Parliament Street in Dublin’s Temple Bar was permanently closed to all traffic coming from the Liffey quays from 6am on Friday as part of the latest phase of the Dublin city Centre Traffic Plan.
Under the plan, the street is being divided into two sections. The section from the quays to Essex Gate/Essex Street East, the only cross-street which runs through Parliament Street, is entirely traffic-free with only cyclists and pedestrians permitted in this block at any time.
In the section from Essex Gate/Essex Street East to Dame Street, in front of City Hall, deliveries are permitted from 6am-11am. Outside these hours, only cyclists and pedestrians are allowed in the space.
Essex Gate/Essex Street East will remain open to traffic at all times. This will allow cars and vans to cross Parliament Street in a west-to-east direction into Temple Bar, to facilitate access to disabled parking bays, the District Court at Dolphin House, and for deliveries and resident access in the Temple Bar area.
RM Block
The slider animations in this article show the same parts of the street on Thursday, before the new measures were put in place, and Friday after the street was closed to vehicular traffic. Photographs: Nick Bradshaw.
As part of the scheme, traffic on Grattan Bridge – the link between Capel Street and Parliament Street – is being reduced to one lane and must turn right at Essex Quay. This will facilitate the installation of a two-way cycle lane on the east side of Grattan Bridge, which will give cyclists a direct, safe link all the way from City Hall, up Capel Street to Bolton Street – a distance of almost 1km.
The first phase of the traffic plan came into force last August, with a ban on private cars and commercial vehicles travelling directly east or west along the Liffey at either side of O’Connell Bridge from 7am to 7pm daily.
In May, a ban on private traffic turning left from Westland Row into Pearse Street was introduced, with private traffic diverted east on to a new two-way stretch of Pearse Street, leaving the left or west turn on to Pearse Street for public transport.
The removal of traffic from Parliament Street was made possible by the diversion of two bus routes, the 69 and 69X, earlier this year. Until April, both bus services ran from Rathcoole in west Dublin to Hawkins Street, turning from the north quays across Grattan Bridge on to Parliament Street and left on to Dame Street. They now instead continue along the north quays and cross Rosie Hackett Bridge on to Hawkins Street, before terminating at Poolbeg Street.
The Parliament Street scheme capitalises on the traffic-free measures in place on Capel Street since 2021, which resulted in a reduction of 72 per cent in cars using Parliament Street.
Public consultation undertaken by the council last month found 90 per cent of respondents were in favour of the new measures, with many referencing the success of Capel Street, the council said. “Respondents repeatedly mentioned that the proposed measures would make Parliament Street safer and more pleasant for walking and cycling, encourage families and children to visit, and create opportunities for outdoor seating, socialising, and community events,” it said.
To mark the change of use of Parliament Street, a market was held on Friday, with family-friendly events scheduled to take place every weekend in July, starting on Saturday.
