NTA reverses stance on College Green plaza plans

The National Transport Authority (NTA) is backing Dublin City Council in its standoff with Dublin Bus over the €10 million civic plaza plans for College Green. The NTA had previously said its support for the council’s traffic-free plaza proposal was “contingent” on Dublin Bus being permitted to run two-way services on Parliament Street. However, at the end of a three-week An Bord Pleanála hearing on the plaza, the NTA said it was now prepared to reverse this position and support the council’s plan which would push Dublin Bus out of the city centre zone. The council has applied to the board to build the pedestrian and cycle plaza and ban all traffic, including buses and taxis, from accessing Dame Street through College Green.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

Reclaiming College Green

The proverbial chickens have come home to roost in Dublin’s College Green. Plans to transform it into a “landmark civic plaza”, at an estimated cost of €10 million, seemed like such a good idea until the scheme ran into sustained opposition from sectional interests – taxi drivers, department stores, hotels, multi-storey car park operators and even Dublin Bus. The fact that there are an unprecedented 70 “notice parties” involved in An Bord Pleanála’s current public inquiry, each with its own agenda – both for and against – speaks for itself. Indeed, it is a measure of how fractious Dubliners can become when faced with decisions about the allocation of road space in the city centre.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

Cars are the main obstacle to solving College Green jams

Everything can’t fit in College Green and thinking it can is not sound transport planning. Luas cross city was granted planning permission in 2012 and funded later that year. Six years on and some are still in denial of what needs to happen for it to work properly. It is unclear which failure is worse — the failure to realise that a high-frequency cross city tram would require the diversion of many bus routes, the failure of the political system to engage in the issue in a timely fashion, or the on-going failure of some in business, the media and politics to understand that bus passengers are not served well by keeping a high number of buses travelling through the area.

Read the full article @ The Sunday Times

Dublin plaza ‘would see 1,600 buses a day’ on Parliament Street

Up to 1,600 buses per day – or up to 145 buses an hour at peak times – would move through Parliament Street in Dublin if the proposed College Green civic plaza goes ahead, a planning hearing has heard. Turning Parliament Street into a “bus corridor” to facilitate the pedestrian and cycle plaza would have a “profound” impact on businesses and residents and a serious long-term impact on air quality, locals claimed. The oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into Dublin City Council’s plan to create a traffic-free civic space on College Green and Dame Street heard submissions from a number of experts on behalf of M.E Hanahoe Solicitors and other businesses in the Parliament Street area.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

College Green plaza alternatives not fully evaluated, hearing told

Alternatives to the current design and location of the proposed College Green civic plaza in Dublin city centre were not properly evaluated, it was claimed at a planning hearing. An environmental impact assessment report on the project was overreliant on the findings of a “Clonskeagh to City Centre Cycle Project” report originally dating from 2014, which favoured cyclists over other road users, according to Marcus Hanahoe of ME Hanahoe Solicitors. He was representing his business and property owners, other businesses and residents in the Parliament Street area at the hearing. There was an assumption from the outset the Luas would dominate over buses and “everyone else would just have to put up with it”, said Mr Hanahoe.

Read the full story @ The Irish Times

College Green Plaza: Read all the objections and other submissions in the one place

For those interested in reviewing the planning application and/or reading all (or some) of the submissions made to An Bord Pleanála in respect of the proposed College Green Plaza, irishcycle.com has usefully created individual links to each.

Follow this link to their website:  irishcycle.com

Hearing into proposed College Green plaza told of ‘terror risk’

The proposed civic plaza on Dame Street in Dublin would create a “medium” security and terrorist risk for the city and would also drive shoppers out towards centres such as Dundrum, an oral hearing has heard. The town planner representing retailers including Arnotts and Brown Thomas, told the Bord Pleanála hearing the project was like cutting off a key artery in a body.  People who could not make their way around the city or park their cars would say “hump that, I’m going to Dundrum”, he said.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

Call for halt to plaza plans for Dublin Bus review

Dublin Bus wants plans for the College Green plaza halted until it caries out its own review of services. The planning consultant for the bus company told a Bord Pleanála hearing that nobody wants a repeat of the unforeseen problems following the introduction of the Luas Cross City. The five-day hearing by An Bord Pleanála on a plan to create a pedestrianised plaza began yesterday. She said Bus Connects - the current review of services - is a "necessary prior analysis to this project".

Read the full article @ www.rte.ie

Dublin retailers claim 5,000 jobs could be lost by plaza plans

The oral hearing into Dublin City Council's plans for a pedestrianised plaza in College Green has heard from Dublin's biggest retailers that 5,000 jobs could be lost as a result of the proposal. The Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance (DCCTA), representing businesses such as Arnotts and Brown Thomas, has asked An Bord Pleanála to refuse permission for the scheme. The board is holding an oral hearing into council plans for the €10m plaza, which would halt all east-west vehicular traffic. The town planner representing the DCCTA said the plan is premature without a holistic transport plan for Dublin.

