RESTRICTIONS ON private cars in Dublin city centre as a result of the reimposition of the evening “bus gate” caused no major problems last night, according to Dublin City Council.
The reintroduction of the corridor in the evening means only buses, taxis and cyclists are allowed to travel through College Green in the city centre between 4pm and 7pm.
Similar restrictions in the morning peak between 7am and 10am have been ongoing since last July.
The restrictions morning and evening will now continue for about five months until a promised review of the operation takes place in mid-2010.
The review was originally to have taken place in May, but the council said last night that the three-week suspension over Christmas would likely put that date back until June.
Some city traders had hoped the bus gate would not be reimposed for a number of weeks to make up for lower numbers of shoppers during the traditional Christmas sales season.
However, the council said continuing with the suspension of the evening bus gate would have required a resolution of the city council and none had been prepared.
Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews had called for the continued suspension of the bus gate scheme.
He claimed that retailers in the city centre had been “hit exceptionally hard” by the adverse weather conditions over Christmas.
The initial proposal to suspend the evening bus gate was taken at the behest of traders who claimed business had become so bad that many would not make it into the new year without a boost to sales.
The city council has also reminded visitors to the city that the free parking scheme introduced on certain city centre streets to encourage trade in the run-up to Christmas has also been suspended.
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