Dublin City Council declares pedestrianisation trial a huge success

Dublin City Council has stated that the public reaction to last weekend’s pedestrianisation of the Grafton Street area has been “largely positive.”

The pedestrianisation of the area took place on Saturday and Sunday and was the first of a four-weekend trial. Brendan O’Brien, Head of Technical Services with Dublin City Council, has stated that the scheme has been a success so far, saying: “The trial has gone very well to date. The reaction over the weekend was largely positive and the area certainly seemed to benefit from these measures. At the moment we are considering responses received to date and requests to extend the pedestrian hours at a number of locations and reviewing if other changes are required.”

The locations for the trials last weekend and for the next three weekends are as follows…

• Anne Street South from the junction of Dawson Street
• Duke Street
• South William Street from the Brown Thomas carpark exit to Chatham Row
• Drury Street from Fade Street to the Drury Street carpark
• Dame Court From Exchequer Street

The pedestrianisation measures are being taken to support the economic recovery of the city by providing more space for pedestrians during weekends and to encourage people to return for shopping.

A number of cafés and restaurants in the area are making use of the extra space resulting from the lack of vehicular traffic. Temporary street furniture permits have been issued to a number of venues on South Anne Street, Drury Street and Dame Court to assist them in the reopening of their businesses and to provide for social distancing requirements.

Members of the public can offer their opinions on the pedestrianisation trials by taking part in a survey on the Dublin City Council website here.

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