Latest news with #trafficfree
Irish Times
16 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Dublin's Parliament Street to go almost traffic-free from July 4th
Parliament Street in Dublin 's Temple Bar will become almost entirely traffic-free from July 4th under the next phase of the Dublin City Centre Traffic Plan. Most vehicular traffic will no longer be permitted to enter Parliament Street from Essex Quay. This will allow the first section of the street, as far as the cross street that runs from Essex Gate to Essex Street East, to be reserved for pedestrians and cyclists. Some traffic will still be permitted on the street, which runs past the Turk's Head and the Porterhouse pubs, to facilitate access to disabled bays, the District Court at Dolphin House, and for deliveries and resident access. South of Essex Gate/Essex Street East to the junction of Parliament Street and Dame Street in front of City Hall, the area will also be traffic free, although, similar to most other pedestrianised streets in the city, deliveries will be permitted from 6am-11am. READ MORE As part of the scheme, traffic on Grattan Bridge – the link between Capel Street and Parliament Street – will be reduced to one lane and must turn right at Essex Quay. This will facilitate the installation of a two-way cycle lane on the east side of Grattan Bridge, which will give cyclists a direct, safe link all the way from City Hall, up Capel Street to Bolton Street – a distance of almost 1km. The first phase of the traffic plan came into force last August , with a ban on private cars and commercial vehicles travelling directly east or west along the Liffey at either side of O'Connell Bridge from 7am to 7pm daily. Last month, a ban on private traffic turning left from Westland Row into Pearse Street was introduced, with private traffic diverted east on to a new two-way stretch of Pearse Street, leaving the left or west turn on to Pearse Street for public transport. The removal of traffic from Parliament Street was made possible by the diversion of two bus routes, the 69 and 69X earlier this year. Until April both bus services ran from Rathcoole in west Dublin to Hawkins Street, turning from the north quays across Grattan Bridge on to Parliament Street and left on to Dame Street. They now instead continue along the north quays and cross Rosie Hackett Bridge on to Hawkins Street, before terminating at Poolbeg Street. The Parliament Street scheme capitalises on the traffic-free measures in place on Capel Street since 2021, which resulted in a reduction of 72 per cent in cars using Parliament Street. Public consultation undertaken by the council last month found 90 per cent of respondents were in favour of the new measures, with many referencing the success of Capel Street, the council said. 'Respondents repeatedly mentioned that the proposed measures would make Parliament Street safer and more pleasant for walking and cycling, encourage families and children to visit, and create opportunities for outdoor seating, socialising, and community events,' it said. To mark the change of use of Parliament Street a market will be held on July 4th, with family-friendly events scheduled to take place every weekend in July, starting on July 5th.
BreakingNews.ie
17 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Parliament Street in Dublin city to be traffic-free from next week
Dublin City Council has announced that Parliament Street in the city centre will be traffic-free from next Friday, July 4th. To celebrate the change of use of the space, a market will be held on July 4th, with events scheduled to take place every weekend in July, starting on July 5th. Advertisement The street is currently dominated by pedestrians, with up to 23,000 people passing through the street a day. The proposed measure plans to permanently reallocate the space to walking and cycling whilst also providing greening and public seating. The council said the space will provide an attractive north-south pedestrian and cycle route between City Hall and Bolton Street by linking with Capel Street as well as being a link between the east and west areas of Temple Bar. In a recent consultation (May 2025), 90 per cent of respondents were in favour of enhancing public space and enabling two-way cycling. The council said the works for the interim improvements (seating, planting and surfacing) will commence on the July 7th and will take place during the summer. The traffic movements in the area will be as follows: Between Essex Quay and Essex Gate - this section of Parliament Street will be permanently Traffic Free with only pedestrians and cyclists permitted in this space. The road level in this section will also be raised to the existing kerb level; The current west to east traffic flow between Essex Gate and Essex Street East will remain open for all vehicles at all times; The section of Parliament Street between Essex Gate and Lord Edward Street will be Traffic Free with deliveries allowed between 6am and 11am daily; Two-way cycling will be permitted on Parliament Street; A new two-way cycling link will be created on the east side of Grattan Bridge. The traffic lanes will be reduced to one right turn lane only on the bridge; A two-way cycling link will be created on the east side of Capel Street between the quays and Strand Street Little. Northbound cycling will also be permitted on Capel Street to complete a full 2 way cycling link between Dame Street and Bolton Street.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
College Green plaza redevelopment budget soars to €80m
The budget for Dublin's College Green civic plaza has soared to €80 million, an increase of €70 million since the scheme was last submitted for planning permission eight years ago. The project to create a traffic-free plaza is also facing additional lengthy delays with completion unlikely before the end of this decade, Dublin City Council officials have said. In May 2017 the council submitted an application to An Bord Pleanála for a €10 million pedestrian and cycle plaza. In November 2018 the board refused permission citing the potential for 'significantly negative impacts' on bus services. The National Transport Authority (NTA) in September 2020 published its final plans for a redesigned bus network for the city. Under BusConnects, services would be routed away from College Green and east Dame Street. READ MORE With the conflict with bus services removed, the council decided to double the size of the plaza. Traffic would be banned from the area west of the Luas lines in front of Trinity College, extending as far as the junction with Dame Street and South Great George's Street. Two years later the council announced a new design team was required due to increases in the scope of the project. In a briefing to councillors in recent weeks, the scheme's project manager Marie Gavin said she hoped 'preliminary designs' would be completed by the end of the summer. These designs would then be subject to a 'screening process' to determine whether the project could be progressed through the council's internal planning system or if an application to An Coimisiún Pleanála, the new name for the reconstituted An Bord Pleanála, was required. Cost was 'a big factor' she said. 'It is a big project so it's going to cost a lot of money.' The project had been approved for a budget of 'about €80 million' that would be part funded by the NTA. That included a 'huge contingency fee' of 'about 40 per cent' but that should 'hopefully cover everything we have to do' she said. The timeline for the project would depend on whether an application to the Coimisiún was required, which would add 'at least 12 months, minimum' but also on the removal of the bus routes, now scheduled to happen by the end of 2026. 'Realistically we're looking at about October/ November 2027 to be on site with the project, with the best will in the world, and then it could be up to a three-year construction period.' A spokesman for the NTA said it expected to complete rerouting of buses from the plaza area by the end of next year. The NTA will make a contribution to the cost of the project, but the level of that contribution has not yet been determined, he said.
