Should Bray Main St be pedestrianised?

Cianos

I think one failing of the town is the fact that the Main Street always has traffic moving quickly up and down. The close presence of fast moving cars always makes for a fairly stressed atmosphere.

If the street was pedestrianised it'd make it a lot more pleasant to wander from one side to the other, there could be more done with the street as well with benches, maybe even stalls in the middle. It'd make the town a lot more attractive as a shopping destination.

Would it be feasible? And would you be in favour of it?

loyatemu

can't see it - its the only route through the town. pedestrianisation works in some places but is not always the answer.

RosieJoe

Look at Dun Laoire Main Street. That was all done up, cobbled and set as a bus lane only. Probably done to make it more pleasing for pedestrians and shoppers.

Only took a few years to get that decision reversed. So probably no point in attempting it in Bray

brayblue24

RosieJoe wrote: »

Look at Dun Laoire Main Street. That was all done up, cobbled and set as a bus lane only. Probably done to make it more pleasing for pedestrians and shoppers.

Only took a few years to get that decision reversed. So probably no point in attempting it in Bray

And Dun Laoghaire on the verge of closing down because of it too

Annasopra

Cianos wrote: »

I think one failing of the town is the fact that the Main Street always has traffic moving quickly up and down. The close presence of fast moving cars always makes for a fairly stressed atmosphere.

If the street was pedestrianised it'd make it a lot more pleasant to wander from one side to the other, there could be more done with the street as well with benches, maybe even stalls in the middle. It'd make the town a lot more attractive as a shopping destination.


Would it be feasible? And would you be in favour of it?

Quickly? I've never experienced fast Traffic on Bray Main St, I've experienced slow moving traffic and congestion!

It might be feasible if there was another bridge over the dargle - somewhere down around fassaroe/la vallee/end of dargle road

Would I be in favour - possibly, might be a better idea than shoving everything over the river to the old golf club

StonedParadoX

getting in and out of bray via the main street is such a hassle it would only make the traffic in bray 10x worse

where would you redirect all the traffic to?

it is in no way a stress to get to the other side

how old are you?? 90? 100?

IM0

this idea has been talked about for the last 10 years or so, if it didnt happen by now, its not going to , theres a chance if they ever get round to making that big new development beside the dargle bridge, and build the 2 other proposed bridges on that plan, but that probably isnt in the pipeline anymore!

Pablo Sanchez

Hmmm, just an idea, how about a overpass running along main st?

pixbyjohn

If Bray Main street was pedestrianised it would be the end for traders in the town. As it is lots of people are travelling to Dundrum etc. to shop.

IM0

pixbyjohn wrote: »

If Bray Main street was pedestrianised it would be the end for traders in the town.

I didnt realise the shops there were drive thru's, I could have sworn I saw people walking in the doors of them, not driving.

ronn

transport 21, new pedestrian bridge over the dargle, bus lane from windsor to the royal,
dublin bus cuts,buses will now be changing drivers in the main street instead of going to the dart station, unless the traffic wardens clear the bus stops outside the olde bray pub and the arcade the main street be at a standstill, m11 all the way, 20 mins to get down the main street 25mins to get to dundrum,,,

chocgirl

I don't see what's so stressful about the cars passing, there's plenty of traffic lights for people to cross at.

LEIN

me@ucd wrote: »

I didnt realise the shops there were drive thru's, I could have sworn I saw people walking in the doors of them, not driving.

You knew what he meant, no need for the smart ass reply.

mail4liam

Pablo Sanchez wrote: »

Hmmm, just an idea, how about a overpass running along main st?

It would certainly sort out the traffic wardens?

Annasopra

chocgirl wrote: »

I don't see what's so stressful about the cars passing, there's plenty of traffic lights for people to cross at.

There actually isn't - a common complaint I've heard from older people is that there is no pedestrian between the lights at the town hall and the church

DazMarz

A friend of mine mooted this to me. But I'm not so sure... It could be the answer, but I really feel it would do nothing but make a bad situation worse. Where would the excess traffic then go to?

Bray needs a complete facelift, not just pedestrianising the Main Street.

lucy2010

A pedestrianised main st will just keep more people out of the town. Its that much hassle with grid lock at peak times if the traffic is routed away from it , I personally would just keep going I wouldnt face the hassle of getting back through it to get to the main st.
We are fading away slowly but surely. The cost of rent in Bray is colossal & until this is addressed no new units will come in, old ones idle will remain boarded up & more &more units will leave if this climate doesnt change soon. The more this happens the less there is to come into the town for. Pound shops & charity shops ( nothing against them personally) seem to be everywhere. Reasonable priced clothing is a must. Dunnes & winstons great for the kids clothes but if you need so much as a sock yourself you have to travel out of the town. Then of course when you are out of the town you spend elsewhere.

