live, work and visit.

The purpose of this submission is to deliver the aspirations we all seek by identifying and

promoting opportunities and actions for the redevelopment and enhancement of the City core.

The actions seek to build upon the qualities and unique characteristics that Waterford offers

and set out a clear vision to promote major growth. It also reflects some of the issues and

comments raised from local retailers, business owners, and the citizens of Waterford.

Achieving the proposals set out in this submission will be dependent on working together

with all stakeholders in the City Centre. These include those who live, work and visit the

area, but equally important are the land and property owners, and businesses. Therefore, a

major component of this submission must be effective partnership and working together.

The Waterford Business Group has set out a vision for shaping the future of the City.

Overall it points to a number of key themes which will guide how Waterford could grow:

The economy should be at the heart of everything

Strengthen the City Centre

A better connected Waterford

A City for young people

Building on our assets

Think tourism

Culture, pride and identity

Health and well-being

A key element for the City is its emphasis on several areas which are strategically important

for the future prosperity of Waterford. The City Centre is one of these priority areas, and this

our submission to guiding future development within the City. In reference to the City Centre

we must focus on a number of important features.

These include expanding and defining the City Centre, taking full advantage of the waterfront

area, enhancing potential transport links and civic spaces, and developing effective linkages,

priority streets and arteries throughout the City, thus avoiding the potential of a “leaning

tower of investment” and therefore allowing a balanced City Centre development plan that

ultimately suits the Medieval layout of Waterford City.

This submission proposes that we look at and concentrate on key areas of feedback we have

received from our own consultation process. We can identify the key areas of concern for

businesses and citizens alike and these are as follows:

1. Built and Natural Environment – protecting and enhancing the rich and diverse cultural

and natural heritage of the City Centre will promote place identity and maximise the visitor

experience. Waterford City Centre benefits from an abundance of a rich diversity of both

cultural and natural heritage. This brief sets out some key strategic areas that can be focused

on when looking at the rebirth and strengthening of the City Centre.

2. Movement and Transport – the ability to move freely, on foot or by vehicle, is essential

to make the most of City Centre assets and allow all areas to prosper. Movement and access

to the City are critical in terms of the sustainability and functionality of the City. As the

capital of the South East, Waterford City should be the transport hub for the region and also

the key destination for visitor orientation to the region in terms of shopping, accommodation,

entertainment etc.

3. Tourism – enhancing the tourist experience will encourage more people to visit Waterford

and the South East. Tourism is becoming ever more important to the economy of not only the

City but the South East in general. Whilst the City and the South East are well serviced by the

indigenous Irish inward market we are very poorly serviced by the millions of International

tourists that visit Ireland on an annual basis. The circa €40 million investment from

Government, Council and other stakeholders in the Viking Triangle is most welcome and has

added to the product offering for Waterford and the South East, but more must be done to

access tourists coming to Ireland through Dublin, Cork and Shannon.

4. Economy – supporting existing and attracting new businesses will strengthen the economy

and re-establish a thriving environment. The City has traditionally been the market place and

centre point for commercial activity within the county and region. Over time this has been

eroded through poor planning, economic downturns, lack of investment, poor marketing etc.

However, there is evidence that the City can regain lost ground by strengthening existing

businesses and supporting rapid new business development in the retail sector. This needs to

happen on an accelerated scale otherwise the City will be left behind and other competing

market towns such as Kilkenny, Wexford, Dungarvan, Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel and

Tramore will continue to be more attractive to new retail investment. Waterford City must

regain the lost ground and start to proactively market the City Centre to existing and potential

businesses.

5. Living in the City Centre – Creating a strong and diverse City Centre population has a

range of social, economic and environmental benefits. The City Centre has seen no

significant population growth for a number of years and when compared to the population

growth outside of the City Centre you can see distinct worrying trends towards out-of-the-

City-living. This outward migration must be addressed by City Council and the businesses

within the City Centre.

The City Centre is the shop window to the City’s economic future.

Unfortunately, it is not “dressed” correctly and as a result we are not seen in a positive light

by both Waterford citizens and many visitors.

