MILLION VISITORS A YEAR TO MAIN STREET
Bray is very much alive, says Chamber president on release of footfall report
BRAY IS a town very much alive according to Chamber president Pat Ó Suilleabhain, following footfall figures released by the council. The figures reveal traffic of over two million was measured on Bray Main Street over a two-year period, with an average of around 2,000 per day. Other figures revealed by the study include 30,000 a month on the Cliff Walk, and an average of almost 10,000 per week on the promenade.
The Chamber president said: ‘ This puts the lie to assertions that Bray is a town that is dying.’
Millions of people passed through Bray’s town centre over the past two years, according to research carried out by Wicklow County Council.
An average of almost 2,000 were measured daily at one point on the Main Street.
Bray Chamber president Pat O Suilleabhain said: ‘ This puts a lie to assertions that Bray is a town that is dying.’
He said that the report has proved good, positive data. ‘ The council deserve to be applauded for doing this, but the applause won’t last long if we as businesses take data and use it to give us advantages moving forward.’
The study, prepared to show prospective Florentine Centre developers, revealed a footfall of over 2.2 million on the Main Street in Bray
(pictured) in the period from December 28, 2015, to December 31, 2017.
‘ This shows that people are there, they are walking around, and it gives an indication that Bray is busy,’ said District Administrator David Forde.
He explained that the council needed figures to present to interested parties as they prepared to select a developer for the forthcoming Florentine Centre. ‘It’s a snapshot in time,’ said Mr Forde. The council acquired counting machines which were set up at various locations.
He said that any of the traders in the town can have access to the data. Regular footfall reports will be generated by the machines.
The counters stop functioning if the crowd is particularly large, so days such as the air show or St Patrick’s Day won’t have skewed the figures. There was traffic of over a million on the prom in the same period, according to a footfall report carried out by Wicklow County Council over the two-year period.
The report found that the total traffic on the cliff walk was 561,477, with a monthly average of 23,299, a weekly average of 5,347 and a daily average of 764. The busiest day was July 5, 2017, the busiest day was Sunday and 1 p.m. was the busiest hour of the day overall.
On the promenade, the total traffic for the period was 1,024,102, with a monthly average of 42,497, weekly average of 9,753, and a daily average of 1,393. As with the cliff walk, July 5 was the busiest day of the year in 2017, Sunday was the busiest day of the week, and the busiest hour was from midday. Bray Main street at Dunnes had total traffic of 1,449,916 for the period, with a monthly average of 60,167, weekly of 13,809, and a daily average of 1,973. The busiest day was December 22, 2017. Elsewhere on the Main Street, between Quinsboro Road and Florence Road, there was total traffic for the period of 2,283,357, with a monthly average of 94,752, weekly average of 21,746, and daily average of 3,107.
The busiest day was November 23, 2016. Friday was the busiest day of the week, and 3 p.m. the busiest hour.
At Quinsboro Road, the total footfall for the period was 1,470,210, with a monthly average of 61,009, weekly average of 14,002, and daily average of 2,000. The busiest day was July 23, 2017.