The success of the Fleadh has prompted calls for Belfast city centre to be pedestrianised permanently.
A large zone in the city centre was created over the course of the festival.
Representatives from the Alliance Party from across Belfast have now written to the council and other bodies calling for a “comprehensive review of pedestrianisation” in the city centre.
South Belfast MLA Kate Nicholl said the Fleadh showed “Belfast at its best, open, welcoming and full of life”.
“When we design our streets around people instead of traffic, our city centre becomes somewhere people actually want to spend time, and that’s good for our shops, our hospitality sector and as we’ve seen so clearly this week, our sense of civic pride”.
She said accessibility had to be taken seriously, however.
“Any expansion has to be designed with disabled people and accessibility organisations from the start, not bolted on afterwards. That means looking properly at disabled parking, accessible drop-off points, public transport connectivity and wayfinding,” she said.
Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said the “bottom line” is that the Fleadh “would not have worked without pedestrianisation in the city centre”.
“I think it is starting a conversation with people,” he said.
“This isn’t some new, radical idea.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme, infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins said she would support permanent pedestrianisation of Belfast city centre “if it works for the community”.
“We already are, through the transport plans, looking at options around pedestrianisation across the north, but I think Belfast is the key area and what we’ve seen over the last week shows how well that can work,” she said.
