Dublin’s College Green will be pedestrianised from 2027, with the City Council having unveiled plans to completely redevelop the area. 

If approved by An Coimisiún Pleanála, ‘Grow College Green’ will see the area in front of Trinity College transformed into a plaza.

Buses, taxis and cars will still be allowed to drive past Trinity towards Nassau Street. 

However, they will be banned from driving along Dame Street and a number of buses will be re-routed. 

The cost of ‘Grow College Green’ to taxpayers will be €80 million, with the project due to be completed by 2029. 

 On Newstalk Breakfast, Dr Carole Pollard, former president of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, said she was “so excited” and that the plans “look great”. 

“We’re very bad in Ireland at looking forward and visualising what can be,” she said. 

“We tend to get ourselves stuck in the negative of the moment and I think this project needs the support of Dubliners behind it. 

“The public consultation process is an opportunity for people to support the scheme as much as object to it.” 

College Green proposal. Picture by: Dublin City Council.

When questioned about the impact of pedestrianisation on Dubliners, Dr Pollard argued that all progress requires an element of disruption. 

“Do you think there was no traffic disruption when the Bank of Ireland premises on College Green, the Parliament House and College Green was built or when Trinity College was built?” she said. 

“In relative terms, that was disruptive to the city; we need disruption, we need to disrupt to create.” 

Dr Pollard continued that people “can't compete with the cars” and gave Madrid as an example of how pedestrianisation can transform a city centre for the better. 

“What they decided to do in Madrid a number of years ago is pedestrianise one square kilometer in the centre of the city,” she explained. 

“It caused an awful lot of backlash against some shopkeepers and owner business owners and residents and everything like that.

“Now if you go to Madrid and you see the success of that; you see people strolling down the streets, holy communion ceremonies in churches in the city and the whole family walking down the street to the restaurant afterwards to have their lunch. 

“Cities are about people, cities were built for people. Dublin was not built for cars, it was built for people and I think what we need to do is we need to claim that back.”

College Green proposal. Picture by: Dublin City Council.

Dr Pollard added that the inclusion of more trees and plants will also benefit the city. 

“We need somewhere to soak up all that rainfall that we have at the moment - we can't have hard paving everywhere in our city,” she enthused. 

“And we also have got, the beautiful plaza in front of the former central bank building is kind of brought back into use. 

“And I'm very excited to see St. Andrew's Church, there's going to be a plaza in front of that.”

'Grow College Green' is now open to public consultation.

Man image: College Green proposal. Picture by: Dublin City Council.