Market square consultation day results
A strong interest in changing the use of the market square space is one of the outcomes of the recent public consultation exercise carried out by the KCA sub-committee looking at the project, writes Brian Byrne. But the survey also showed a significant interest in retaining a car-parking element in the area.
The public consultation event on 30 September resulted in 217 questionnaires being filled in, of which 54 were completed on-line after the day, which included displays and photographs of various uses of the square in recent years as well as family entertainment.
The survey should be read against the background of a resident population in the town of several thousand people, many of them families who have moved in here over the last 15 years, and the actual numbers who took part.
It isn't an easy survey to analyse, as the questionnaire relied on getting respondents' feelings about the space as much as it asked direct questions. The results in some ways seem to be contradictory because of that. But the document produced does offer a more solid background to future proposals than had existed before the consultation took place.
The organisers of the day have broken down the results under a number of headings, including the demographics of age, place of residence in relation to the square itself, and how often and why respondents come to the area. They also asked a words association question to establish how people think about the square and its environs, followed by dislikes and likes about it.
The possibly most important section asked for ideas for improvement. In the results the responses have been divided into two sections, ideas for the use of the space, and separately in relation to parking and traffic.
Under the use of space, around two-thirds of those who expressed ideas generally wanted the square to be integrated more with the River Liffey, to be available for outdoor events in an amphitheatre form, and be made a community space and amenity area. Within those broad elements there were specific suggestions on river safety, family use, and how it might be a social centre in Kilcullen. There was also a significant support (17.3pc) for the holding of a regular market in the square.
Under the specific parking and traffic improvement section, the survey shows 29pc of commentary not wanting any parking in the square, while nearly 12pc more favoured cutting down and limiting parking in the area. On the other hand, a substantial fifth of the response was in favour of keeping parking there, with improved layout and better management of parking being among the comments. Another 7.8pc in this section want a clearly defined through road and better access to Riverside Manor, with boundaries properly marked.
There was a clear parallel with the questions on current associations and dislikes about market square. In both areas, four in ten responses were negative towards parking and cars using the square entry as a turning circle, though, contrarily, only 5.6pc said the area is currently dangerous for pedestrians. In each section too, around 28pc of responses described the square currently as drab, underutilised, unattractive and similar.
Aspects of the area that respondents liked most were the river views and access to the river (37pc of responses within this section), the central location (20pc), and parking (11.3pc). Significantly, just 3.3pc of the responses noted access to shops, cafes and the bank as important, though, the chart below on What brings you to Market Square? indicates a healthy 25pc of the reasons offered by those creating the survey. Like I said, it isn't an easy survey to analyse. Given the success of public events held in the square in recent years, the 5.5pc who specifically noted this aspect might seem unexpectedly low?
The demographic aspects of the survey aren't tabulated in the results document so far circulated, but the pie charts below give some visual representation.
"We'd like to thank all the residents and businesses from Kilcullen that came along on the day to give their views and suggestions," says the sub-committee chair Antoinette Buckley. "I'd also like to thank Joe Boland KCC and Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin for all their support from the start of the project, as well as the sitting committee including the four MD councillors Robert Power, Sorcha O'Neill, Anne Breen and Fintan Brett. Thanks also to Martin Heydon TD and Cllr Ivan Keatley for attending on the day, and a very special 'thank you' to James Hennessey from Paul Hogarth Urban Designer for all his support."
A parking survey will be carried out over the next two weeks as part of the next step of the project.
