college green/ o'connell street plaza and pedestrians

[StephenC]

The wrap advertising on Doyle pub has also been taken down...assume O'Connell Street followed.

Its a pity DCC interest didnt extend a little farther down Westmoreland Street

[StephenC]

It appears the whole scaffolding is been taken down at College Green to reveal a scrubbed facade.

[StephenC]

Its now a year since the new public lighting scheme project commenced on College Green...a year. I wonder is there an allowance for that?

Meanwhile...

[StephenC]

Doesn't the city's most important public space deserve better?

[Rory W]

Seeing those pics of Dublin from the 80s makes me think how much better College green would look without the trees in it. Perhaps it's just me but didn't a dirty sooty TCD look a little bit more distinguished...

[StephenC]

I see repaving taking place in front of the new Abercrombie & Fitch store. But no increase in the width of the pavement and no doubt all the bike stands and associated clutter will all go back in.

Also, following Graham's comment about, Dubarry's are now refurbishing the adjoining premises.

[StephenC]

Well there was a rash of activity about College Green yesterday but unfortunately the sum of all these parts fails to deliver the quality space we are all seeking.

The scaffold is now down on the former Bank of Ireland building to reveal a pristine facade. The landing to the front of the building has been redesigned to provide a wheelchair ramp and the ornamental lighting to the front is being refurbished. I hear that the store will open in November just in time for the build-up to Christmas

Next door, Dubarry's is under wraps but seems to be getting a buttery yellow paint to the front. I also imagine they will open in November.

While Sierra and Richard Whatshisname are doing the sporadic (and not particularly good quality in my view) pavement works about the city at the moment, including along Dame Street, it was a DCC team that were doing the pavement works in front of the A&F store yesterday. Unfortunately, there is no change to the width of the pavement, no re-alignment at that uncomfortable pinch point in front of Books Upstairs, the random bollards are all being put back in - randomly, no rationalisation of the bus stops. The usual missed opportunity.

DCC Lighting are still tapping away at their lighting scheme...over a year later. Its absolutely ridiculous. I would also hazard a guess that it will remain 'uncompleted'...it looks like a couple of proposed locations have been repaved over (in front of Ulster Bank and in front of Trinity close to the Provost House). Trinity are also still missing their front lamps.

No effort to reduce clutter and acquired crap about the space...phone boxes, telecom cabinets, signage. The trees are still an issue and continue to languish in their ugly tarmac bases...I wonder will they be removed with the Luas works?

Poor old College Green!

[wearnicehats]

for the love of God something must be happening in this city other than footpaths, lighting and signage

Will someone please think of the children

[Morlan]

No doubt DCC won't bother doing any improvements to College Green until the RPA have finished laying down tracks. It'll be a handy excuse for them to delay things for another 5 years. Classic.

Here's a PDF of the alignement.

[Punchbowl]

No doubt DCC won't bother doing any improvements to College Green until the RPA have finished laying down tracks. It'll be a handy excuse for them to delay things for another 5 years. Classic.

Here's a PDF of the alignement.

Again we separate our grandest buildings from the public. There's a potential FOUR crossings there for pedestrians to get from the Bank side of College Green to the Trinity side and very little footpath room at the gates to the college too. Just as it's impossible to get a photo of either St Patrick's or Christchurch cathedrals without being splattered by oncoming traffic, now tourists have to run the Luas gauntlet to get a decent snap of the old school

It has been repeated here many times, but this area should have been pedestrianized and the Luas extension ditched (or a spur down Nassau St and onto Westland Row or whatever)

The only way the Luas is acceptable here is if there's an otherwise total pedestrianization of the Green. Traffic AND Luas PLUS People does not a happy civic space make

[StephenC]

edit

[StephenC]

I take your point wearnicehats. Its only that looking around the city centre, the various pavement works and the few refurbs of buildings on College Green (110 Grafton Street also unveiled last week) seems to be the only show in town.

And as the image about makes clear the potential to create a worldclass civic space on College Green are limited. The various needs of the traffic/rail engineer will prevail. The pedestrian takes a back seat...as it does now. Which I suppose explains why, although the history of College Green is outlined in the new Public Realm Strategy....its future is ignored in the list of projects deriving from the strategy, including:

Trinity to IMMA East-West Route (South Central Area, Traffic)
This project ties together a number of projects at various stages so as to maximise value to the city and improve this key route. Projects already underway include Castle Street public realm works, Thomas Street QBC, Fáilte Ireland public realm funding. There are potential partnerships with the Digital Hub and NCAD.

Note who the deliverer of these proposals is*

I will shut up about pavement works now wearnicehats

[StephenC]

Dubarry Duuubops!

[Paul Clerkin]

Why does that make me think of the H-Block Dirty Protest?

[StephenC]

One of those classical images of College Green doing the rounds on social media yesterday. Its funny to read the following comments of the great unwashed. So many thinking College Green comprise manicured green lawns.

http://www.thejournal.ie/archive-pic-of ... 5-Jan2013/

(sorry cant be bothered with the whole PhotoBucket things to insert the image)

[missarchi]

sin on simmer?

Bank of Ireland building

On a separate historical note, he has a particular interest in the site of the former Irish parliament on College Green, now used by the Bank of Ireland.

“I would like to see a part of it, even, being open for public use. It’s a very big site, an acre-and-a-half altogether, so I think it’s rather unrealistic to expect to acquire the whole site for the State, but certainly the House of Lords would be a very, very attractive venue to get.”

It’s still on his agenda: “At the end of the day, people must realise that it’s in private ownership at the moment.

“It’s a very important part of the bank’s infrastructure but, at the same time, it’s an iconic building.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... 78451.html

[Faddyfish]

I contacted the Council about all the redundant brown finger signage on College Green and Grafton Street via the “report it” feature on their website. A day or two later I got a phone call from the council asking which signs I wanted to remove, so I sent the friendly guy in the roads department some photos and they have now all been removed. The large sign for the ferry remains but perhaps this one is the responsibility of the NRA? It really does not belong there. The large collection behind the Molly Malone statue was particularly bad and they even took away the pole. Anyway, it is a small bit of progress.

There are loads of old brown fingers signs still up around the city that should have been removed since the new wayfinder signs went in so perhaps this method will work elsewhere. I can’t believe why the council is not more proactive in getting out and de-cluttering.

[StephenC]

Well, welldone Faddyfish. A small victory for aesthetics. I had noticed the signage at both College Green and Grafton Street taken down recently and to be just as fair there does seem to have been an effort made to tackle the near saturation of brown finger signs advertising the 'National' Wax Museum and the 'National' Leprechaun Museum.

As you rightly point out there are lots still about and the deal was (and the orders came all the way from the top of Irish Water) that the old signage would be removed by Roads following the roll out of the wayfinder. Aah sure we will get there in the end.

There is still in my view a huge deal of clutter in College Green. The newest eyesores about the city are the skeletal frames of former Smart phoneboxes which now litter many streets. I wonder was a bond taken by DCC at their installation to fund their ultimate removal. Perhaps this is work programmed in for the coming few months.

Little effort made to remove the empty signage poles that litter the place...including College Green. That is really a bridge too far.

[Faddyfish]

Thanks Stephen. Smart Telecom sold their phone boxes a few years back to a company called ipoint.ie that no longer seems to operate. I have mentioned it to a local Councillor to see if they are to be removed. I saw one enterprising retailer in Rathmines remove one from outside his shop with an angle grinder and then bury the cables with some cement!