A number of recurring themes will be highlighted as areas of concern later in this submission

but as a starting point we can analyse some of the following statements:

(Ref: 2.4.1) The design of the Waterford City Urban Renewal Scheme 2015 is guided by

the current Waterford City and County Council Development Plan (2013-2019) which

contains a number of Policies and Objectives which support the proposed Waterford

City Urban Renewal Scheme 2015 and includes the following overall goal: “The

overarching goal for Waterford City is to fulfil its role as a Gateway City and as the

economic driver of the South East Region, to facilitate the provision of key investment

priorities whilst ensuring the City develops in a balanced, sustainable, transport

friendly and attractive way with good quality of life and opportunities for all citizens.

The image and attractiveness of the City and the quality of life it offers are fundamental

and shall be protected and enhanced through policies and objectives of the Development

Plan.”

As we are all aware the main funding sources for the Council are the very businesses that

contribute between one quarter and one third of the Council income and for 2015 that income

is circa €33,000,000. Yet there appears to be absolutely no mention or acknowledgement that

the Commercial Rate paying businesses will see any significant return of their own

investment. To create a commercial viable City Centre we must encourage a return on

business investment and as a matter of priority any redevelopment of the City Centre must be

focussed on driving business confidence and driving up footfall right across the City Centre.

Without any plan to increase City Centre footfall we will see an ever diminishing return on

City Centre business investment and this of course will have knock on effect in terms of

dampening FDI investment and other commercial investment.

(Ref: 2.4.2) To protect the retail primacy of the City Centre.

In order to protect and expand the retail primacy of the City Centre there is a need to look at

the footprint of the Medieval City Centre and apply holistic solutions to our unique City

Centre layout. There should be no compromise here and we cannot impose a modern day

solution on our medieval foundations. Whist there may well be Government redevelopment

priorities and statutes these should at the very least be altered and changed to suit Waterford

City’s specific needs and demands. If we are changing the City Centre access roads, entry

and exit points, traffic routes etc simply to suit a Government edict that generates grant

income to allow such projects to go ahead then this has to be changed. Spending and

allocating money for redevelopment for the sake of spending money will NOT suit Waterford

City.

We cannot allow cycle routes to be enforced where there is no demand.

We cannot allow the removal of car parking spaces when this will discourage people into the

City Centre.

We cannot allow the redevelopment of our medieval streetscape if it is not going to give

added value to a business and will give a return on that business’s investment.

If we are to be a City Centre synonymous with retail and a destination of choice for the

people of the South East we must allow sympathetic development that will ultimately

increase the value of businesses in Waterford City and give real value to existing commercial

rates payers in and around the City Centre. This will ultimately protect the primacy of the

City Centre.

(Ref: 2.2.3). Actions aimed at ensuring that alternatives to the car are more widely

available, mainly through a radically improved public transport service and through

investment in cycling and walking. And (Ref: 2.2.4). Over the past two decades there

has been a steep decline in cycling across Ireland.

While this is an attempt at changing people’s (shoppers) behaviour it is highly likely that

footfall will decrease in the City Centre if investment is made for the sake of investment. A

phased trial approach should be carried out on a number of streets in order to access the

‘real’ impact on turnover for businesses before a final decision is made. Once changes have

been made it will be impossible to reverse any alteration to the street layout. The simple fact

is that Waterford City at the present moment in time and for the foreseeable future will

struggle to achieve the similar percentages of walking and cycling usage as the other major

Irish cities as we simply do not have the population size and numbers. In addition we will

always have a smaller percentage of International tourists than other cities and again due to

the size and layout of the City Centre they will not use bicycles and will walk around the City

Centre instead. In addition recently introduced cycling laws will negate any increase in

cyclist numbers across Waterford’s City Centre due to the penalties involved with cycling on

public footpaths and walkways. An ALL Ireland solution to ensuring alternatives to the car

will not work in Waterford City and a sympathetic phased change to the road, walking and

cycling network is required and any phasing of expanded redevelopment must take into

account appropriate business needs and requirements with at ALL times the focus being on

the need to increase footfall around the City Centre.

