Thread by @__kbaker__

[Thread] A #StreetsAreForPeople action has began on Liffey Street Lower just north of Halpenny Bridge in Dublin. Volunteers from @dublincycling @IrishPedestrian @DublinCommuters and XR Dublin have erected a blockade to open the street for people to enjoy free from traffic.

.@DubCityCouncil councillors will vote on 2nd September to approve or reject proposals to pedestrianise this part of Liffey Street Lower. Some powerful business organisations oppose all changes. The street upgrade will pedestrianise the section between Grand Social and the quays.

Except for deliveries during morning delivery times, all traffic will turn right from Lower Liffey Street onto Great Strand Streets towards Jervis Street and Capel Street. 32,000 pedestrians and only 1,000 motor vehicles use this street everyday. The footpaths are too narrow.

So not only will this plan double the width of the footpaths in places it will also create a pedestrian plaza. These are exactly the kinds of changes we need to make Dublin's streets more friendly to people.

Some local businesses are in favour. Including the Winding Stairs group. They see the benefits of increasing footfall and giving more space to pedestrians. However, not all business groups agree.

Arnotts (the car park owner and retailer) oppose the plan. They say that their car park owners will be inconvenienced while ignoring the 32,000 pedestrians inconvenienced by the current street layout. They say that delivery vehicles won't fit on the new road layout, they will.

The Ilac Centre (retailer and car park) say similar things to Arnotts. They say that car users spend more than other modal users. Research from @TUDDublin shows the absolute opposite and that retailers massively over-estimate revenue from customers who drive.

The most anti submission to improve Liffey Street comes from the Dublin City Traders Alliance the owner of many car parks and shopping centres in the city centre including the Arnotts Car Park. Their chairman threatens the council with legal action: irishtimes.com/news/environme…

DCTA said the council must submit the plan to An Bord Pleanála. “The council can’t just ignore the planning process. Should they take the law into their own hands we would have no alternative but to take any steps available to us, including taking out an injunction against this.”

The Dublin City Traders Alliance's full submission is here: dropbox.com/s/0e1kknqad68j…

Let's make this very clear. The owners of car parks are threatening legal action against the council for attempting to pedestrianise a section of street and improving a section of street for people.

The council executive are using Part VIII of the Planning and Development Act 2001. It allows the council executive to produce a planning application, advertise it, seek public feedback, then the democratically elected city councillors to vote to approve or reject the proposals.

This is the most common way that public streets and built or changed in Dublin. 10s of Part VIII applications are processed every year by Dublin City Council. It's normal and appropriate for change of this scale. Much larger projects are also handled by Part VII.

Dublin City Trader's Alliance is arguing that the council can't do this because it is a major change with lots of potential knock on effects. It's not. The AA screening said it's not. They are impacting 1,000 vehicles a day. That's nothing.

If it was a major change similar to College Green then the council would have to apply to ABP for permission so that ABP could assess an Environmental Impact Assessment Report, required under EU law, for large projects with the potential for many knock on effects.

Dublin City Trader's Alliance are scaremongering. They are trying to slow or delay the process because it appears they don't think that #StreetsAreForPeople. They think streets are for motor traffic.

If you want to see Liffey Street Lower pedestrianised and the street improved then do two things:
* Attend the action today from @streetsare4ppl (and spend time/money in the area)
* Contact your local city councillors and ask them to vote for the proposals on 2nd September