Commuters warned over road closure

Rush-hour commuters were today warned to plan ahead to avoid traffic chaos when cars are banned from one of the busiest roads in the country.

Motorists were bracing themselves for tailbacks around the capital when Dublin’s College Green rush hour bus corridor opens at 7am.

Dublin City Council (DCC) said private and commercial vehicles that usually travel on the road – either between Dame Street to Westmoreland Street or from College Street to Dame Street or Nassau Street – must find alternative routes.

The scheme will operate mornings and evenings, 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday.

Gardaí said bus lane regulations will be enforced, but said offences detected during the first three days will be dealt with by way of caution where possible.

Motorists then face a €60 fixed charge penalty, which will increase to €90 after 28 days.

Extra officers will be deployed to the area for the first two weeks while the Garda Air Support unit will monitor traffic in the area.

DCC maintains the move will ease the flow of public transport through one of the major bottlenecks in the Dublin traffic network.

Brendan O’Brien, Head of Technical Services, said: “Dublin City Council is asking private car users – who normally travel through College Green in the morning and evening peak traffic times – to use an alternative route.

“We know the new corridor will take some getting used to, as is the case with all changes of this type.

“However, these new arrangements offer commuters and shoppers access to quicker and more reliable bus and taxi services and will benefit pedestrians and cyclists too.”

Full access to car parks will be retained during these periods and there will be no change to traffic arrangements outside of these times.

Dublin Bus will also mark the event with a special city centre fare of 50c for passengers in the city centre.