Counters record 85% drop in Galway city centre footfall in four weeks

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – There has been an 85 per cent drop in footfall in the city centre since pubs, restaurants and retail outlets were closed to deter people from leaving home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the week of March 9-15, a total of 316,382 movements were recorded around the city centre, according to footfall counters in key locations. Because there are 20 counters, this figure does not mean there were 316,000 people – the same people would have been counted several times on their journey.

After the pubs and schools were ordered to close, the footfall figure dropped to 136,121.

As the number of deaths and diagnosed cases began to hit home a week later, the numbers nearly halved to 75,420.

Following the instructions last Friday to close all non-essential shops, businesses and workplaces and the order for older people and those with vulnerable underlying conditions to “cocoon”, the footfall it further slid to 48,798 for the week March 30 to April 5.

Footfall counting is an initiative of the Galway City Business Association (GCBA) in conjunction with Galway City Council and tech company Magnet Networks.

GCBA spokesperson Gill Carroll told the Galway City Tribune that the measurement is good news for all those trying to abide by public health guidelines in order to save lives.

“It is very reassuring to see the public respecting the changes put in place in our beautiful city. Figures show numbers halved in one week alone,” she remarked.

This is a preview snippet of this article. Please remember that without advertising revenue and people buying or subscribing to our newspapers, this website, and our Facebook and Twitter pages would not exist. You can buy a digital edition of the Galway City Tribune HERE.