By Emma Jane Cooke
With soaring temperatures throughout the country over the last few weeks, the people yearn for public spaces without needing to pay an arm and a leg. People are tending to swarm the side streets due to this lack of public spacing that isn’t a pub or a restaurant. Naturally, the crowds of people have caused frustration, especially as of recent as once the sunshine hits, the country is out in force past 5pm.
Before there was the Drury Street pints and chit chat phenomenon, there was South William St. and Fade St. What these three places have in common is that they are all streets designed for shops and just slowly adapted to hosting themselves as a public space, conflicting with their intended purpose. With the parks closing at 9-10pm in the summer there is little to nowhere.
As of recent, signs were posted on Drury St. prohibiting the public from sitting on the paths. These signs were put in place in support of shop owners who believed their businesses were suffering due to the public space practices taking place in front of their business.
While this regulation is clearly a beneficial one for the businesses and shops, those looking to enjoy time in a makeshift public space are disregarded and are pushed out, instead of supported. Without a solution for those looking to sit and drink on the street, it will only lead to another semi-pedestrianised street taking the hit for a lack of attention by the Dublin City Council.
The leisurely activity is painted in a light that villainises those who are looking to socialise without needing to spend money on drink or food only to justify their presence on the street. With other European countries that provide public spaces for these hangouts, it makes it difficult to convince the population to stay in Dublin where there is a lack of public spaces and the ones that are available, close at a certain time or else you are shunned from sitting.
It is the ones who take it too far on an evening out that are essentially ruining it for everyone else who is looking for somewhere to hangout that isn’t their back garden or Metro Café.