Park road closure to continue

The trial closure to traffic of a stretch of road in Dublin’s Phoenix Park at weekends may become a permanent feature.

A 1km stretch of Chesterfield Avenue will be closed to traffic at weekends between April 6th and September 30th.

The closure from the roundabout near Áras an Uachtaráin to the roundabout near the Castleknock exit will be from from 10pm on Fridays until 10pm on Sundays.

The Office of Public Works hopes this move will open up this end of the park to recreational users at the weekend.

"We've got to make sure that more and more people use this terrific amenity," Minister of State for the OPW Brian Hayes told RTÉ yesterday.

It not affect playing fields or zoo access and the Odd Lamp Road would remain open to cars, an OPW spokesman said.

It is to be reviewed and depending on the feedback it may be considered as a permanent feature after the trial ends on September 30th.

"We will monitor it closely over the April to September period to see how successful or otherwise it is," Mr Hayes said.

There were no plans to extend the closure to other roads or to midweek, the OPW spokesman said.

The trial begins with a Mad Hatter's Tea Party and farmer's market at Chesterfield Avenue on Saturday April 7th as part of the park's 350th anniversary celebrations.

The closure is part of the park's conservation management plan.