Calls to trial more car-free days in Cork city as pilot event labelled success 

THE Lord Mayor has welcomed positive reactions to Cork’s first car free day in 20 years, describing it as another key building block to securing a climate neutral city.

The car ban was in place in Cork city between noon and 6.30pm on Saturday. It extended to all vehicles with the exception of taxis and buses.

Cork was among 1,300 towns and cities across Europe to adopt the initiative, which was promoted by Cork City Council. Other groups that got on board to publicise the project included Cork Cycling Group, Bus Éireann, Irish Rail, Cork Chamber, Cork Business Association and An Garda Síochána.

The Cork Environmental Forum and the Transport and Mobility Forum also got behind the initiative.

Lord Mayor Cllr Kieran McCarthy (Ind) said the overall reaction to the event was positive.

“It seemed to be a success”, he told The Echo.

“I met a few traders on Culture Night who were sharing their commentary.

“The overall message I’m getting is that we should continue working towards more pedestrianisation, but everyone needs help to get there.

“It ties in nicely with the city’s climate action plans and the idea of the city being climate neutral in the near future.

“The overall sentiment is split,” Cllr McCarthy added.

“It’s a difficult one. Five years before covid the sentiment was that streets shouldn’t be pedestrianised. There is more of a split these days because people are seeing the benefits.

“There is a lot more movement in favour of pedestrianisation and a lot more movement on reopening the conversation we had.”

Labour local area rep, Peter Horgan said that more car free days need to be trialled to offer a broader indication of their impact.

“One day in isolation is not enough to give any sort of data, especially with the weather we had this weekend,” Mr Horgan said. “This must be a continuous process.”

Green Party councillors Oliver Moran and Colette Finn were among the volunteers making the initiative possible on the day.

“Despite the rain, town was as busy as ever,” Cllr Moran said. “Buses were running on time and there were no restrictions on accessing car parks or blue badge spaces.

“I think it should become the norm,” he added. 

“The significant change on Saturday was the pedestrianisation of North Main St.

“This should be looked at now in a similar way to Oliver Plunkett St. The other major difference was that the public transport corridor on Patrick St was enforced. I think we’ll have to look at some form of physical enforcement there, that allows buses and taxis to use the street.”