Read the full article @ www.rte.ie

Attending the College Green Plaza Oral Hearing

I have had a few emails by people asking if they can attend the oral hearing. Yes, it is open to the public. It's being held in The Ballroom at The Gresham Hotel on O'Connell Street.

Please click on the following link for the order of proceedings.

How ice-skating rinks and beach parties are in plans for Dublin's College Green plaza project

College Green will become a venue for summer beach parties and winter ice skating rinks under plans to transform it into a fully-pedestrianised civic plaza. Plans for the space were laid out by Dublin City Council officials at an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála. Architect Paul Kehoe told the hearing that the green will be become an adaptable public space - "A space that works equally well for everyday social intercourse as it does for events and performances," he said. Along with temporary beaches and skating rinks he suggested films, screenings and markets would be among the events that could be held at the space.

Read the full article @ The Irish Independent

Greens back College Green Civic Plaza plan ahead of oral hearing

The Green Party has called for the construction of the proposed Civic Plaza for Dublin's College Green. A Board Pleanála Oral Hearing is scheduled to commence on Monday 12th March in Dublin's Hotel Riu Plaza the Gresham on O'Connell Street at 10:30am. The Plaza plans were submitted by Dublin City Council to Board Pleanála for approval. Councillor Ciarán Cuffe from the Greens is one of three public representatives who have made a submission to the Board.

Councillor Cuffe, chair of DCC's Transportation Strategic Policy Committee said: “This is a unique opportunity to give Dublin a civic plaza that we can all be proud of. For far too long College Green has been dominated by noise and pollution from cars, trucks and buses. Tomorrow's hearing will hear of the benefits for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.

“Currently the east-west movement of vehicles through College Green slows down buses, trams and pedestrians. It also causes safety issues for more vulnerable road users. Building the plaza will reduce these risks and allow for a radical overhaul of bus routes in the Capital. Currently one third of all buses pass through College Green every day. Dublin Bus has been reluctant to change their routes to meet the needs of the travelling public in the twenty-first century. They need to work with the National Transport Authority to fast-track the changes promised by the overdue 'Bus Connects' route review and ensure that destinations such as Dublin's Docklands and the outer suburbs are better connected by bus. This would relieve the pressure in College Green and ensure that tram and bus routes complement each other rather than vying with each other for valuable road space. With the plaza in place buses will still be allowed pass north and south in front of Trinity College, and will be allowed terminate and turn around at the western side of the plaza.

“It is crucial that the demands of car park owners and operators do not dominate the discussion. For far too long the car lobby has allowed Dublin city centre to be choked with noise, fumes and traffic. It is now time for the citizen's voices to be heard. Thirty years ago naysayers said the city would grind to a halt if we took cars and buses out of Grafton Street. It is now a major success story.

“As the city grows in population it is time we allocate more space to the pedestrian and cyclists. The College Green plaza will speed up pedestrian flows in the city centre and improve safety for cyclists. It is time to give the plans the green light. It is fitting that the pedestrian is finally given some breathing room and space to linger in the heart of the city.”

College Green plaza hearing could face legal challenge

The An Bord Pleanála hearing into plans for a traffic-free civic plaza at Dublin’s College Green could face a legal challenge. The oral hearing on the €10 million project is due to open on Monday.

More than 70 parties are expected to attend the hearing on Dublin City Council’s plans to create a pedestrian and cycle plaza at College Green and to ban all traffic, including buses and taxis, from accessing Dame Street through the area. Dublin Bus and several prominent city businesses, including Brown Thomas and the Merrion, Shelbourne and Westbury hotels, have raised objections to the plans.

Read the full story @ The Irish Times

'There's a cycling agenda here' - debate hots up ahead of planning meeting on Dublin's proposed civic plaza

HEATED EXCHANGES HAVE taken place ahead of a crucial hearing concerning the planned creation of a pedestrianised plaza in Dublin city centre. The planned €10 million College Green plaza would ban all cars from that section of the city, with curtailments placed on buses and taxis. An Bord Pleanála will hold the hearing later today after a number of objections from vested interests in the locality were heard. Speaking on RTE Morning Ireland, Adrian Cummins of the Restaurant Association of Ireland and Dublin city Green Party councillor Ciaran Cuffe clashed as to what the new plaza will mean and what its effects will be.

Read the full article @ www.thejournal.ie

Councillor claims Civic Plaza plans for College Green is creating 'chaos'

New trees, public benches and 32 fountains representing every county in Ireland are among the plans for a vehicle-free College Green in Dublin. An Bord Pleanala is hearing submissions from Dublin City Council on plans for a new civic plaza that will prevent all traffic from travelling east to west. Green Party Councillor Ciaran Cuffe says the plans are exactly what the capital needs. He said: "It's about time that we took a little bit of space away from traffic and gave it back to the pedestrian.

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"I think it'll be a really child-friendly space, there'll be trees, seats, events and programming. I think it'll be a fantastic initiative." But objectors say the plan is bad news for local businesses and commuters.

Read the full story @ The Irish Examiner