GARDAI HAVE RELEASED details about the road closures, traffic restrictions and travel arrangements ahead of tonight’s Europa League final at Lansdowne Rd.

With Queen Eilzabeth II also in town at the moment, supporters are encouraged to leave plenty of time for their journey to the Aviva Stadium – or the ‘Dublin Arena’ as UEFA have rebranded it for the occasion.

Here’s what the authorities have to say:

Stiles open at: 6.15pm.

Kick-off: 7.45pm.

Travel arrangements:

• All patrons travelling to the Dublin Arena for the event are advised to utilise public transport as much as possible. The stadium is serviced by bus, DART and Luas transport facilities.
• There are limited spaces for patrons who travel by road such as on-street parking where disk parking is in force and will be rigidly adhered to.
• Drivers should be aware that illegally or improperly parked vehicles have the potential to cause traffic disruption, obstruction and difficulty to emergency vehicles that may need to access the narrow residential streets that surround the Dublin Arena. Tow Wagons will be in operation during the event and offending vehicles will be removed.
• There are a number of other events and VIP visits taking place in the City Centre on this day. This will have a serious impact on traffic in the area and particularly for those wishing to travel through the city centre. It is advised that the M50 and N11 should be used where possible.
• In general, public transport services will still operate through the city centre, however these may be subject to delays.

Park & Ride

• Patrons wishing to travel by road to the general Dublin City area to attend the match should avail of Park and Ride facilities supplied by the various public transport providers.
• Patrons are advised to approach the city via the National Motorway Routes (M1, M2, M3, M4, M7, M11) towards Dublin City and divert via the M50 motorway to the various park & ride facilities listed below.

Luas

Patrons can avail of either the Red Line or Green Line.

• Red Line Patrons can avail of the Red Cow Car Park and the Tallaght Cross West Car Park where they can avail of the Luas to Connolly Station where they can avail of the DART to Lansdowne Road (All Routes) or continue to the O2 where they can walk across the East Link Bridge to the Stadium Area (Purple Route).
• Green Line Patrons can avail of the Balally Car Park, Stillorgan Car Park, Beacon South Quarter Luas Car Park and the Sandyford Park car park where they can avail of the Luas to Ranelagh or St. Stephen’s Green which are only 15 minutes walk from the Stadium. (Blue, Orange and Green Routes).

Please see www.luas.ie for further information.

Irish Rail

Irish Rail run additional services for patrons attending at events at the Dublin Arena. There will be extra inter-city trains from all areas of the country running to Dublin City.

• Southern Route inter-city trains run to Pearse Station and the Northern and North Western lines run to Connolly Station. The DART can be then accessed from these stations. The South Western line runs into Heuston Station where feeder buses are available to transfer patrons to Tara Street Station where again the DART can be accessed. Lansdowne Rd DART station is closed between 5pm and 8pm however.
• There are also car parks at most DART Stations along the route. Please check your local DART Station for information.
• There is a Park & Ride facility at the M3 Parkway Train Station located near Dunboyne. This facility is just off the M3 motorway and is also easily accessible from the M50. Patrons can park at the Parkway and avail of trains to Connolly Station via Clonsilla and then avail of the DART to Lansdowne Road. There are also connecting buses from the Parkway to Trim.

Please see www.irishrail.ie for confirmation of the above information and for timetables.

Dublin Bus:

The General Dublin Arena area is serviced by the following routes:-

• Ballsbridge Serviced by:-

Routes 4, 5, 7, 7a, 7n, 8, 18, 27x, 45, 47

• Donnybrook Serviced by:-

Routes 7b, 7d, 10, 10a, 32x, 39b, 41x, 46a, 46e, 77x, 84x, 116, 118, 145

• Sandymount Serviced by:-

Routes 2, 3, 18

Please check www.dublinbus.ie for confirmation and timetables.

A large Park & Ride area will be in effect for Dublin Buses after the event. This will be located on Northumberland Road as will a large taxi rank.

All patrons should choose their route carefully based on the colour coded entry routes outlined on their tickets so as to avoid delay.

