Cork council to park controversial Washington Street road layout

Engineers have been forced back to the drawing board to revise a controversial road layout which taxi drivers say has caused chaos on one of Cork’s busiest streets.

Engineers, city councillors, and taxi drivers will visit the Washington St area next Monday to discuss possible changes to the layout which was introduced a few weeks before Christmas.

It was not clear last night whether taxpayers will have to foot the bill for changes.

Derry Coughlan, the spokesman for the Cork branch of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation, said minor changes to road markings would go a long way towards resolving the issues.

“They were trying to put our ranks in this area down side streets,” he said.

“We’ve had a lot of discussions with City Hall about the problems here.

“People want to see taxis in a public place, not down a side street or a no-go area. Taxi ranks must be in established places, in a place where people feel safe and secure. Hopefully, next week’s site visit will result in improvements to the area.”

The changes to the main westbound route out of the city were introduced to accommodate the installation of new cycle lanes between UCC and the city centre.

However, it resulted in the relocation of two of the city’s busiest taxi ranks — including the one outside Reardens, one of the city’s busiest entertainment complexes — to an area across the street.

The changes were criticised before Christmas by city councillors, who had earlier signed off on the scheme, and by gardaí who expressed health and safety concerns about late-night revellers having to cross the busy road for a cab. Taxi drivers were also angry.

The introduction of a loading bay almost in the middle of the old road layout, and the installation of a low concrete plinth running along the street, were also criticised.

Two Fianna Fáil councillors said calls by councillors before Christmas to remove the concrete plinth and to dish footpaths in an attempt to give more room to taxis were ruled out.

However, following a meeting in City Hall on Monday between city officials, councillors and taxi driver representatives, city council engineers have agreed to visit the area next week to discuss a compromise.

Cllr Terry Shannon said it was now clear that what was initially proposed and advertised for Washington St, was, as councillors warned, unworkable.

“That has been agreed now by the engineers and they are going back to the drawing board,” he said.

Cllr Sean Martin also pointed out that following consultation with engineers and taxi drivers, a new taxi rank scheme has been agreed on Parnell Place, where major regeneration work is also under way.

“Going forward, I think there is merit in the proposal of going down and looking at where we are putting in contra-flows or new bike lanes, and bringing the stakeholders on board and seeing what’s best for everybody,” he said.

“We are planning in putting in bike lanes and taking out parking on the South Mall and Grand Parade.

“But we need to know how they are going to impact on retailers and everyone else.”

Mr Coughlan said City Hall also needed to look at a range of other issues affecting taxi drivers in the city, including the widespread abuse of loading bays, the operation of rickshaws, and the placement of docking stations for the proposed bike sharing scheme in Cork.