Translink today (Thursday 6th October) announced the first Weavers Cross meanwhile use, which is set to deliver a step change in how deliveries are made across Belfast.
The first meanwhile use opportunity resulting from the Weavers Cross project is located at St Andrew’s Square, just off Hope Street, in central Belfast.
The first business to take advantage of the meanwhile use opportunities is Streetdock, an innovative, zero emissions, ‘last mile delivery service’ run by local entrepreneurs Ian Richardson and David Kane, supported by Belfast City Council. Streetdock will use the space for their company’s second micro-hub, facilitating city centre deliveries being made by e-cargo bikes rather than traditional vehicles.
Translink welcomes this environmentally friendly business as their first meanwhile use on the Weavers Cross site,
Chris Conway, Translink Group Chief Executive, said: “We welcome Streetdock on board as our first meanwhile use as part of the Belfast Grand Central Station and Weavers Cross project, our transport led regeneration scheme.
‘‘Streetdock has the potential to deliver real advantages in Belfast’s aim to become a cleaner, greener city and their ambition mirrors that of Translink.
‘‘Translink is committed to helping Northern Ireland deliver on its climate and carbon commitments by ensuring that our whole network is Net Zero by 2040 and achieving Climate Positive status by 2050. We are delighted to have been benchmarked as Platinum status in the Business in the Community Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking survey, and we will continue to benchmark Translink with the top-rated organisations in carbon emission reductions.“
Belfast Lord Mayor, Councillor Tina Black said: “It’s so encouraging to see StreetDock expand their electric bike delivery service in this way after our initial support for their pilot project through the Department for Infrastructure’s Sustainable and Active Travel elements of the Department for Communities’ Covid-19 Revitalisation Programme Fund.
“StreetDock’s innovative service will make an important contribution to realising our Bolder Vision for a reimagined city centre – creating more vibrant, more connected and more accessible places that appeal to a wide range of people.
“I look forward to seeing many more businesses and organisations following StreetDock’s lead in helping to reduce car dominance, so that we can prioritise routes for walking, wheeling and cycling through the city centre, ease congestion and reduce air pollution.”
Ian Richardson, Co-Founder of Streetdock said “We are delighted to be working with Translink; being the first Weavers Cross meanwhile use business has given us the opportunity to open our first city centre micro-hub here at St Andrew’s Square. Streetdock is a smart network of cargo storage points and Zero Emission delivery bikes, and can help to transform city centres by removing virtually all courier vans from the streets, contributing significantly to improved air quality, reduced congestion and lower carbon emissions, an ambition shared by Translink.
‘‘We see Streetdock as a catalyst for how we change deliveries to city centre locations in terms of cost, efficiency, and impact on the environment. The last mile of a parcel’s journey accounts for 53%* of its cost due to the inefficiency of huge vans dropping only one or two parcels per stop. We reduced that cost by half and at the same time cut carbon emissions and harmful exhaust gas pollution to zero.
Our service will help meet Belfast’s target of becoming a cleaner, greener city, as well as assisting in relieving congestion on inner city roads.”
Streetdock’s expansion into the city centre hub will see an increase in opportunities with the company including potential employment and a number of engagement events with local communities and stakeholders.
To find out more about Translink’s Go Eco strategy please visit www.translink.co.uk/ClimatePositive
To find out more about Streetdock please visit www.streetdock.co.uk
To find out more about A Bolder Vision, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/boldervision
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