Dublin City Council have announced plans to refurbish Temple Bar in what is being referred to as a "major de-cluttering exercise."
As reported by thetimes.co.uk, the council proposes to make the area more accessible by resurfacing the cobblestones, widening and lowering the footpaths, and flattening and widening the surface of the main square, which the council intends to make better suited to hosting cultural events. There are also plans in the pipeline to ban restaurants from cluttering the streets with outdoor furniture in favour of replacing it with a shared "flexible seating area under a single licence".
Café Vivaldi owner Bob Boyers, whose business currently has a licence to place tables on the square, expressed concerns over the plans, stating, "You will have Gourmet Burger Kitchen, the Bad Ass Café and us all fighting for six tables. It just wouldn't work. [The council] seem to be listening more to the residents than to the commercial units. Our unit is quite small, we've only got two seats inside. If they take away our seating outside, it would virtually close us down. Staff would lose jobs, and we would also have trouble with our liquor licence."
However, the council claims that the majority of residents and business owners have responded favorably to its proposals. The council has also suggested the institution of a voluntary "street charter" to encourage the cutting down of the amount of sandwich boards displayed on footpaths so that pedestrians can more easily pass down the streets. Work on the renovations is likely to commence in 2018.
