What's the news?
A public consultation on proposed changes to the way traffic flows (or doesn't) in Dublin city centre is now open and running until July 16th.
The plans being consulted upon are an expansion of the pedestrian zones in and around College Green and a diversion of through-traffic away from the centre and onto orbital routes.
Speaking to The Irish Times today, CEO of the National Transport Authority, Anne Graham, said: "the NTA will be investing €150 million in the planned projects between now and 2023. Facing up to what's needed, and taking some hard decisions now, will pay dividends for the city, and for the country as a whole, in the future."
The plans all revolve around the long-awaited extension of the LUAS green line south along Dawson Street, across College Green and down to meet up with the Red Line across the river at Abbey Street. Clearly, a lot of traffic needs to be shuttled around to accommodate that move, and much of this is already happening. The plan is to use the opportunity to further exclude private cars from the city centre. It's proposed the current 'Bus Gate' that restricts private cars from College Green at certain times of the day would be extended to 24hrs. The space in front of Bank of Ireland and the bottom end of Grafton Street would then be largely pedestrianised, although buses would still be allowed access through to Dame Street and Westmoreland Street.
Westmoreland Street would also be significantly altered - with wider footpaths, part of the LUAS track and far more restricted space for private cars. O'Connell Bridge would also see private traffic restrictions, reducing from two lanes able to turn onto Eden Quay down to one.
Much of the traffic space on the north and south quays would also be closed to anything expect public transport and bicycles, with the plan being to allow private cars to access major parking areas such as Stephen's Green and Jervis Street, but no further.
While it's generally a good idea to free up space for pedestrians and improved public transport, there is little doubt that this is going to cause a certain amount of chaos. Dublin's orbital traffic routes are ill-defined and already choked for much of the day, and it's very likely that these changes will severely affect access to the city centre, at least initially.
Mind you, that's what everyone said when Grafton Street was pedestrianised, so...