Cities all over the world that didn’t have an outdoor dining culture before the pandemic have experienced one since, and one of them, Cork, Ireland, likes the idea so much it’s ready to make it permanent.
The City Council is moving to permanently pedestrianize 17 city center streets that were first closed last summer as part of a plan called Reimagining Cork City. After finding wide support for the idea, repaving of the streets for pedestrian use is starting this week.
Cork’s Mayor, recalling its recovery from a devastating fire just over 100 years ago, said “The Cork city spirit is nothing if not resilient….we find ourselves again ready to rise from the ashes of Covid-19, with new and innovative ways of living, working and doing business, and reimagining our city’s infrastructure.”
The head of Visit Cork, the local tourism promotion office, says the idea “truly embraces the great oudoor offering” in the city.