“Retain appropriate levels of vehicular access for local residents and businesses whilst

removing non-essential traffic from the core medieval city centre.”

Our concern here is that this will indicate to car owners that they will have to totally change

their behaviour. The very simple fact is that the majority of shoppers want to park as close as

possible to shops. By enforcing or implementing ‘progressively limited’ car parking spaces or

using a ‘park and ride’ service we will create a disincentive for people to visit the City

Centre. In addition the recent increased development at Ardkeen on the Dunmore Road will

reduce further the need for people to come into the City Centre and with the proposed

reduced number of on-street car parking spaces, in all probability, there will be a continued

drop in footfall numbers in the short term. Rather than creating obstacles to car parking we

must now give shoppers incentives to come in to the City Centre and this must be done at an

accelerated pace in order to allow the City Centre to compete on a “level playing field” with

the likes of the Ardkeen and Lisduggan shopping complexes.

Creative car parking options should be considered such as those suggested in UK report “The

Future of High Streets” of July 2013:

“Many Pilots are testing parking initiatives, including Braintree, Tiverton, Berwick,

Loughborough, Stockport and Lewisham. In some Pilot areas, parking is already provided at

no or low cost. Tackling parking by itself will not fix the high street, but it is a helpful thing to

look at when considering what would bring people to the centre.

Braintree has introduced parking charges of 10p after 3 pm and 10p all day on Sunday. They

chose 10p rather than free parking in order to better monitor how the scheme was being

used. Figures showed more than 44 000 extra cars took advantage of this over the course of

the year, representing a significant increase in footfall in the late afternoons.

Loughborough is trialling a 'free after three' initiative one day a week to encourage people

into the town centre during the quieter period of the day. Every Friday through the summer,

as part of their ‘Fabulous Fridays’ project, they aim to entice people from the villages who

pick their children up from the town's schools to then pop into town afterwards instead of

going straight home, as well as employees around the town to stay after work. Another

scheme offering free Sunday parking will start in July.

Tiverton is attempting to capitalise on its location as the gateway to Devon and proximity to

other tourist destinations by offering parking for coaches. Currently Tiverton is missing out

on this potentially valuable market for lack of facilities. They are working with local

residents and businesses to identify where land could be turned into coach parking and will

be monitoring town centre footfall and vehicle traffic. They have also introduced a parking

charge of just £1 for five hours in the town centre multi-storey and are helping get an

unusual ‘tuk tuk’ scheme in place to attract shoppers.

Stockport's town team set up a sub-group to challenge the council on parking and come up

with suggestions for improvements. For example they found that shoppers were put off

making short trips by the cost of parking so the council are bringing forward proposals to

move to hourly charging across all car parks. Shoppers often cut short their trip because the

time on their pay and display ticket runs out, so the council are introducing more flexible

ways of paying, including smartphones. To further improve the attractiveness of Stockport’s

parking offer, as some car parks were in poor condition and needed improvement £2 million

is currently being invested to improve the lighting, security and the look and feel of the car

park.”

Any reduction in available space will also drive people out of the City altogether and this will

see an ever increased leeching of disposable income out of the City’s environs and into the

likes of Kilkenny and Wexford. The City Centre already competes unfairly with these regions

and any further “excuse” not to shop in the City Centre will and could be used for people to

search for retail opportunities elsewhere.

A further reduction in the removal of “non-essential traffic” from the City Centre will be

viewed as the creation of a “non-car-friendly City Centre” and will make the City Centre very

uncompetitive and this in turn will decrease the value of any business investment in the City

Centre which will adversely affect the commercial rates revenue to the Council and

consequently will put greater pressure on other areas of the Council’s budget.

Additional comments made whilst consulting businesses in the City Centre include the

following (not in any priority order):

Prior to any works being started the Waterside car park must be finished and opened

as a priority. This car park was promised to be completed and opened for Christmas

2010 and yet to date there has been no indication of a committed completion and

opening date.

The on-street car parking issues for residents in areas such as Mayors Walk, Parnell

Street and Stephen Street must be addressed prior to the start of any works.

