The owners of a pub in south central Dublin have reacted angrily after Dublin City Council moved in with no warning and rapidly installed a bike rack in an area it had an outdoor furniture license for. The pub said the council moved so fast it had no time to appeal the refusal of its permit to retain its outdoor area.
The LGBTQIA+ bar in question, Street 66, said the council reacted very rapidly, within one working day, to install the bike racks after its latest application to retain its seated area was refused for the first time ever. After that surprise refusal last Friday at 3pm, the bike rack was installed on Monday morning, despite Pride month being the busiest time of the year for the pub.
The owners have accused the council of sharp practice, saying not only had a popular outdoor seated area been lost, but the section outside its pub was not even being returned to use as a loading bay. This, it said, was despite the fact there were many other bike racks already on the street and a lack of loading bays.
Advertisement
An online petition calling for the removal of the bike rack had been signed by over 3,000 people by early Tuesday morning and the phrase "Remove Bike Rack" was also trending on Irish Twitter.
Street 66, an LGBTQIA+ venue on Parliament Street in the south inner city, has reacted furiously, and has won support from the Dublin Cycling Campaign, which said it was not in favour of the bike racks being installed at the location.
The bar's owner, Siobhán Conmy, told extra.ie she was very annoyed at the council for moving so quickly in installing the bike rack. She had been surprised by the fact her outdoor furniture area permit had suddenly been refused, adding the fact the racks were installed so quickly meant the council was ensuring she had no opportunity to appeal the refusal.
Related News
"Last Friday I was applying for the outdoor furniture license as normal like we did over the last few years. I applied in October and then in March. I rang the council every week to get an update. On Friday at 3pm I was told that we were refused for the loading bay," she said.
"Then this morning one of my customers was passing by and told me Dublin City Council put bike racks on the loading bay. I hadn't been notified, we haven't been given the chance to appeal or been told why it's been refused," she said, adding installing a bike rack outside a pub was dangerous.
"It feels a little suspicious why a bike rack was installed on a Monday morning after a permit was refused on Friday evening," said Ms Conmy, adding the fact the space was not even being returned to use as a loading bay was frustrating.
Dublin Cycling Campaign said the area was not suited to a bike rack, explaining it looked too narrow to facilitate bikes.
"We do not support the installation of the bike parking outside," it said. "Aside from the obvious issues with removing outdoor seating during Pride month, this is an example of very poor planning by Dublin City Council on a street that should be pedestrianised. These also look like a temporary installation which is confusing. The location also suggests it might be too narrow for bikes and they would stick out on the path or road."
