College Green walk-cycle plaza plan to go to Bord Pleanála

A proposed €6 million pedestrian and cycle plaza at Dublin's College Green is facing lengthy delays – and could even be scrapped – following the decision to submit the scheme to An Bord Pleanála for approval.

Dublin City Council is to seek approval from the planning board next year for development of the new civic space, which would prohibit all vehicles crossing College Green to and from Dame Street.

Diversions

Last April, the council published its plans, which would involve changes and diversions to between 30 and 40 bus routes as well as a car ban on certain streets.

It intended to implement the development under its own “in-house” planning process and expected to have the traffic changes in place by next June, ahead of the beginning of operations of the Luas Cross City line in September.

However, a public consultation process in recent months revealed significant opposition to the proposals from several prominent business interests in the city, as well as residents of Temple Bar.

Former minister for transport Noel Dempsey, who chairs the Temple Bar Company, criticised the council's handling of the process and raised particular concerns about plans to ban cars on Parliament Street and make it a two-way bus-only street, increasing the number of routes using the street from three to 20.

The Dublin City Traders' Alliance, involving Brown Thomas, Arnotts and the Jervis and Ilac shopping centres, set up to oppose the traffic plans, said it would take "all possible steps", including legal action, to prevent pedestrianisation of College Green.

On foot of the public consultation, the council engaged environmental consultants who concluded an assessment of the impact of the scheme on air quality, the economy, traffic, parking, heritage and health.

The council has now decided to commission more consultants to undertake this assessment and prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for submission to An Bord Pleanála along with an application for approval of the development.

The council said it plans to make the submission to the board by next March.

Design team

The council’s application would be similar to a large-scale strategic infrastructure development application, and the board would expect to make a decision whether to approve or refuse the project within four months or 18 weeks.

A public hearing could also be held by the board.

Despite uncertainty over the project, the council intends to appoint a “multidisciplinary design team” by this December to undertake the detailed design of the new plaza, and determine how it would be shared by cyclists and pedestrians.