Residents:

Patrons are requested to be aware that the Dublin Arena is located in a residential area. Patrons attending at the Dublin Arena are requested to respect residents by behaving in an appropriate manner when going to and departing the stadium. Issues such as illegal parking, anti social behaviour, drinking and urinating in public cause difficulties and will not be tolerated by Gardai. Patrons are asked to desist from such behaviour.

Special Needs Parking:

There are 100 disabled parking spaces in the Dublin Arena car park which can only be accessed from Herbert Road. Patrons using this facility should be in the Stadium 2 hours prior to the event starting or admittance cannot be guaranteed.

Bus/Coach Parking:

There are no specific bus or coach parking areas around the Dublin Arena. Coaches must not be parked in a manner which could lead to disruption. Patrons travelling to the above event by coach should be dropped off on Pembroke Road and Northumberland Road prior to the event. After the event buses and coaches should park on Pembroke Road and Northumberland Road in order to pick their passengers.

Additional Dublin Bus Services will be provided to provide egress from the event. These buses will be parked on Northumberland Road.

A taxi rank will also be in operation on Northumberland Road.

Ticket sales:

Check out www.fai.ie for details of ticket sales for the event.

Pre-event traffic restrictions:

As with all events at the Dublin Arena, a Garda cordon will be in effect on the streets that lead to the stadium. Only accredited vehicles will be permitted to pass by this cordon. All vehicles will be checked for accreditation.

Local residents, their immediate families, local business community will be facilitated at the barriers with proof of address. However proof of address does not guarantee entry through the cordon where high pedestrian volumes exist.

Herbert Park will be closed to through traffic from 7am today. The following roads will be closed to through traffic from 1.30 today:

• Lansdowne Park
• Lansdowne Lane
• Lansdowne Road from Shelbourne Road to Herbert Bridge
• Herbert Road
• Newbridge Avenue
• Bath Avenue
• Londonbridge Road

Subsequently the following roads will be closed to through traffic from 3.30:

• The remainder of Lansdowne Road from Shelbourne Road to Pembroke Road
• Shelbourne Road
• Beatty’s Avenue
• Ballsbridge Avenue

Parking Restrictions

Garda No-Parking Cones will be placed at the following locations to prevent parking:

1. Lansdowne Road – Both sides from Shelbourne Road to Herbert Bridge
2. Herbert Road – Left side from Herbert Bridge to Tritonville Road
3. Lansdowne Lane – Left side from Shelbourne Road
4. Shelbourne Road – Both sides from Shelbourne Avenue to The Podium entrance.
5. Shelbourne Road – Left side from The Podium Entrance to Bath Avenue.
6. Havelock Square – Right side from Bath Avenue to the Entrance Gate.
7. Northumberland Road – Both sides from Lansdowne Road to Haddington Road

Colour-coded entry

An Garda Siochana stress that all patrons should be aware of the colour-coded entry routes to the stadium which will be clearly identified on their tickets and will be strictly enforced.

• Red ticket – entry via Dodder Bank off Bath Avenue/Londonbridge Rd.
• Blue ticket – entry via Podium Entrance off Shelbourne Road.
• Orange ticket – entry via Lansdowne Lane.
• Green ticket – entry via Lansdowne Road.
• Purple ticket – entry via Herbert Road.

Please refer to www.fai.ie for further details and approach maps.

End of Event Crowd Movement

In order to ensure crowd safety and ease of movement patrons will only be permitted to exit the Stadium via the colour coded entry route through which they entered unless directed otherwise by Gardai and Stewards. Gardai and stewards will be available to assist in all areas.

A large number of patrons are expected to avail of the DART. This may lead to delays and queues after the match. Every effort will be made by Gardaí and Irish Rail personnel to ensure that patrons access the DART as soon as possible.

Additional trains will be laid on after the event to supplement regular services.

TV

For those of us not going to the game, it’ll be shown by host broadcasters TV3.

Liveblog

But we are heading along and will liveblog the entire night’s action. Join us after Home and Away (we’ll be watching on the laptop in the press area).

For one night only: “Dublin Arena” gets Europa League makeover