Pedestrianise College Green for 2016

[gezdub]

Well the Americans have pedestrianised the area for us.. does anyone else think the removal of traffic light was a tad over the top?

[missarchi]

Thanks for the photos!
The obama treatment?
No doubt we will get some monumental photos shortly...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... 47770.html

http://www.celtcia.com/obama/obama%20college%20green%20dublin%20ireland.jpg

[Peter Fitz]

It's beyond embarrassing.

Indeed it is, all the more frustrating that it could be sorted out in a matter of minutes. Who in DCC has direct authority over this area?

[StephenC]

I would suggest a quick email from interested parties to the City Architect suggesting that now all the clutter is down it stays down. The trees are much more problematic and they cant just be chopped. I imagine DCC would baulk at the public reaction. The trees can only come down in the context of a design for the space...and unfortunately that wont happen with the proposed RPA works for Luas BXD (incidentally look closely at the plans - Luas F to Lucan is likely to result in a triangular shunting arrangement slap bang in the centre of College Green so any suggested minimal inpact is likely to be quickly dispelled if both plans go ahead. You can way goodbye to College Green as a civic space).

What can be acted upon is the unnecessary clutter and perhaps getting some new smarter street lighting installed such as the columns found at the GPO. But if you never ask...you never get. Guaranteed no one in the Civic Offices is thinking about this.....

cityarchitects@dublincity.ie

or maybe Ali Grehan's personal email....or is that cheeky?

[GrahamH]

Fully agreed. The Parks Department still have control over the planting Peter, but ultimately it's a planning and managerial decision about removing them...

Current scenes at Christchurch Place. Crowds are slowing winding their way through myriad cattle herding barriers on Lord Edward Street, while those accessing from Werburgh Street are being allowed intermitant access in large groups via Castle Street.











Great atmosphere, and thankfully the weather has improved.

[Peter Fitz]

The trees are much more problematic and they cant just be chopped. I imagine DCC would baulk at the public reaction. The trees can only come down in the context of a design for the space...and unfortunately that wont happen with the proposed RPA works for Luas BXD (incidentally look closely at the plans - Luas F to Lucan is likely to result in a triangular shunting arrangement slap bang in the centre of College Green so any suggested minimal inpact is likely to be quickly dispelled if both plans go ahead. You can way goodbye to College Green as a civic space).

What can be acted upon is the unnecessary clutter and perhaps getting some new smarter street lighting installed such as the columns found at the GPO. But if you never ask...you never get. Guaranteed no one in the Civic Offices is thinking about this.....

Sadly true Stephen, I disagree on the trees however - I doubt they feature much in the public consciousness given their random positioning, relative youth and poor condition. The public reaction to the removal of the O'Connell Street planes, arguably the most prominent urban trees anywhere in Dublin was relatively muted. Fully agreed that in an ideal world their removal should happen as part of a coherent redesign of the entire space, but that is unfortunately years away with seemingly no realisation or determination in DCC to treat the place as anything other than a home for every type of galvanised pole known to man.

So in the short term; remove the trees, repave the islands, reclaim the vistas.

[missarchi]

looks like college green is stuck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKym-Zi3mOQ

[StephenC]

I see Sierra and Co back in there quick as a flash. Signage going back up this morning.

[missarchi]

Wow that was fast hope people got some photos!
It just shows you speed bumps can stop anyone... (except a monster truck)
Obama did mention green things... and Kenny's speech was powerful.
It would have been the perfect speech opportunity to reclaim the bank...
Which bank?

[Morlan]

Thanks for the pics, Graham. What building did you get access to to obtain such lovely shots?

For all reading this, someone has uploaded some parts of the film "Irish Destiney" from 1926. You must check out the old shots of Dublin and College Green. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_PHkfQVvvU

And some old pics of Irish emigrants here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5MCRFFEVXU

[missarchi]

wires...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... ing31.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... 39067.html

[missarchi]

the future of Ireland...
count the bicycle lanes...



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[StephenC]

and check out the new pavement lines...in green
and note the connection for a future Line F...bye bye Mr Grattan and his lamps
and note only minimal intervention with all those trees we so love
and check out the "cool" delineating with brass strip of the disused toilets beside Mr Moore (who thought of that one!)
and finally, mots of you are design professionals....just imagine the awful awful mess that will ensue here if all that the RPA want comes to pass

The oral hearing continues....

[PVC King]

RPA = Ruin Prevailing Architecture


Have they given any credible explanation for non-inclusion of a third rail as per Bordeaux? With a €3bn white elephant in the soon to be completely binned Metro North they can't exactly raise cost as an issue.......

[missarchi]

I think the issue they have is white stuff snow.
Heated rails?
I wonder what ice does...

[PVC King]

Are you trying to suggest that Luas with overhead wires worked during recent white outs? How many service interuptions, suspensions etc were there?

In contrast TfL managed to operate virtually the entire tube network the majority of which is above ground and all on a third rail system on the ground....

[missarchi]

The agency has submitted photographs of similar lines in France, which utilise underground power supplies, where snow falls have caused the network to close.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... ing31.html

Anyway if they make metro north third rail two they might be able to share the stock...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... king1.html

[PVC King]

All Luas services have been suspended until 5.30am because the level of snow on sections of the track is causing faults in some trams. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... king5.html

This is a complete red herring and more evidence of the RPA selecting the easy engineering solution and ignoring all other concerns; the senior management at this agency need to go as this is the last straw of mendacity in another attmept to spin themselves away from yet another unacceptable decision.

I am amazed they just didn't say their reasons were that they considered it but that supplier of the product deemed it too 'commercially sensitive to release'

[Morlan]

Bit of dodgy Photoshop I did. You get the gist.

[missarchi]

it's all part of the plan!
So it's pivot or nothing?

[jimg]

Bit of dodgy Photoshop I did. You get the gist.

An even cruder attempt to give it the gunter treatment:

[StephenC]

What are all those dot things getting in the way of the buses?

[Peter Fitz]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/fro ... 92083.html

???

[PVC King]

I think that image looks great; I don't think it is fully acheivable as this will need to be a Luas route but the space it would create would create a really really great space. On the subject of number 2 I am at a loss as to why the Bank needs to change use to a museum. To put this area into context the building with Starbucks was Dolmen Securities, BoI had their HQ until the 1970's , AIB's constituent banks had major offices there, the Stock Exchange is around the corner, the Central Bank was down the Street. This was Dublin's commercial core as distinct from retail core. Looking at Bank in London no one ever suggests that the Bank of England should up sticks to turn the Old Lady into a museum.

I fear a real danger of getting fixated on a project that is not deliverable and missing the real prize which is the urban space in the image; to give Dublin an urban space of this scale and quality would be the real winner.

Imagine diverting all Westmoreland Street trraffic originating in Pearse Street up D'olier Street and terminating all traffic from Dame Street at Trinity Street which would be a trickle if there was no through route to OCS. This would give a huge virtually pedestrianised corridor from George's Street to O'Connell Street save as to Luas. That is the real prize, the public have access to number 2 Monday through Friday which should be extended to Saturdays at this branch. Why kill a real prize with an unfundable pipe dream?

[Maskhadov]

I see the Irish times has 2 articles outlining the backing to pedestrianise college green & plans to become a GREAT SQUARE :

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/wee ... 74128.html

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... tml?via=mr