Following a request from An Garda Síochána, the perimeter side vehicular gates in the Park were closed on the grounds of public safety further to the Level 5 Government restrictions. This arrangement has been in place since the 31st October and the two main gates have functioned satisfactorily, with the exception of the weekend of the 21st/22nd November, when there was unprecedented and unexpected numbers visiting the Park, due primarily to the nice weather. That situation led to the Park being unable to cope with the high volume of vehicular traffic including through traffic and visitor traffic on Sunday afternoon.
Officials in the Office of Public Works made contact both with An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council, which is responsible for traffic- light management, to increase the time allocated to vehicles exiting the Phoenix Park at the two main gates. This alleviated the traffic back-up late in the afternoon.
OPW staff in the Phoenix Park have reviewed this with An Garda Síochána and options are being considered with regard to alleviating any traffic congestion in the future. In the meantime, staff with responsibility for patrolling the Phoenix Park will closely monitor the use of the Park and seek to address any further issues arising with traffic volumes.
Officials from the Office of Public Works are working with other key stakeholders, including the National Transport Authority, Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council to examine the issues relating to access in the Phoenix Park. A Steering Group has been established to oversee a process of developing new transport and mobility plans and this group is due to report back to me this month with a range of practical options that can be made operational in the Park. It is hoped to bring these options to public consultation early in 2021 and to publish the final plans for implementation of the preferred option by March 2021.
