Dublin City Council is to take a incremental approach to reallocating road space to walking and cycling on College Green and Dame Street next year ahead of construction on the permanent scheme.
96% of around 3,900 people who responded to the public consultation in 2020 favoured an expanded plaza to include not just College Green but also Dame Street up South Great George’s Street.
This should start in Summer 2023. The council’s traffic committee were told this week that there will be a reduce the space for vehicular traffic in College Green and Dame Street in line with changes to bus numbers and passengers in line with Bus Connects Network changes in the City Centre.
The changes include changing the bus corridor hours to be 24/7 — the BusConnects plan will gradually remove buses from going from College Green towards Dame Street, and all College Green pedestrianisation plans include retaining buses and trams using the north-south on College Green.
A presentation to councillors on Wednesday outlined how the council intends to “Provide an interim urban streetscape design for this new enhanced space to allow additional space for the public with temporary greening and seating.”
On Wednesday, Cllr Janet Horner (Green Party) said: “Some exciting plans for an interim scheme for College Green under discussion at the DCC transport SPC this afternoon…. An important opportunity to take back city space while we wait on BusConnects to clear the way for a permanent scheme!”
UPDATED 15/09/2022: Below is the video of the council committee meeting debating the issue:
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