CAPEL STREET in Dublin is to become the capital city's largest traffic-free space after the city council voted in favour of pedestrianisation on Wednesday.
Local councillors on approved the plans to ban cars from Capel Street for a distance of 400m making it the longest traffic-free street in the city, ahead of Grafton Street and Henry Street.
The zone will be allocated to pedestrians and cyclists only, and will stretch from Parnell Street and Ryder's Row in the north to Strand Street in the south.
It comes after the council held a short consultation last month on its final plan and 1,776 submissions were received – 91% of which were in favour of the new traffic-free proposals.
53 identical submissions were received from businesses, mainly in the nearby Jervis centre which stated:
"We object to the 24/7 pedestrianisation proposal for Capel street as it will have a detrimental effect on our business. We seek a compromised solution that doesn’t threaten our future employment."
However, the council noted there were no proposals for 24/7 pedestrianisation, and deliveries would still be permitted from 6am-11am.
Delivery vehicles will be permitted to use the street from 6am-11am daily, after which bollards will precent entry, and all car parking will be removed from the street.
Last year, a six-week trial to facilitate outdoor dining which was required under Covid regulations saw the street be pedestrianised from 6.30pm to 11.30pm at weekends.
More than 7,000 submissions were made to a subsequent consultation process.
Almost 80% were in favour of pedestrianising Capel Street on a permanent basis with almost 90% seeking some traffic-free measures.
