Dame Street and College Green to go “traffic-free” for one day
Image: Dublin City Council
Dame Street and College Green to go “traffic-free” for one day
Words: Ellen Kenny
Dublin City Council will pedestrianise College Green on August 7 from 07:00 to 19:00.
Dublin City Council have announced that Dame Street and College Green will be traffic-free on August 7. This is to accommodate the Summer Sunday Carnival in the City.
The Council described the carnival as a “free family-fun” occasion, offering an antique carousel and circus skills workshops. The Council will also install benches and tables across the wide street.
While the carnival will run from 12:00 to 16:00, authorities in the area will begin diverting traffic away at 07:00 and the street will remain traffic-free until 19:00.
Traffic Diversions
On August 7, cycle parking will be provided in the event area but cyclists must dismount to enter the event area.
Southbound cars will be diverted to the South Quays, Lower Bridge Street and Upper Dame Street, while northbound cars will be diverted via Winetavern Street.
Authorities will divert buses to Parliament Street and the South Quays. Dublin Bus will advertise all changes in routes closer to the event.
The taxi rank at Foster’s Place and College Green will close for the duration of the event. In the meantime, D’Olier street will open an extended taxi rank on August 7.
Pedestrianising College Green
While this traffic-free experience is for one day only, the discussion of a traffic-free College Green has been in the works for several years.
Dublin City Council first proposed to pedestrianise the area in 2015. However, An Bord Pleanála rejected these plans in 2018.
In December 2021, the Council announced new plans to start the process of pedestrianisation by 2024. They estimated costs to be around 10 million euros. The Council previously trialled three traffic-free days on College Green during summer 2019.
Under the plans, buses, taxis and cars will be banned from the plaza that will run from the gates of Trinity to the junction at Dame Street and South Great George’s Street.
The National Transport Authority have already published plans for a redesigned bus network for the city. The plans route buses away from the College Green and east Dame Street area to facilitate the plaza.
Dublin is one of few European cities without a large plaza. A 2018 study found that 60 per cent of Irish people want to pedestrianise the street, while 22 per cent are against it.
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