Cork people are voting with their feet on the new-look Patrick Street, writes Barry Roche.
A stroll down Cork city's main thoroughfare, Patrick Street, is a different experience now compared to 12 months ago.
A €13 million makeover by Catalan street designer Beth Gali has transformed the street, known locally as "Pana", from an overcrowded, traffic-congested centre to an attractive street with wide pedestrian plazas with a distinctly European flavour.
The scooping by Patrick Street of three awards in the Department of the Environment's City Neighbourhood competition yesterday is vindication of the two-year transformation of the street undertaken by the city council.
While city traders complained that their business dropped by up to 20 per cent during refurbishment work, the new-look street is wooing shoppers and visitors alike.
Traders in the city centre are facing stiff competition from suburban shopping centres in Douglas, Wilton and Blackpool.
There will be even further competition when the massive Mahon Point shopping complex opens in Mahon next year.
However, while suburban shopping centres offer convenience - particularly parking - the general view is they won't be able to rival "Pana" when it comes to tradition and style.
Beth Gali's design capitalises on the asymmetrical nature of Patrick Street, and uses the street's winding shape to give parity, if not priority, to pedestrians.
The aim was to ensure that the city becomes a truly public space for locals and visitors alike.
The result is a huge increase in the pedestrianised area, with pavements widened by 68 per cent and now accounting for 10,000 square metres, compared to 4,000 square metres of street.
Since its official opening in September, Patrick Street has attracted street artists and buskers who now have space to perform and draw a crowd. A meander along "Pana" on a Saturday afternoon is proving a popular pastime.
Work on Gali's vision for Patrick Street began in July 2002. Cork firm EG Pettit & Company provided the engineering expertise, and the contractors were McGinty and O'Shea.
Cork City Council senior executive, Mr Tom Droney, oversaw the work which involved using five types of granite, specially designed street lights and the provision of bike racks and benches. Lime trees were planted on the western side of the street.
Four of the five stones used in the work were Spanish granite - a pale grey and white; a rich pink; a grey; and a dark grey.
They were used with Kerry red limestone in a random pattern on the western side of the street.
According to Mr Droney, the pale grey and white stone was used in a 1.8 metre ribbon near the kerb where the lighting, bins, telephone kiosks, bicycle stands and bus stops are placed.
This leaves the rest of the street clear for the visually impaired and other disabled users.
Other features aimed at making the street more user-friendly for visually impaired people include the use of pimpled red bricks to indicate when they are approaching a traffic junction.
The refurbishment was aimed at reducing traffic congestion on the street.
Only buses, taxis and delivery vehicles are allowed to stop in the service lanes.
The council is looking at limiting the traffic using the street to these three categories in the long term.
Cork city manager Mr Joe Gavin yesterday welcomed the announcement that Patrick Street picked up three prizes in the City Neighbourhood Awards 2004 - the Best Shopping Street Award, the Best City Street Award and the overall Best City Neighbourhood Award.
"We're absolutely delighted - it's a real vindication of the refurbishment of Patrick Street," said Mr Gavin.
He also paid tribute to the city traders for their support during construction work.
He said while the physical refurbishment was crucial, the overall Best City Neighbourhood Award also reflected other factors like tidiness, culture and tradition.