Private vehicles will not be allowed to drive through College Green from this morning following an expansion of the College Green bus gate hours.
The current College Green bus corridor will from May 29th be in place 24 hours, seven days a week. Local access to the Dame Street and College Green area, and to locations such as the Bank of Ireland and Foster Place, will be maintained for general traffic. However, they will be unable to exit using the bus gate.
Dublin City Council has said the “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”.
Drivers must now find alternative routes in the area if travelling eastbound on Dame Street if they previously used the College Green bus gate outside of operational hours.
Taxi spaces will also be reduced in Foster Place, but increased at the College Green taxi rank, and the disabled parking bay on Foster Place is to be kept.
Emergency vehicles will still be able to access all locations on College Green.
The College Green Pathfinder Project aims to help alleviate public transport congestion in the city centre, “prioritising public transport at all times”. Dublin City Council say the project will also facilitate the interim enhancement of Foster Place in Dublin 2, making it a more inviting public space with planters and public seating.
Access into Foster Place and the Foster Place disabled parking will also be kept, and work on the enhancement of the area has commenced, with decluttering of signs, poles and bollards taking place.
