Trinity students have launched a campaign to make Temple Bar more accessible for people with limited mobility.
Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Officer for Students with Disabilities Niamh Herbert, who is spearheading the campaign, told The University Times that the cobblestones in Temple Bar “pose such a problem not only just for those in wheelchairs but others with limited mobility”.
Due to Temple Bars close proximity to Trinity, Herbert said, it is important that it becomes more accessible, adding that it was “obviously not just for students but [also] the general public”.
“I love Leon – which just opened in Temple Bar – but I can’t go there unless someone is there to help with the narrow pathways”, she said.
Herbert added that she understands that “people are always concerned about preserving the historical aesthetic of it”. However, she said, “it’s not accessibility or aesthetics – you can have the two things together at the same time”.
Herbert, along with TCDSU President Eoin Hand, Ents Officer Hugh McInerney and Communications Officer Philly Holmes, met with councillor Danny Byrne two weeks ago to show him the “problem areas”. However, a motion cannot be brought to Dublin City Council until September.
Speaking to The University Times, TCDSU President Eoin Hand said that “the whole place is really shambolic”, adding that “the cobblestones are terrible – the footpaths can be narrow with massive chunks just missing out of them”.
The group will also be meeting Dublin Mayor Hazel Chu soon to discuss improving Temple Bar’s accessibility.