Is there no committee or organisation addressing these basic issues in the town ? I worked in the town for many many years & the only one I ever heard a dicky bird from was the Chamber.

Bring back woolworths !!! lol

murpho999

Don't see the point in pedestrianisng the street whilst there is nothing on it to walk to.

The town is dying on it's feet due to poor selection of shops, restaurants etc and a lot of the shops that are there are very shabby. The town needs a revamp. Better shops, less hairdressers, bookies and charity shops. Get the florentine centre & Bray Town Centre built and attract people to the town, which will breathe in new life and then you can see if it needs pedestrianising or not.

The Minstrel

What a daft question. Of course it shouldn't be pedestrianised!!!

LEIN

The Minstrel wrote: »

What a daft question. Of course it shouldn't be pedestrianised!!!

Do you care to give an opinion on why you feel it is a daft question?

Annasopra

murpho999 wrote: »

Get the florentine centre & Bray Town Centre built

I'd agree on the florentine centre but not the 'town centre' - This would totally kill off the main street area altogether. Dundrum is an example of this - The old Dundrum town centre is now dying

Calhoun

I think its a bad idea, the problem with bray has nothing to do with a lack of pedestrian zones it comes down to a number of factors;

1. Poor quality of shops, spread far to thin across the town
2. Bad traffic management, it seems schools were built at every choke point in the town
3. Poor parking facilities when compared to a places like dundrum
4. Lack of decent casual restaurant facilities
5. The general attitude from business in the town, half them wouldnt know customer service unless it bit them in the ass. This is only an issue as the other items listed above which add to the overall problem.

Bray should so something similar to newbridge and have a shopping centre like dundrum built in the middle of the town and acts like a mini-pedestrianized zone for items around it.

With said shopping centre in place a cinema facility could also be built, with some casual fast food restaurants which would see allot of the the entertainment trade lost to dundrum come back to bray.

Finally a multi-storey discounted car-park should be installed, with decent parking rates.

I know it sounds like a pipe dream but i think it would bring some life back to bray.

RosieJoe

Johnnymcg wrote: »

I'd agree on the florentine centre but not the 'town centre' - This would totally kill off the main street area altogether. Dundrum is an example of this - The old Dundrum town centre is now dying

Apparently the Old Dundrum Town centre is getting a new lease of life. There is a thread in the South Dublin forum talking about a new fish shop there and how another few shops/cafes are opening up.

dynamick

I think Calhoun has the right ideas. Bray main street is awful and a huge drag on the town. When a visitor first arrives in Bray and drives or walks up the main street, it's like stepping back into the 1980s. Maybe people who live there are immune to it but every time I happen to be in bray it's a shock.


The seafront and the streets between the seafront and the main street are beautiful. I'd say a lot of people pass through bray and never leave the main street with the opinion afterwards that Bray is some kind of Irish Harare.

The street would stop being a drag on Bray if:

• the derelict buildings were rebuilt and the gaps filled
• the signage on the shops was under control (there are huge ugly plastic garish signs without planning permission all over the street)
• the tat shops were somehow rounded up and pushed off down a side street somewhere

The politicians in Bray must be crap to have allowed this to go on right though the building boom. I doubt there's any money left to rebuild the street now. What were yiz thinking?

Pedestrianisation is great but you need: an alternative traffic route and a multi-storey carpark with easy access.

The Minstrel

Damo9090 wrote: »

Do you care to give an opinion on why you feel it is a daft question?

It's an entirely ridiculous idea that hardly merits discussion. Trade would be decimated.

LEIN

The Minstrel wrote: »

It's an entirely ridiculous idea that hardly merits discussion. Trade would be decimated.

Grand, now i know you are not a troll.

Sids Not

TBH..i'd rather drive down to Greystones these days..:o

KC61

ronn wrote: »

transport 21, new pedestrian bridge over the dargle, bus lane from windsor to the royal,
dublin bus cuts,buses will now be changing drivers in the main street instead of going to the dart station, unless the traffic wardens clear the bus stops outside the olde bray pub and the arcade the main street be at a standstill, m11 all the way, 20 mins to get down the main street 25mins to get to dundrum,,,

More misinformation.

The 145 will no longer be operated out of Bray but rather out of Donnybrook.

No driver changes will take place in the Main Street, as they will take place outside Donnybrook depot.