A European city popular with British tourists could be set to ban cars in a groundbreaking move. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, could be about to bring in a ban on cars travelling through its city centre.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said the proposal, made as a part of the Dublin City Transport Plan, would be sent to councillors and aim to change how drivers use the city.
Newstalk reported that Mr Ryan said: “They will see a transformation this August when we take the through traffic out of the city centre. That’s going to make a huge change in Dublin and we can do the same in each of our cities.”
Mr Ryan warned cities that didn’t want to be part of a change “will stay stuck in this car gridlocked, car dependant system”.
On how the scheme would work financially, Mr Ryan said: “We’ll [the Department for Transport] provide the funding.
“We’ll provide the policy background but really this is a matter for local communities or local authorities. Do you want to go this cleaner, safer [proposal] or stick with the past?”
Mr Ryan’s plans to ban cars from Dublin comes after Paris decided to triple the price of parking for people who drive an SUV. The new fees also apply to electric cars heavier than two tonnes and some hybrids.
Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo has called for other major cities such as London to follow the city’s lead.
She claimed: “Parisians have made a clear choice – other cities will follow. The time has come to break with this tendency for cars that are always bigger, taller, and wider. You have the power to take back ownership of our streets.”
Ms Hidalgo’s plans have been supported by the UK group Campaign for Better Transport which said they wanted to see higher charges for people with heavier vehicles.
A spokesperson for the group Silviya Barrett said: “SUVs are too large for city streets, creating obstruction to pedestrians and road users, and disproportionately adding to congestion and carbon emissions.”
Ms Barrett added: “We want to see higher charges for visitor and resident parking for SUVs in UK cities and better parking enforcement to help reduce the impact of these large vehicles on our cities’ roads and public transport system.”
Paris’ ban has received political support too. Green member for the London Assembly Caroline Russell told LBC: “Have to love the people of Paris. SUVs have no place on busy city streets and charging more for storing monster cars on the street makes sense.”
Express.co.uk has contacted Dublin City Council for comment.
