The area outside Trinity’s front gate and the Bank of Ireland building will be turned into a pedestrian zone for three days during the summer.
All traffic will be banned from the area on Sunday July 21, Sunday July 28 and Sunday August 4, in order to test the idea of turning College Green into a permanent pedestrian plaza.
An event management company has been hired by Dublin City Council to put together a programme of events for the three days to encourage people to come and use the space.
Graeme McQueen, head of communications at Dublin Chamber said the three days would allow people “to get their heads around the idea”, adding that “it’s great that the people of Dublin will get a chance to see how it will all work”.
Dublin City Council have been preparing plans to turn College Green into a pedestrian plaza since 2015. However, last October they had their proposals rejected by An Bord Pleanála due to the potential impact on bus routes and city-centre traffic.
Concerns were also raised regarding safety and the board brought attention to “potential conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians, and of busses and emergency vehicles with both groups”.
Dublin City Council are thought to be preparing to submit new proposals to An Bord Pleanála
some time in the next in the next few months. They have claimed that they will not alter their plans, stating that An Bord Pleanála’s issue with the proposal was not with the plaza itself but rather with the possible knock-on effects.
The council, who proposed spending €10 million transforming the space, described the idea as a “landmark” opportunity to create civic-space in the centre of Dublin.
However, Dublin Bus described the plans as “socially regressive” in limiting bus movement through the city centre. Concerns were raised by An Bord Pleanála about the feasibility of redirecting busses along the Quays, as the council had proposed to do.
