Wide Streets Commission

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The Wide Streets Commission was established by Dublin Corporation in 1757 as a body to govern standards on the layout of streets, bridges, buildings and other architectural considerations.

Over the following decades, the commission reshaped the old medieval city of Dublin, and created a network of main thoroughfares by wholescale demolition or widening of old streets or the creation of entirely new ones.

One of the first projects was to widen Essex Bridge (now Grattan Bridge), in 1755 to cope with the traffic congestion caused by human, horse drawn, and bovine traffic crossing the River Liffey from Capel Street. The building of Parliament Street and the Royal Exchange, now Dublin City Hall to create a vista from across the river Liffey on Capel Street soon followed.

Other major initiatives included the effort to merge and widen several narrow streets into one new street on Dublin's northside, creating Sackville Street (now called O'Connell Street).

Dame Street, College Green, Christchurch and George's Street are also the result of the project of widening Georgian Dublin's congested streets.