BOLLARD SIGNS HAVE appeared on Dublin’s Drury Street asking people not to sit on the kerb. 

The street in the city centre, which has been pedestrianised since 2021, is home to a number of bars and cafes and has become a popular spot to socialise. 

People can often be seen sitting on the pavement enjoying food and drinks and having a chat on the street – particularly when the weather is good. It would also be common for people to buy food and drinks from one premises and then sit in front of another one. 

New signs have appeared on the street asking people to refrain from sitting on the pavement, reading ‘please don’t sit on the curb’ and ‘please don’t block this area’.

The signs are on one side of the street, stretching from The Collective jewellery store past the Heartbreak Social Club tattoo and piercing shop, in front of Om Diva clothing store and bar Ciss Maddens. 

When The Journal visited the popular street this evening, a number of people were still sitting on the curb – though they had mostly moved to the other side of the street where there are no signs. 

People socialising on Drury Street this afternoon. Mairead Maguire / The Journal Mairead Maguire / The Journal / The Journal

It’s safe to say that the signs have not deterred people, many of whom were still enjoying a drink while sitting or standing in the road. 

It is not clear who is behind the new signs. 

However, in a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for Dublin City Council said it is aware of more people visiting Drury Street “to meet, dwell and socialise, particularly during this good spell of weather”.

The spokesperson said: “We are mindful of the balance that is required between encouraging more people to come into our City Centre for positive social activities, provision of safe places to meet, the promotion of pedestrianised streets and of course the ability for all business types to trade without undue challenges.

“We are now working with other agencies and the mix of stakeholders on the street itself to see how we can keep a positive atmosphere for this street with some structure, balance and a shared sense of responsibility for all – both those that use the street and the traders in this part of town.”

Businesses ‘having to adapt’

Brian O’Keefe, the co-owner of Loose Canon wine bar told The Journal that all traders on the street are finding themselves “having to adapt to how the street has become a destination place for socialising”.

“It would be great if designs for a new layout of the street came about, or if the street’s physical infrastructure could be changed to help guide and accommodate how busy the street has become,” O’Keefe said.

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He pointed out that since it was pedestrianised almost four years ago, Drury Street has not undergone any physical changes, unlike Capel Street, which saw some infrastructural changes after it was permanently pedestrianised in 2022. 

“The street has so much potential for everything to work together harmoniously and layout changes to the street could help avoid any antisocial activities or nuisances felt by the long-term traders here,” O’Keefe continued. 

Drury Street is a fantastic street which we all love, and it is in need of town planning and layout changes to reflect how it is being used, and in some cases misused, by the people who frequent it.

Earlier this week, a business owner told Newstalk’s Moncrieff programme that the street had become “unmanageably busy” and that her sales have been impacted by it.  

Clare Grennan, the co-owner of the Irish Design Shop, said she has noticed that the store’s sales have tailed off after lunchtime on Saturdays, adding that it has become a “food and drink street” instead of a shopping street. 

“People started lingering there for the day [during lockdown],” she said. 

“I think the problem has escalated in the last couple of years with people sharing on Instagram, TikTok that it is the place to go for a few drinks… when the sun is shining, summer in Dublin equals drinks on Drury Street.

“It just gets unmanageably busy: throngs of people on the street that anybody coming down, say, with buggy or anything, it’s just impassable so people start avoiding it.”