Just as several streets in the city centre are pedestrianised from this week until September, city councillor Peter Keane has renewed calls to erect summer awnings to rainproof narrow streets in the Westend and Latin Quarter.
He says the protective coverings would extend outdoor activities for locals and tourists well into the night, and ultimately increase revenue for city centre businesses.
“It can be a strategic enhancement to boost the night-time economy, but also assist the city’s commercial rate payers, who are the financial lifeblood of Galway City,” he said.
Galway City Council planner Eoghan Lynch presented plans to the local authority in January to pedestrianise Cross Street and Middle Street in the city centre, creating a main loop rather than the current main drag along Shop Street, High Street and Quay Street. His proposals showed ‘pocket plazas’ and small green spaces allocated to nooks and crannies across the city centre which might also benefit from temporary or permanent canopies.
In 2020, EventCentre.ie drew up proposals to expand outdoor dining in Galway city during Covid-19 restrictions. The outdoor event firm proposed 8m by 5m aluminium box coverings which can attach to bespoke fittings fastened on the two-story and three-story buildings along Dominick Street. These are designed not to impede emergency vehicles. Mono pitch and dual pitch designs were considered.
In 2018 Waterford City & County Council installed enormous canopies across some of Waterford City’s main pedestrian thoroughfares as part of a €17million facelift of public spaces. One large canopy, over Waterford’s Apple Market cost €1million alone, and has come in for criticism in the run-up to the local elections this June as mould and bird droppings have made it unsightly.
