'I don't see how we could keep going': Businesses fear MacCurtain St would be ‘ripped up’ for Luas

A McCurtain St business owner has encouraged people to make submissions on the Cork Luas public consultation, saying that the preferred route would be disastrous for his and other businesses on the street.

The emerging preferred route sees the Luas go from St Patrick’s Street to McCurtain St before making its way to Kent Station.

Seán Gargano from MacCurtain Wine Cellar said that he was “100% pro-Luas” but feared his and other businesses would not survive the construction period, and that having the Luas go directly down the street would undo all of the good work recently done on revamping the area.

He told The Echo: “The public money that went into McCurtain street recently was huge, and now it’s a wonderful street. It’s almost completely independent, owner-occupied businesses, and we suffered a lot during the construction but we were told the benefits would outweigh the loss.

“While the hoardings were up from May to September we were on our knees, we lost 14% of our profits that time, around €35,000. This project is much more invasive, TII need a minimum of two years and to have construction all that loss would be unsustainable, I don’t see how we could keep going – we’re too small to handle it, and we only just did it.

“There are vacant outlets on our street and we’re not going to get people investing in them while this is around the corner.” 

He suggested that the Luas would be better going down the quays, saying: “Our quays need regeneration and in other European cities these projects don’t go bang down the arteries of a city but feed onto them, in Dublin the Luas doesn’t go directly down Grafton street but adjacent to it.” What McCurtain St needs is pedestrianization rather than adding more traffic, he said, explaining: “Luas plus cars, buses and bicycles mean the street will be choked with traffic – our beautiful outdoor spaces like seating outside pubs will be pushed back, and there will be overhead cables visually disrupting the area.” He added that the public consultation itself is also very complex: “I’ve watched people start it then say they’ll do it later.

“People in Cork are also really used to saying this is never going to happen anyway, but whether this happens in 2029, in 15 years or 25 years, the last date to contribute on the route is June 9. Once the consultation is closed all research will go into that route. The next public consultation will be to say yes or no, this is the last chance to suggest a different route.” 

Katherine Fitzpatrick, the director of destination for the VQ, a business group for the area, told The Echo: “overwhelmingly, we would be very ive of a Luas in Cork, it’s really long overdue.

“However, our have mentioned, the area has very recently gone through a period of upheaval, and a lot of patience is required when works are ongoing, though they did produce a very positive result.

“This amazing space has been created making MacCurtain St into a real destination. The footpaths have been widened, there’s trees and planters, people are sitting out and eating outdoors – there’s an overriding concern that by putting the Luas there, you could reverse all the work done to create this vibrant atmosphere.

“If the Luas is running both ways, are people going to say they don’t want to sit and eat right beside that? We appreciate that the Luas would bring footfall, but our have pointed out that having it one street down could create the same footfall.” 

She added: “MacCurtain street is also a really historic street, there’s concerns around the idea of electrical lines strung across buildings, and there are still challenges with deliveries and drop offs on the newly revamped street, so the Luas taking up two sides of the street is a big question mark for businesses.”

 Ms Fitzpatrick said that it was important to bring the Luas onto the northside and connect it to Kent Station, but said “the quays are a logjam of cars at the moment, this would be a really good opportunity to revitalize that space. We will be putting in a submission to encourage TII to really look at that quayside option.

“We would also love to see the street used in a more open way for community events, it would lend itself to things like the city council’s open streets events – they wouldn’t be activating the quays in the same way.” 

Social Democrats TD for Cork South Central Pádraig Rice said: “We have to get Cork Luas route right. This vital project provides us with a unique opportunity to rethink our city centre – we mustn’t squander it.

“Currently the quays are dominated by car traffic. An alternative light rail route that skirts the historic centre would have the dual benefit of bringing life to areas that have been neglected for too long, while also acting as a pathway for pedestrians heading into the commercial centre.

“In general, it’s more beneficial for an established businesses to be on a street adjacent to a light rail line, especially hospitality businesses.” 

He added: “MacCurtain Street has just gone through a long period of regeneration. A huge amount of money was spent upgrading the area only for it to be ripped up under the current proposal.” 

Mr Rice said that as the area “is host to a booming hospitality trade…. we should be encouraging this upward trend by increasing outdoor dining, not limiting it”, and strongly encouraged people to make their voices heard about the route before the consultation period closes on June 9.

Paolo Carbone, TII's head of light rail capital programmes, told The Echo that the Luas going down MacCurtain St: “is one of the concerns that have been raised, and we welcome submissions on it as part of the consultation.” 

TII’s Sarah O’Donnell, the Cork Luas project manager, added: “In the longer term, the Luas would add to the vitality of the day and night time economies on MacCurtain St, and there’s real benefits into getting right into the heart of the area, but we are still constantly refining the plan and considering alternatives.”