Cork traders eager to avail of revamped MacCurtain Street

Redesign of the streetscape on MacCurtain Street, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

It’s like an early Christmas present for traders on Cork’s historic MacCurtain St as work on its multi-million euro  facelift will be finished for the festive season.

Barring any unforeseen delays, City Hall says it is on course to complete the street’s public realm upgrade, which is being undertaken as part of a wider public transport plan, by mid-December.

The move will pave the way for the reintroduction of two-way traffic on the street for the first time in over half a century, and the creation of a vital public transport corridor.

The public transport plan, which includes improved pedestrian and cycling facilities, has been underway across a vast area on the northern side of the city’s north channel for almost two years.

It has already resulted in widespread changes to traffic flow along several quays and bridges.

However, MacCurtain St is at the heart of the scheme, with traders already working with City Hall on designs for a co-ordinated and unified outdoor dining plan to take full advantage of the new streetscape.

Works on the northern side of the street are almost completed, while work is continuing on the southern side. One lane of traffic is open eastbound to facilitate works on the south side of the street.

Resurfacing will be carried out when the footpath works are fully complete, allowing MacCurtain St to revert to two-way traffic for the first time since the one-way system was introduced on February 2, 1968.

The change will allow buses travelling down Summerhill North to turn right and drive westbound along MacCurtain St.

Bus Eireann has completed several successful test drives westbound along the street which helped engineers finalise pavement layout and turning angles to ensure bus drivers can safely manoeuvre their vehicles around the new left turn onto Bridge St.

Works are also continuing on Bridge Street. The public realm upgrade to the lower half of St Patrick’s Hill is nearing completion, where the direction of traffic flow has been reversed, with cars now allowed to drive up the hill as far as its junction with Wellington Road.

Since the scheme started in September 2021, almost 3.5km of road has been resurfaced, over 12,530sq m of public realm and footpath, 17 traffic junctions and pedestrian crossings have been upgraded, seven new bus stops have been built, three with shelters, with five more new ones on the way two of which have shelters.

New traffic flow arrangements have seen the introduction of a new northbound lane on Brian Boru Bridge and Brian Boru St, a new northbound lane on St Patrick’s Hill, a new lane westbound on Coburg St, a new right turn lane from the N20 onto Mulgrave Road, and a new signalised junction on Devonshire St providing safer pedestrian access from MacCurtain St to the Shandon area.

Just over 1km of new cycle lanes have been built, improving connectivity to the wider cycle network from Shandon St to the Marina.

And following Green Party concerns earlier this week about the placement of large concrete blocks to deter illegal parking on new paving, council engineer Edith Roberts said those blocks will be replaced with new street furniture, which will be installed when the heavy construction works are finished.

Bike racks, seats and large planters will be placed at key locations to deter illegal parking but she accepted that enforcement will be an ongoing challenge.