RAFTER STREET will revert to pedestrians only during business hours once the completion of upgrading to nearby Church Street takes place this week.

Enniscorthy councillors made the unanimous  decision which ensures that the street is free of all traffic during the day, except for delivery vehicles, with cars only allowed through the street from teatime onwards. In the past few weeks, all traffic has been allowed through the street for the duration of the Church St. work.

A formal ceremony will be held by the council to mark the opening of the new-look Church Street, a project described by town clerk David Minogue as a very positive development for the town.

The decision to ‘return to the status quo’ in Rafter Street was made at the April meeting of the council, and comes amid fresh controversy. Several traders have voiced concerns at a perceived downturn in business on the prime location in the town, calling for the council to take action.
While the traders have hit at the ‘pedestrianisation’ of the street, saying it is not working from a business viewpoint after it was introduced two years back, council members are unanimous in opposing any changes.

On local radio during the past week, listeners heard a litany of complaints from business people operating in the Rafter Street area. But also on air supporting the council’s stand was Cathaoirleach Cllr. Keith Doyle, who said the council is ‘well aware’ of the situation.

Traders are seeking a return to allow vehicular traffic use the street permanently, including for parking and for stop-off for shopping.

But at last week’s council meeting, Cllr. Jackser Owens recalled that the majority of the traders of Rafter St. had, in fact, fully supported the pedestrianisation moves at several meetings. “I was at those meetings and there was a show of hands in support of what this council proposed”, he said.

The Cathaoirleach echoed this, recalling the vote in favour of pedestrianising Rafter St. He told listeners to South-East Radio of discussions he had with the Traders Association, at which he told the group that, from the council’s point of view, the long-running situation in Rafter Street is best practice. Allowing traffic to use the street had been ‘a compromise’ as part of ongoing work in Church Street nearby, he said, adding that the surface of the street is not conducive to heavy traffic.

Cllr. Sean Doyle agreed, saying Rafter St. ‘is not fit for (vehicular) traffic.”
Ruling out the council reversing its decision on prioritising the street for pedestrians, he said that with the Church St. work completed, the situation in Rafter St. now automatically reverts to the previous situation (of pedestrianisation and restricted vehicular traffic hours). He also highlighted the fact that there is a large council car-park some thirty seconds’ walk from the street.

However, also speaking on radio, Cllr. Doyle admitted that not having an anchor tenant business on Rafter Street is a serious problem for the town in general – the former Dunnes Stores site, a prime location on the thoroughfare, remains unoccupied

“The biggest problem in the street is the lack of an anchor tenant, as there normally is on a high street in a town.”
He also said that, quite apart from the pedestrianisation issue, there are other factors to be looked at, such as quantity, quality and value: you cannot just blame everyone else, you also have to look inwards, he said.