Capel Street will be Car-Free!
After numerous consultations and receiving thousands of submission (I sent one in!), Dublin City Council with the support of the Councillors will make Capel Street Car Free.
Having been trialled successfully last Summer, though with limited car free hours, it is great news to see this street being permanently made car free. It will be the longest street in Dublin to become car free and will follow in the footsteps of Grafton Street and Henry Street both of which are Dublin's main shopping streets and have been pedestrian only for decades. It seems bizarre to think that buses used to drive down the upmarket paved Grafton Street and I am sure that it will become like that with Capel Street someday in the future with no one calling to have it revert to the bottle neck choked with traffic street that it currently is.
Capel Street has an interesting mix of pubs, eateries and shops. I haven't been on the street in ages but intend to go back as soon as it is made car free. The last time I was there was in about June 2020 (I think when Ireland opened after the first lockdown) where I visited the hardware store there. It's worth mentioning that I cycled to visit this shop and at the time I had my electric bike so I strapped the piece of plastic tubing that I bought in to my panniers (half in half out) and cycled back across the Liffey to Ranelagh from the Northside.
I sure am looking forward to this big change in Dublin and share a video below which shows the potential for the streets of Dublin but also shows how some of the fears of car drivers is generally unfounded, world over.
Good job Dublin City!
Edit - here's my trip report from my visit to Capel Street on 21st of May, the day after it was made car free
