The removal of cars from College Green will be “transformative” for Dublin, according to Green Party Councillor Janet Horner.

It emerged yesterday that the moves to phase out cars from the area will begin next year as Transport Minister Eamon Ryan works to reduce car use on some of the busiest roads.

The overall College Green Plaza plan remains in the development phase, with 2024 now viewed as the earliest construction can begin; however, Minister Ryan plans to close two lanes of traffic next year and fully remove through traffic by 2024.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning Green Party Councillor Janet Horner said the plan will “move us in the right direction” as we await construction on the plaza itself.

“I think this is fantastic,” she said. “I think we have been talking about developing a permanent pedestrian plaza in College Green for a long time.

“The public were consulted in 2020 and I think 96% of people called for the most ambitious possible version of a College Green Plaza we could have.

“I think we know that we can’t have that for a few years now with delays between BusConnects and a few different projects - so I think having an interim strategy to help us get some of those benefits and help move us in the right direction in the meantime is a really good idea at the moment.

"So I think this is a great move.”

College Green

Cllr Horner said reducing traffic in College Green is part of a carrot and stick approach which involves increasing public transport options while making it harder to use a car in the city centre.

She said College Green is already a poor route for anyone looking to drive from one side of the city to another.

“Certainly, I can’t imagine anyone is driving through College Green at the moment because it is an efficient and direct way of getting there – because I don’t think it is really,” she said.

“It is really very clogged a lot of the time and it is slowing down the public transport that is using it a lot of the time as well.

“We know, in the meantime, by providing more pedestrian space in College Green we are really making it a much, much more attractive place for people to go.”

Car-free

The Green Party Cllr said Dubliners of the future will not be able to imagine a time when cars drove through College Green.

“It is chaotic the way it is at the moment and it is very hostile for people to be there,” she said.

“So I think the plans are for a large European-like central city plaza that would allow for a lot of civic space, a lot of life, a lot of people to play; to sit, to enjoy being in the middle of the city as opposed to being in a very hostile, stressful environment which is what College Green is at the moment.

“So, I think this is going to be transformative for Dublin when we get to that permanent scheme phase and I think people will not be able to imagine how difficult and stressful some of these parts of Dublin were as they are at the moment.”

You can listen back here: