As of Friday, July 4, Dublin’s Parliament Street is officially a traffic-free zone. The road, home to LGBTQ+ bar Street 66, will be reallocated to pedestrians and cyclists.

This comes as part of the latest phase of the Dublin City Centre Traffic Plan, under which the street is being divided into two sections. The area from the quays to Essex Gate/Essex Street East will be entirely traffic-free. However, from Essex Gate/Essex Street East to Dame Street, deliveries will be permitted from 6am to 11am.

Essex Gate/Essex Street East will remain open to traffic, meaning cars and vans will be able to cross Parliament Street in a west-to-east direction towards Temple Bar. It will also allow access to disabled parking bays and the District Court at Dolphin House, and facilitate deliveries and resident access in the area.

As part of the plan, traffic on Grattan Bridge—which links Parliament Street to Capel Street, home of Pantibar—will be reduced to one lane and must turn right at Essex Quay. A two-way cycle lane will be installed on the east side of the bridge, giving cyclists a direct, safe link from City Hall to Bolton Street, which measures almost 1km.

Parliament Street has already been dominated by pedestrians, with up to 23,000 people passing through each day. It being a traffic-free zone was made possible by diverting two bus routes, the 69 and 69X, earlier this year. Before April, both services crossed Grattan Bridge onto Parliament Street, before going left onto Dame Street. Now, they instead cross Rosie Hackett Bridge onto Hawkins Street, before finishing at Poolbeg Street.

The move follows traffic-free measures implemented on Capel Street since 2021, which have resulted in 72% fewer cars using Parliament Street. According to a public consultation undertaken in June, 90% of people were in favour of removing traffic from the street, with the council saying, “Respondents repeatedly mentioned that the proposed measures would make Parliament Street safer and more pleasant for walking and cycling, encourage families and children to visit, and create opportunities for outdoor seating, socialising, and community events.”

To mark the change, a market will be held on Parliament Street on July 4, with family-friendly events scheduled every weekend this month. Works interim improvements like seating, planting and surfacing will begin on June 7 and continue during summer.