Private cars to be completely banned from Dublin’s College Green from today

The move to expand it to a 24-hour bus corridor will prohibit vehicles from driving through in all directions and alleviate “significant delays” for public transport.

The change will allow more space for pedestrians and bus services to move through the area.

The College Green bus corridor currently operates Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm and this will be made 24-hour, seven days per week when the changes take effect.

“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,” Dublin City Council said.

Taxi spaces will be reduced in Foster Place and increased at the College Green taxi rank, while the disabled parking bay on Foster Place will be retained.

Local access to Dame Street, the College Green area and Foster Place will be maintained for general traffic. However, vehicles cannot exit using the Bus Gate.

Traffic travelling eastbound on Dame Street, who previously used the College Green Bus Gate outside operational hours, must now use alternative routes. The same applies to general traffic on College Street.

Each week, more than half a million pedestrians and two million passengers on public transport travel through the College Green bus gate. This compares with just 27,000 private vehicles.

A number of on-street enhancements will also be made at College Green and Foster Place under the new College Green Pathfinder Project.

This will include more “inviting” public space with planters and public seating. Footpaths will also be built out on Dame Street at Foster Place for pedestrians.

The median on Church Lane will also be increased, removing the right turn from Church Lane to College Green.