A motion to pedestrianise around 20 city centre streets by the June Bank Holiday has passed

A motion to pedestrianise around 20 city centre streets by the June Bank Holiday has passed.

Following on from the news that Dublin City Council is planning to pedestrianise Merrion Row, Mary Street and part of Capel Street this summer, Fine Gael stated that they want the project to be extended to cover a much larger area of the city centre. The motion was passed last night by a vote of 39 to 6, with 11 abstaining.

The party had called for works to be carried out on Parliament Street, Fade Street, South Frederick Street, Wicklow Street, Stephen’s Street Lower, St Andrew’s Street Exchequer Street, Dame Court, Parnell Street, Jervis Street and Dawson Street, among others.

Motion passed. 39 in favour, 6 against and 11 cllrs abstained. Elected majority have spoken for Dublin City and now its time to deliver for an outdoor summer. #outdoordining #outdoorsummer https://t.co/ZRB6LrSahA

— James Geoghegan (@GeogheganCllr) April 12, 2021

They have also asked for ‘clear measures to support musicians and artists in outdoor settings across the city centre as part of the outdoor summer strategy’ and have pinpointed the June Bank Holiday weekend for all of these measures to come into place.

In response to a publican who queried whether traditional pubs (those that don’t serve food) would be taken into account under these plans, Councillor James Geoghegan said ‘we weren’t really making any distinction between the two. We just want to ensure that this time is not wasted in terms of maximising what the council can do to support businesses like yours across the city centre.’

It is also expected that last year’s pedestrianisation of parts the Grafton Street Area, including Drury Street and South Anne Street will be made permanent.

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