Dublin City Council tonight adopted the scheme, which seeks to establish public transport priority through the College Green “pinch point”, between the hours of 7.00am to 10am and 4.00pm to 7.00pm, Monday to Friday. No restrictions will apply to through traffic at other hours during the day. Also there will be no restrictions at any time on Saturdays and Sundays. The scheme will significantly reduce journey times for cross-city public transport and allow for increased reliability and frequency.
The work at College Green will be carried out during July 2009, additional works to upgrade the existing pedestrian crossings and to install a new crossing near Fosters Place will also commence.
A public information campaign on revised access arrangements will take place, with clear signage and a lead in time prior to the scheme’s implementation.
The scheme will involve re-routing of commuter traffic and revised access to certain car parks. New, additional signage for car parks and alternative routes will be installed on the primary access routes within the City’s canal cordon. User friendly, easily understood access maps for car parks will be distributed via major retail outlets, car parks and in the media, starting in June. Electronic Message Signs will be deployed on key city centre access routes, such as the Quays, D’Olier St, Christchurch, etc, to assist people driving on the revised routes.
Meetings with the main business and retail interests in the city will continue throughout the remainder of this month. These will allow them to further familiarise themselves with the scheme and offer refinements to its advance signage as and where appropriate. The City Council has also committed to an “Independent Review” of the scheme after the first 6 months of its operation.
The key message to be understood of the scheme is that the City Centre remains very much open for business. Access to the city for public transport users will be significantly eased. Ready access to all of the City Centre and its Car Parks will be maintained at all times and car borne shoppers and business traffic will continue to be facilitated.
Ends.