Blanchardstown SC to charge for parking

If you plan mainly for motorists, you'll get mainly motorists.

Are you sure?

It makes sense that motorists spend more. As someone that used to live about 3 kms from the SC for 20 years, anytime i went there by foot or bus, I usually bought very little or nothing, mindful of how I'd be able to carry it home. I always brought the car for groceries, gifts, electrical or household goods or Christmas shopping (ie the bigger and costlier purchases).

It's still a fantastic SC with probably the best range of combined SC and retail park shops in Dublin and anyone who lives within 5-8kms of it saying they are going to boycott it just for the sake of a couple of euro parking are kind of cutting off their noses to spite their faces. Will you do all your clothes and Christmas gift shopping in Roselawn or Blanch Village SC now (hardly great options for that) or spend extra time driving out of your way in traffic to a more distant supermarket for groceries every single week?

You miss the point of the correlation vs causation image. The finding that the 20% of people who drive are the highest individual spenders does not give you a sound basis to assume that EVERYONE who drives will be a higher individual spender.

Harvey Norman carry little to no stock of large items in their stores; and you need to pay for delivery or to collect out the back of Dublin Airport.

Your free parking option for large appliances is Power City, still in Blanchardstown, and who carry pretty much everything in immense stock there as it's their home delivery hub; but also keep stock levels in every store.

That's the same flawed assumption.

example from this morning (even though I didn’t go today) which would be a regular enough type of family outing to the centre for an hour or so.

5 minute spin up to the centre, for a coffee and treat in somewhere like butlers/kays etc. Maybe kids or Mrs will have a nose in a few shops, maybe buy something, maybe pick something out for a future purchase.

30 minutes walk up and same home is just not gonna happen so these are the type of trips that just won’t happen once parking has to be paid.

The centre is a great resource for a quick trip when you live close by. Quite often we might spin up with restricted time to grab a few bits in for example the card factory or the big chemist there, whiz round to Woodies or mr price and be back home in 30 minutes or so. These are the types of visits to the centre that parking charges will definitely reduce dramatically IMO.

I know people come from far and wide to visit and I can’t see that parking fees will make much difference in these instances (unless they are going to be extortionate) as the trips are more than likely planned to be a much longer experience than what a local might use it for.

These shopping centres all (with the exception of dundrum) had no parking fees as a selling point to get people out of the city. If you had to park in them 25 years ago, they would have been empty. But now the planners have the city streets so messed up for drivers, nobody wants to go near it in their cars anymore so parking fees in the suburban shopping centres makes little to no difference now I’d say to most on day out shopping trips. But for an locals I’ve spoken with, they will most definitely use the centre an awful lot less.

I've done those trips - on my bike. When I go between the library, Chemist Warehouse and Woodies I would park outside each place. Bike parking options have improved (except near Woodies).

It might take you 10-15mins to cycle instead of the 5 mins by car (which I assume often takes longer than 5 mins). For me cycling time is consistent and often as fast or faster than driving.

I've been cycling to school, uni, work since I was 10 years old so it's kinda a habit. I do find that it keeps my fitness level up.

As for the city centre, we used to drive in on a Sunday afternoon to go to a restaurant (Sano, Bunsen [before it was in Blanch], Chimac). We'd park on Ormond Quay or Cook Street because they were free. Now, with the 2 euro fare, we take the train/Luas. Zero driving/parking stress.

We heard all the tales of woe about how Liffey Valley was going to be destroyed when they implemented paid parking. They seem to be surviving.

I'm not too far from Dundrum Town Centre. I'll often walk, or occasionally bus or cycle. Herself will usually drive, though she does walk or bus with me sometimes. There are times when we drive together, when we're planning bulky purchases, which aren't necessarily the expensive purchases.

did I say parking charges would destroy the Blanch centre? Nope! All I said was I know for a fact many locals just won’t use it as often

There's nothing in Drogheda - people from here shop in Swords or Newry (or Blanch)

Until it's stolen. I cycle 140km per week and have cycled in Dublin for nearly 30 years (I'm getting old) but wouldn't cycle to the Blanch centre even though it's relatively close. Just too much risk of it being stolen or damaged (I've had 3 bikes stolen over the years) and I don't have a high end bike. Not enough deterrent in terms of

Also frequent movement by bike as described by @daymobrew is also quite annoying in terms of securing your bike and then carrying any addition items such as helmet, lights (I use them year round), gloves, jacket etc depending on weather. Car is relatively safe and secure and just too convenient with the added benefit of easy transport for heavy/bulky items whether impulse or planned.

Yeah, it's a bit of a PITA all right, but you're not comparing like with like. The equivalent risk with a car is the risk of getting your door dinged by the idiot parking beside you. I'd hazard a guess that in financial terms, there's a lot more motorists at a loss from parking at a shopping centre than cyclists.

Cause and effect. Motorists are their largest spenders because they mostly cater for motorists.

actually didn’t dundrum have 2 hours free parking when it first opened for a good few years