Motorists in Dublin are being reminded that the bus gate on College Green will be operational 24 hours 7 days per week from Monday morning.
From the morning, only buses, bicycles, taxis, and emergency vehicles will be legally allowed to go between College Green and Dame Street.
As reported recently, the change is part of the College Green Pathfinder Project, which also includes wider footpaths and a reduction in clutter on the streets leading up to College Green.
More substantial changes planned to the area as a kind of interim measures ahead of new plans for a College Green Plaza have been delayed until 2024 because of a slowdown in the BusConnects roll-out. The BusConnects routing programme is key because it will include bus routes moving away from travelling between College Green and Dame Street.
North-south movements of buses — along the path of the Luas route on College Green — are planned to continue even if a full plaza is put in place.
On the short-term changes, Dublin City Council issued the following statement on Friday: “Dublin City Council would like to remind the public that the expansion of the College Green Bus Gate will begin this Monday morning. From Monday 29th May 2023 the current College Green bus corridor will be expanded to 24 hours, 7 days per week, prohibiting private vehicles from travelling through in all directions.”
“The concept of a Bus Gate is to have a section of roadway that only public transport and cyclists can use and in College Green this is the well-established location outside Trinity College. This change extends the Bus Gate hours to 24/7,” the council added.
The council said that local access to Dame Street and College Green, including locations such as the Bank of Ireland and Foster Place, will be maintained for general traffic but traffic will not be legally allowed through College Green at any time.
The council said: “General through traffic travelling eastbound on Dame Street who previously used the College Green Bus Gate outside operational hours, must now use alternative routes around the area and should not attempt to use this Bus Gate at any time and the same applies to general traffic on College Street.”
Dublin City Council said that the College Green Pathfinder Project is aimed to “help alleviate public transport congestion in the city core” and “facilitate the interim enhancement of Foster Place” with planters and public seating.
The council said that works on Foster Place, which it called “a hidden gem in the heart of the city”, has started along with wider work on decluttering of signs, poles and bollards.
The council said that the disabled parking bay on Foster Place is to be retained, and the taxi spaces will be reduced in Foster Place and increased at the College Green taxi rank.
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A great beginning to making Dublin more accessible to vulnerable road users and citizens in general and not just a few people in large private vehicles that clog up the city and endanger life.
Now if only taxis could be given slightly less priority & space than genuine public transport….
Wasn’t being enforced today. The chap in high vis was letting all the cars through (about a dozen in the 10 mins I was there).