The effective “closing” of access to the City Centre via Lady Lane to Parnell Street

will be a detrimental development.

The effective “closing” of access from The Quay via High Street, Arundel Square to

Ballybricken will be a detrimental development.

The routing of traffic onto Railway Square, Bath Street and onto Manor Street will be

a detrimental development with already extremely heavy volumes of traffic

circulating on these routes and it also appears that both the cycle and bus lanes have

been removed from these routes.

Manor Street is a main artery through the City Centre with traffic accessing the City

via this route. No change is needed in terms of the traffic flow through this Street.

The addition of raised pedestrian crossings at a number of junctions would be

welcomed. However, these need to be more than just raised crossings and there must

be an obligation for the motorist to stop rather than leaving it to the motorists’

discretion.

A lot of the success of this development project relies on the multi story car park, the

access to the car park and the cost per hour to park. Once completed the locals will

understand why these traffic flow changes were necessary.

Is it absolutely necessary to include a cycle and bus route for Parnell and Manor

Street? We do not believe that there is the demand for a cycle or bus routes to be

included in these areas.

The consideration to be given to the creation of a multi-storey car park in Millars

Marsh area. One storey would double the number of spaces and allow additional low

cost effective car parking close to the City Centre. This in conjunction with the

completion of the Waterside car park would give car parking incentives for increasing

footfall to the City Centre.

Apple Market shopping centre needs to be completed as a matter of priority. Once this

has been opened due consideration should then be given to additional road works

once traffic flow can be assessed around this new shopping destination. Open the

Apple Market centre and allow for time to assess the economic impact and potential

increased footfall and then assess additional redevelopment on the back of the success

or otherwise of this shopping destination.

Consideration to be given to the purchase of the BOI site at the Apple Market which

would allow some flexibility in terms of future vehicular access when John Street is

designated for pedestrianisation.

Overall the extent of the proposed works, especially the works in relation to the

proposed public spaces should be welcomed. The renewal of these currently neglected

streets which link the newly completed Viking Triangle Works to the ‘Commercial

and Retail Centres of Arundel Square, John Roberts Square and Michael Street

linking into the Apple Market will undoubtedly present a more unified and

homogenous appearance for the city centre which should, at least visually, remove the

divide between the ‘tourist’ and ‘commercial’ centric hubs of the city.

It should be noted that pedestrianisation of large sections of vehicular routes along

with a rationalisation of one way systems will only be successful as part of an

integrated retail and hospitality approach to the uses of the buildings that will face

onto the new public spaces and pedestrianised streets. For example, approximately

half of all the ground floor building frontage in the Apple Market is essentially solid

block wall which in no way lends itself to a successful public space. While

introducing useful seating areas adjacent to pubs and restaurants will be welcome,

there will be large section of the Apple Market where there will be little to no activity.

A proactive strategy within Waterford City Council in respect of commercial and

retail units is badly needed to run in parallel with the proposed works to ensure dead

spots along the revised streets.

It has been proven nationwide through application that the removal of traffic fully or

forcing one way systems and the limiting of accessible, functional car parking to the

periphery of a city/town can potentially have a detrimental effect on trading of

smaller businesses which rely heavily on passing trade (See Ennis, New Ross), where

as a more integrated approach to traffic calming and control along with public spaces

can be better for retail (See Wexford, Dungarvan) where parking is more immediate

to the retail. Access to taxis will become much more important so a clear strategy for

the location and use of these will be vital.

In respect of the proposed roof structure over the Apple Market, while questions

remain over its appearance (will it actually look as how it has been presented) and

potential to weather badly over time due to lack of cleaning, maintenance etc,

calculations should be undertaken if they have not been carried out already on the

actual light levels expected below the canopy and also the potential for wind

tunnelling that may occur as a result of covering a connecting open space at the end of

three number narrow streets.

Better street lighting needed in and around the City Centre.

Clearer designation of entering City Centre shopping/retail areas to allow better

branding and association with projects such as the Purple Flag. Better connectivity

with existing areas such as the Viking Triangle etc.

