Latest news with #trafficfree
Irish Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
‘It was such an obvious thing to do': Pedestrians and cyclists reclaim Dublin's Parliament Street
Under cover of night on Thursday and into the early hours of Friday, Dublin 's Parliament Street, which runs from City Hall on Dame Street to the south Liffey quays, was transformed. Where previously pedestrians were crammed into narrow footpaths and cyclists competed with two lanes of cars and vans, the area appeared suddenly to have exhaled, with people spilling into the middle of the newly claimed street. A dry night on Thursday allowed council workers to achieve the remarkably quick installation of two-way cyclepaths, new road markings, traffic signage and strategic planters and bollards, all the way from the end of Capel Street , across Grattan Bridge and on to Parliament Street. From 6am the first section of Parliament Street, from the quayside to Essex Gate/Essex Street East – the only cross-street which runs through Parliament Street – was entirely traffic-free. READ MORE Motorists crossing Grattan Bridge from the northside are now required to turn right on to the south quays. Council workers were on hand to direct the small number of drivers who were not content to follow the clear signage and thought they might be able to squeeze their way through from Essex Quay, despite flower boxes and bollards being obvious obstacles. Some blocked the quays to argue they had to get through for deliveries, which they were quickly assured they could do, with a very short detour on to Fishamble Street and then Exchange Street Lower to reach Essex Gate and Essex Street East, which is remaining open to traffic. Deliveries are also permitted in the section of Parliament Street between Essex Street and Dame Street from 6am-11am. Shortly after 11am, another council worker arrived with bollards to prevent any further entry, making both sections of street, north and south of Essex Street, traffic-free. He will make another trip before 6am to remove the same bollards. These will eventually be replaced with automated bollards, Green Party councillor Feljin Jose said. 'These will lower automatically for emergency vehicles but make it impossible for non-emergency vehicles to enter the space,' he said. More work will be done in the weeks ahead to improve the look and feel of Parliament Street, says Claire French, senior executive engineer with Dublin City Council. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Overall, he felt the street 'looks very well' but perhaps additional work could be undertaken to calm cars coming from Essex Gate. More work will be done in the weeks ahead to improve the look and feel of Parliament Street, said Claire French, senior executive engineer with Dublin City Council . 'From Monday, we will start upgrading the street with the installation of seating and planting. We will be resurfacing the road with the buff-coloured surface and in time if will have a similar appearance to Capel Street.' The removal traffic from most of Capel Street since 2022 resulted in a significant drop in cars crossing the river into Parliament Street, French said, justifying the reallocation of space to pedestrians and cyclists. 'On a Saturday you would have 23,000 pedestrians on Parliament Street – that's a lot – but only 1,800 cars using the street on a daily basis, it really was out of balance so what we have done is rebalanced the space.' Siobhán Conmy, owner of bar Street 66, has for several years campaigned for the traffic to be removed from the street. 'We had wanted it to be done at the same time as Capel Street, I'm really excited now to have it finally in,' she said. 'When you look at the lovely backdrop of City Hall and the tree-lined vista right the way down to the river and across to Capel Street, it was such an obvious thing to do.' Conmy said she understood the retention of traffic on Essex Gate and Essex Street East. 'There are apartments above and behind, so they have to have access, it's only fair.' The Temple Bar Company organised a market on Parliament Street on Friday. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Derek McCauley is one of the few business owners on Parliament Street who is also a resident, having converted the space above his wine bar, Café Rubis, from a Turkish/Engilsh college to an apartment in 2014. 'I'm looking forward to this but with a small amount of anxiety over the possibility that there will be an increase in antisocial behaviour at night time,' he said. 'I'm also a bit concerned about the deliveries in the morning. There are four pubs on this street, and if the footpath is being widened and they all going to be getting deliveries of kegs of beer in the early morning, I'm not sure there's going to be the space for all of that.' However, he said he hoped the change would draw more tourism to Parliament Street. 'I am very positive about it overall. I think it will improve business on the street.' Martin Harte, chief executive of business representative group Temple Bar Company, which organised a market on the street on Friday, with further events and street performances planned over the weekend and through the summer, says reclaiming the street from traffic will draw tourists. 'I can remember 20 years ago where there were articulated trucks trundling up this street every day. It is now a calm space designed for people. I think this is one of the greatest days Temple Bar has seen in a long time.'
BreakingNews.ie
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- BreakingNews.ie
Dublin's Parliament Street is now traffic free
Cars are now banned from Parliament Street in Dublin's Temple Bar. The area has become traffic free, with the space given over to pedestrians and cyclists. Advertisement It comes after several trial runs, and follows in the footsteps of Capel Street directly across the River Liffey. Cars are now banned from Parliament Street in Dublin's Temple Bar. Dublin City Council's Claire French said the number of motorists using the route was low. Ms French said: "It's about 1,500 cars a day, so it's pretty small. Compare that to 23,000/24,000 pedestrians a day who use the street, there's a big difference there." The area has become traffic free, with the space given over to pedestrians and cyclists.
Irish Times
24-06-2025
- 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
24-06-2025
- 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
24-06-2025
- 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.
