The word is out – Cork city is a great place to work, socialise and live and over the next few years, the city will boom. There are 5,000 brand new jobs coming down the line, fantastic new offices and new homes being built and the population is set to reach 500,000. That’s a lot to be proud of and a lot of people to manage.
One of the big concerns is how to move around the island of Cork. There are only so many ways onto and off the central island so traffic management is vital for the health of the city. The National Transport Association along with Cork City Council has embarked on a €200 million public transport investment programme. Part of that programme is to improve the bus network and the reliability of the bus service around the city centre.
On August 9th, a bus priority corridor will come into affect and between 3.00pm and 6.30pm, St. Patrick’s Street will be only be open to buses, taxi’s, cyclists and pedestrians. Private vehicles will be directed along the quays, thereby freeing up the city centre and allowing bus passengers to reach their destination on schedule.
During this phase of change a number of initiatives have been introduced, including a network of set down and pick up points around the city (Drawbridge St is the closest point to Opera Lane), reduced afternoon parking prices in Paul St and North Main St. car parks; discounts on bus fares paid for with a Leap card; extended Park ‘n’Ride hours, free afternoon parking, Monday to Saturday, in Black Ash and additional stops at Merchants Quay, St. Patrick’s St, Grand Parade and South Mall.
So get on board and see Cork city in a different way, you never know what you might discover.
http://www.corkcity.ie/services/roadstransportation/transportationdivision/transportforcorkcity/