Dublin City Council is considering changes to Merrion Row including additional space for outdoor dining.
The council has opened a public consultation process today on the proposal which includes temporary buildouts on both sides of Merrion Row, similar to South Anne Street and Drury Street, being installed with planters.
The council says existing bollards, unnecessary street clutter and signage will be removed.
It follows calls for pedestrianisation of the area to allow hospitality businesses to reopen for outdoor dining whenever public health restrictions allow.
Traffic
The council says the NTA has advised that the removal of buses from Merrion Row is not feasible, however DCC is considering reducing lanes of traffic from three to one, to maximise space for outdoor use.
In its assessment Dublin City Council says: "At present traffic on Merrion Row is comprised of vehicles from Kildare Street and those from Stephen’s Green East. The number of vehicles from Kildare Street make up approximately 25% of the overall traffic on Merrion Row and so by redirecting the traffic from Stephen’s Green East, a 75% reduction in traffic volumes would be achieved in Merrion Row.
"This reduction in traffic volumes would allow the traffic lanes in Merrion Row to be reduced from three lanes to one lane and thus increase the space available for outdoor dining and make the space far more usable."
The public consultation process is open until April 30th, and DCC says if there is support, a trial period will be undertaken.