Removal of information unit on Broad Street.

The main arteries through the City Centre should be an investment priority and we see

continuing issues with existing footfall navigating around the City. There is a clear

issue that the movement of people around the City Centre must be addressed and

suitable solutions for Waterford City need to be found and implemented. Again we

need a Waterford City medieval solution and NOT a modern day Dublin, Cork,

Limerick or Galway solution.

Any future redevelopment must be undertaken with the solitary purpose of

positioning Waterford City as the retail capital of the South East. At present we are

playing catch up to the likes of Kilkenny and Wexford and there is a need to regain

lost ground. Our position as the retail capital of the South East has slipped and this

must be recognised and the title must be regained.

Additional introduction of one-way systems will hamper any recovery by Waterford

City.

With zero access from Patrick Street to The Quay any re-routing around Manor Street

will only add to already congested streets. Traffic flow around the City Centre is

already painfully slow and counterproductive to the encouragement of “stopping and

shopping”. Travel times down main arteries such as the Dunmore Road are already

prohibitive and with retail developments in areas such as Ardkeen there will be even

less of an incentive to come into the City Centre to shop if the journey time is

extensive and unreasonable, which many people believe that it already is.

Additional car parking must come on stream prior to any redevelopment.

The majority of people who live along areas such as the Dunmore Road simply will

now not need to access the City Centre due to shopping options in this area. What will

incentivise people to make that journey down the Dunmore Road if the journey time

is too long and congestion is likely to be a constant issue?

Consideration to be given to a “drop-off and collection” area in the City centre.

Are Council Executives aware of current City Centre issues and due to their absence

in residency in the City Centre do they view the City’s current issues through “rose

tinted glasses?”

In summary whilst redevelopment is welcomed it must be done for the right reasons and

these must be as follows:

To increase footfall in and out of the City Centre.

To encourage increased spending in and around the City Centre.

To allow businesses to operate efficiently and continue operating profitably within

Waterford City Centre.

Provide accessible and affordable car parking.

Allow business to see a return on their investment.

City Centre must be at the heart of the community.

Allow business to contribute a fair and proportionate commercial rates contribution

based on the Council driving up Key Performance Indicators (such as footfall,

average spend etc).

Redevelop the City Centre based on sound principles that suit Waterford City and not

a scattergun “one sized redevelopment suits all” approach that is currently being

proposed. Designing our street to encourage and attract people into the City Centre.

Reassess the transportation needs of a City with a population of circa 47,000 and

ensure that a balanced transportation policy is introduced that befits a City that has its

foundation some 1100 years ago.

Representation to the Waterford Business Group (after consultation) was also received from

the following businesses clustered specifically in the Mayor’s Walk area of the City Centre.

This was directly submitted by Gillian Bailey of Johnnie Walkers Traditional Fish and Chip

Shop, email; gillian-bailey@hotmail.com and mobile contact number; 086 3138616.

Representation from; * Waterford Today, Route 66, Beauty by Kathleen, Doherty

Motorcycles, Qualitile, Johnnie Walkers Traditional Fish and Chip Shop, 12 Mayors

Walk B&B, John Murphy Carpets, Ryans Decorating Centre, Mordants, Nickys, Jerry

O’Carroll, Quinlan Auctioneers, Dr Sheehans Surgery, No. 59 Hair and Beauty, Snow

Whites, Tap Room.

The Mayors Walk, Waterford is a functioning thoroughfare located between Barrack Street

and the junction between Ballybricken and Patrick Street. There is a junction onto Robinsons

Lane from the Mayors Walk. All traffic flow on the Mayors Walk currently operates on a

two way system.

The Mayors Walk is home to 17 businesses* and numerous residential properties, it also

provides parking facilities for the Church of the Holy Trinity Without, Ballybricken and De

La Salle Primary School.

Under the proposed changes a cycle lane will be put in place on the left hand side of the road

from Barrick Street and all traffic will flow in a one way system from Barrack Street onto the

Ballybricken and Patrick Street junction with traffic access onto Robinsons Lane. The

loading bay currently located outside John Murphy Carpets will be moved up towards the

church gates and parking will be reduced.

There are a number of concerns regarding these changes:

1. While the business owners of the Mayors Walk would prefer a two way traffic system

we understand the need to change this to a one way system. However, we have

concerns that this change may have a negative impact on our business interests.

2. A cycle lane is not an option for this road and will not be supported by the business

community located on the Mayors Walk. 17 rate paying businesses require customers

to come to them and therefore these customers will need to park on both sides of the

road to facilitate all business interests. The businesses located on the Mayors Walk

have been trading there for over 25 years, removing parking for these premises would

be detrimental to their ability to continue trading.

3. Reducing the number of parking spaces will not service the needs of the wider

community or businesses. The Church of the Holy Trinity Without uses the gates

located on the Mayors Walk for funerals, weddings and other church functions.

Parking has been eliminated on Patrick Street, therefore, requiring parents of children

from De La Salle Primary School to use the Mayors Walk for parking purposes when

dropping and collecting their children to and from school. The current parking space

allocation on the Mayors Walk barely meets the needs of the businesses and wider

community in its current form, reducing these spaces should not be considered. An

increase in parking on the Mayors Walk should be facilitated under this plan.

4. The current position of the loading bay outside John Murphy Carpets should remain.

The businesses on the lower end of the Mayors Walk require the delivery of heavy

goods. Ryan’s Decorating Centre require the delivery of furniture and paint, John

Murphy requires the delivery of Carpet, Qualitile require the delivery of heavy

bathroom furniture and tiles, and Johnnie Walkers require the delivery of 4 stone bags

of potatoes and fresh fish (fresh fish will not remain fresh if it is carried down the

length of Mayors Walk).

Representation to the Waterford Business Group (after consultation) was also received from

the following businesses clustered specifically in the Tramore Road Business Park area of the

City Centre. This was directly submitted by Paul Lenehan of Sienna Home Furnishing, email;

paul.lenehan@sienna.ie and mobile; 087 9786133.

Representation from; Paul Lenehan, Sienna Home Furnishings, Tramore Road

Business Park, Waterford City, X91 PT63, Ireland and the businesses listed in the table

below.

As mentioned in our meeting, I have reviewed the proposal with the list (below) of fellow

business/property owners in the affected area and we want you to include the various

concerns outlined below in your submission to Waterford Council on the matter.

Name Business Address/Location Mobile Email

Paul Lenehan Sienna Home Furnishings Tramore Road Business Park

087 9786133 paul.leneha@sienna.ie

David Flynn Landlord / David Flynn Properties

Tramore Road Business Park

087 2561020 david@dfl.ie

Noel Frisby

Landlord / Noel Frisby

Construction Westgate Business Park

087

6896426 info@frisbyhomes.com

Gerry Pierce Pierce Hire Cork Road 087 2593925 piercehire@eircom.net

Pat Crowley Landlord / Dawn International Tramore Road Business Park

087 2584591 pcowley@dawnint.ie

Tom Reid Mum n Me Baby Store Tramore Road Business Park

087 8039983

Brian Coughlan Kelliher Electrical

Tramore Road Business Park

086 3820110 brian.coughlan@rexel.ie

John Mitchel Mitchel’s Golf Shop Tramore Road Business Park

087 9890411 mitchelsgolf@hotmail.com

Richard Lindors Richard’s Lawnmower Repairs

Tramore Road Business Park

086 6029480 ricklindores@gmail.com

Mark Gierega Mark’s Auto Garage Tramore Road Business Park

087 4115966 1966marek@gmail.com

Michael Gainfort

Gainfort Hair & Beauty Supplies

Tramore Road Business Park

087 2547112 salondesign@gainfort.com

Mick Daly Crosslane/Sony Centre Westgate Business Park 087 2562899 crosslane@eircom.net

John O’Brien Angling & Outdoor Centre Westgate Business Park 087 2235270 waterfordangling@gmail.com

*note that there are other, substantial, businesses along this section of road, some which are

national, multi-store operations (namely Smyth’s Toys, Petmania, BTW Tiles, Right Price

Tiles, Lidl) that we have not spoken with because of time constraints, and expect the business

owners may not be aware of the proposed changes, and their significant impact. We expect

these business owners would be of a similar opinion were they aware.

