Pedestrianisation of Sandymount Green for outdoor dining this summer will support businesses – Geoghegan

The pedestrianisation of the eastern part of Sandymount Green to facilitate outdoor dining in July and August is positive for businesses and patrons, Fine Gael Councillor James Geoghegan has said.

Councillor Geoghegan, Fine Gael’s Dublin Bay South bye-election candidate, has welcomed the intention by Dublin City Council to facilitate outdoor dining by making an area traffic free on one side of the Green following a public consultation.

Cllr Geoghegan said: “I have been working hard with my Fine Gael colleagues in Dublin City Council (DCC) to help businesses respond to the challenges of Covid-19 by helping them find alternative ways of trading and to maximise the use of outdoor space.

“In March the Fine Gael group on Dublin City Council wrote to the Chief Executive seeking the establishment of a cross-departmental taskforce that would work with restaurants, musicians, artists, and our retail traders to help deliver a City Centre Recovery Plan. The Council’s City Recovery taskforce was subsequently established and its work is now underway.

“We have already helped to deliver the pedestrianisation of Capel Street, Merrion Row, and South William Street which, for restaurants and bars in these areas, was a success with a steady flow of patrons in the first week that outdoor dining resumed.

“I am therefore delighted that Dublin City Council have now decided to make the eastern side of Sandymount Green traffic free for July and August after undertaking a public consultation which ran from April 30^th to May 14^th.

“A total of 926 people took part in the online consultation, with 94% of respondents saying they would support it.

“358 residents from the Sandymount Green Area responded with the same level of support, and 71% of businesses in the area were also in favour of the proposal.

“The pandemic has demonstrated the need for a strategy to make more pedestrian space available to restore our capital city back to its full potential once again,” Cllr Geoghegan concluded.