Survey Reveals Shoppers And Businesses Views On Tralee

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Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Damien English T.D. (front second from left) launching the Tralee Town Centre Health Check report with, front from left; Mayor Of Tralee, Norma Foley, Director of Services at Kerry County Council, Michael Scannell and Mayor of Kerry, John Sheahan. Included at back are, Cllr Sam Locke, Senator Paul Coughlan, TJ O’Mahony, Kerry County Council, Noreen O’Mahony, Kerry County Council, Minister Brendan Griffin, Alison Harvey, Heritage Council, Kieran Ruttledge, Tralee Chamber Alliance, Emma Collins (graphic designer), Darren Burke, Kerry County Council, Martha Farrell, IT Tralee, Declan O’Malley, Kerry County Council. Photo by Dermot Crean

WE’VE got great cafes and restaurants, but not enough parking. We feel safe by day but not as much by night. We have a very good standard of service in shops, but more to do when it comes to the range of events on in Tralee.

These were some of the findings of a major new survey on Tralee Town Centre which was launched today by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Damien English T.D. at the Ashe Memorial Hall.

The survey revealed people’s impressions of the town’s shopping and eating options along with parking and entertainment facilities.

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Both shoppers and business people felt that the historic county town would benefit from an improved public realm, more parking and more shops.

The report will help to guide plans for the future management and revitalisation of the town.

The Tralee Town Centre Health Check Report 2017 focuses on the survey results of a number of key indicators of the overall health of the town centre including: level of town centre activities, land use/commercial mix, pedestrian footfall patterns and business operators and shoppers’ perceptions of the quality of the environment of the historic county town.

The TCHC research was undertaken in October and November 2016, before the work started in the Mall.

Following the recommended 15-Step Methodology as set out in the Pilot TCHC Training Programme, IT Tralee students, from the BA in Information Systems Management and the B Bus in Marketing programmes, collected survey data from shoppers and retailers. They also conducted a footfall survey and a land use survey.

The survey showed that:
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• 59% of respondents were in the town centre to shop on the day the survey was taken

• 60% shop in Tralee out of habit and convenience and 8% for the selection of shops

•77% think there is a good selection of cafés and restaurants in Tralee

• 54% think the town is attractive

• 38% think parking facilities in the town are poor

The results of the shoppers surveyed.

60% of shoppers said they shopped in Tralee out of habit or convenience.

Four out of then shoppers said they shopped online at least once a month and 68% said clothing and accessories are the type of goods they bought.

The most popular online stores were Amazon, Littlewoods, Asos, River Island, Boohoo.com, eBay, iTunes, SportsDirect.com

Among the stores they wanted to see in town were Zara, H&M, River Island, Marks and Spencer, New Look and IKEA.

Just over two-thirds of respondents prefer to park in a surface car park vs multi-storey.

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Of the 100 Tralee businesses (chosen at random) surveyed…

• 78% of them think shopping it the main thing that attracts people to the town centre

• 46% think that parking is the most important improvement that could be made to the town.

• 55% expect trading to improve over the next two years and 64% would contribute to a marketing fund to attract people to Tralee.

The results of the business owners surveyed when asked to rate 20 aspects of the town centre.

When asked for their ideas to improve the Town Centre, business owners suggested: Improving Parking and Pavements, Filling Vacant Units/Increasing the Number of Shops and Improving the Atmosphere.

Pedestrian counts were undertaken at five count points within the town centre, at three different intervals on 28th and 29th October, 2016. The cold but dry weather conditions were favourable for the duration of the survey.

The pedestrian count findings showed the highest footfall count was recorded at Penneys on a Saturday afternoon (953 people).

The Mall area was the busiest count point in general over the course of the footfall survey. The Abbey Court area (Boots) recorded 540 people on Saturday 29th October.

In September 2016, Tralee was selected (along with seven other towns) to participate in the Heritage Council, RGDATA, Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (DoHPCLG), Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DoAHRRGA), and Partners’ National ‘Pilot’ Town Centre Health Check Training Programme 2016/2017.

The project team which completed the comprehensive TCHC survey of Tralee Town Centre includes representatives from Kerry County Council, Tralee Chamber Alliance and IT Tralee with support provided by the Heritage Council. To view the full report, click here

 

One Comment

  1. Useful enough survey. Something more needs to be done to increase public transport frequency to Tralee so it’s not all parking!!!!

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