The level of concern, anxiety and anger amongst business / property owners in the area

relating to these proposed traffic management changes is of the highest level. It is of utmost

important that Waterford Council is aware of this significant point. It’s also important to note

that we feel that the details of the significant changes, and the knock-on implications to

businesses in the area, have been very poorly communicated by Waterford Council to rate-

paying business/property owners.

These proposed changes, if implemented, will significantly reduce the volume of traffic using

the section of road between the Cork Rd-Tramore Rd Intersection and the roundabout at

Kingsmeadow Retail Park.

With this traffic reduction, there will be a corresponding reduction in footfall to all of the

rate-paying businesses along this section of road (Tramore Road Business Park, Westgate

Business Park and Ivory Retail Park).

It is the primary concern of the business / property owners that this reduction in footfall will

have a detrimental effect on business activity in the area, and will jeopardize the livelihood of

over 150 people employed in businesses along this section of road.

The vast majority of business in this area are “retail warehouse” businesses, and therefore

are required to be located outside of the city centre. As a result of this “out of town” location,

there is a complete reliance on customers travelling to/from these businesses by car, and

therefore good traffic access to / from the area is of vital importance. Any measure which

will restrict traffic to /from the area, will, by its nature, have a negative effect on business

activity in the area.

While we welcome positive development by Waterford Council, we feel that the proposed

Traffic Management change to this intersection is not a positive development, and has been

poorly thought through. We insist that Waterford City council revisit the proposal for this

intersection, and strongly urge them to consider a more conventional, “tried-and-tested”

roundabout at this intersection, and use the derelict site at the intersection to achieve this

result. In doing so, current and future traffic volumes including bicycle commuters can be

accommodated and safety concerns of the intersection satisfactorily addressed.

Thank you again for your assistance in this matter.

ENDS

Contributions:

Michael Garland; bizBoost and Chair of the Waterford Business Group, author of

submission.

Cllr Eddie Mulligan, c/o Urban Hype, John Street and the immediate environment.

George Kehoe; Occasions, Coal Quay and the immediate environment.

Marie Cooke; Kelly’s, The Quay and the immediate environment.

Glenn Sheridan; Tommy Hilfiger, Barronstrand Street and the immediate

environment.

Brian Tynan; Sam McCauley, Broad Street and the immediate environment.

Amy Kelly; Shades, Ferrybank and the immediate environment.

John Hayes, Hurricane Print, Ferrybank and the immediate environment.

Fiona Quilty; Pamela Scott, George’s Street and the immediate environment.

Anne Marie Coade; WBG Committee Member.

The Ferrybank Community Newsletter.

Helpful Links:

http://www.bitc.org.uk/our-resources/report/future-high-streets-businesses-going-local

http://www.100ways.org.uk/

http://www.dkm.ie/en/publications/geoview

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5987/2185491.

pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7525/2120019.

pdf

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0810/720253-dublin-traffic-car-park

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/traders-concerned-over-traffic-limits-due-to-

luas-works-1.2306819

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/frank-mcdonald-kilkenny-is-a-city-divided-over-bridge-

and-access-scheme-1.2306752

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/high-death-and-injury-rates-among-

cyclists-alarm-road-safety-campaigners-1.2306903

Additional Comments:

Bryan Cunningham; (via The Ferrybank Community Newsletter)

August 7 at 11:41am

“John if you are heading in could you suggest for the areas of road closers to try it before

they implement it by putting up road closed and diversion signs for a couple of days and then

do a questionnaire on how it affects or suits the people who use it.”

Richard Power, Toymaster, John Robert's Square, Waterford, richard.power@mytoyshop.ie

Contact Details for future correspondence:

Mr Michael Garland

Chair Waterford Business Group

8 Chestnut Drive

Viewmount Park

Waterford City

Email: michaelgarland2013@gmail.com

Mobile: 087 2339197