— Council looking for the views of members of the public on “additional space on Merrion Row for outdoor dining”.
Dublin City Council has said in the last half hour that it had received proposals from businesses in the Merrion Row area to pedestrianise Merrion Row for outdoor dining but that it will not pedestrianise the street because of an National Transport Authority requirement to keep a traffic lane on the street for buses.
The plan also include the reversal of traffic on Ely Place and Hume Street — which means permeability for cycling in the area around St Stephen’s Green will be further reduced:
The public consultation on opens from today and runs until April 30. Details can be found at consultation.dublincity.ie.
In a statement, the council said: “Dublin City Council is assessing this request and, following discussion with the NTA, has determined that at this stage it is not possible to move the bus routes out of Merrion Row. A minimum of one lane needs to be kept open to maintain public transport services. The option that Dublin City Council is now considering is how to maximise space for outdoor use while ensuring this requirement is met.”
“Dublin City Council now proposes that the additional space provided on Merrion Row could be maximised by removing two of the three lanes that are there at present. This would involve reversing the direction of traffic flow on Hume Street and part of Ely Place and diverting traffic from Stephen’s Green East to Hume Street and so substantially reduce the traffic volumes on Merrion Row leaving only buses and other vehicles from Kildare Street using Merrion Row. Vehicles currently using Hume Street to access Stephens Green would do so via Pembroke Street and Leeson Street,” it said.
The council added: “Following the consultation, if there is support for this proposal a trial will be undertaken over a weekend in May to determine if the new traffic arrangement is feasible. This will be a trial of reducing Merrion Row to one lane and reversing the traffic flow on Hume St and Ely Place. If the weekend trial is a success the necessary civil works will be installed before outdoor dining commences. This arrangement would then run as a trial during the summer.”
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I think it’s good that DCC is prepared to roll out a trial in a short space of time. It would be great to see the traffic reduced on Merrion Row.
What could the NTA’s reasoning be here? is it the bus stop outside the graveyard? surely that could be removed to outside the BoI on the green?
funny i suggested turning ely place into a 2 way bus lane so allowing pedestrianisation of merrion and removal of all vehicles except buses from ely and so keeping all the bus routes in the area
@Martin — that seems like a sensible suggestion.