Galway inner City opinions?

[sqweeve]

Hi everyone.
Im trying to get an idea of what people think of the development in Galway inner City since 1991?
Is there any area/structure which you absolutely hate??
Is there area/structure which you feel has been really well designed?

would really appreciate some opinions Thanks

[rob mc]

Hi everyone.
Im trying to get an idea of what people think of the development in Galway inner City since 1991?
Is there any area/structure which you absolutely hate??
Is there area/structure which you feel has been really well designed?

would really appreciate some opinions Thanks

yea a theres been a few developments in Galway inner city over the years,not much though.

I like the new coach station on forster street,I think its one of the most interesting developments in Galway recently



New development on prospect hill is nice too,especially as that land has been a rubbish pit for as long as i can remember.



And i must say that i really hate eyre square,they could have done so much more with it,it was such a wasted opportunity.

[sqweeve]

thanks alot thats helpful. great pictures!!!

[cgcsb]

What about the Ceannt Station project. Is that still going ahead? CIE seemed pretty jazzed about that. Do they still plan to double track the rail line between Athenry and Ceannt?

[rob mc]

What about the Ceannt Station project. Is that still going ahead? CIE seemed pretty jazzed about that. Do they still plan to double track the rail line between Athenry and Ceannt?

The Athenry and Ceannt line is already under construction,should be finished by the end of the year.

As for the Ceannt station project,I'm not a hundered percent sure but i'd say its pretty much dead in the water, what with the economic crisis and all that.

The new headford shopping centre re-vamp should be starting soon as well.

[Fergal]

There isn't any work ongoing on the line into Ceannt. It could be a long while before any is done too - don't hold your breath.

[cgcsb]

thanks for the info. The double tracking is vital. Too bad about the station quarter though that'd be a huge boost to the economy especially in the construction sector while it's being built

[BTH]

The Coach Station turned out really well. I've been very critical of developments in the Fairgreen area in the past but they really got things right on this one. It's simple, elegant and well detailed - the way good commercial buildings should be.

(I still hate the one across the road where habitat used to be though!!)

[rob mc]

There isn't any work ongoing on the line into Ceannt. It could be a long while before any is done too - don't hold your breath.

Although the track hasn't been put down yet they are already building extensions to the existing bridges around Athenry so id expect the track to be going down pretty soon.

[sqweeve]

and how about the new harbour area that was to be design based on the one in Auckland new Zealand is that on the backburner due to the credit crunch?

[rob mc]

and how about the new harbour area that was to be design based on the one in Auckland new Zealand is that on the backburner due to the credit crunch?

It was supposed to be included with the redevelpment of Ceannt staion, but beacuse of the credit crunch nobody really knows whats gonna happen to it.More than likely it will be delayed for a few years at least.

Heres a link to some info on the development
http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=9512

[Fergal]

Although the track hasn't been put down yet they are already building extensions to the existing bridges around Athenry so id expect the track to be going down pretty soon.

Isn't that for the reopening of the Ennis to Athenry part of the western railway corridor? Double tracking into Ceannt is a separate thing, although it would be great news if that was going ahead.

[mcadesigns]

To be honest, i think the architecture in galway is pretty poor at the moment, in the last 10 years, only three buildings have stood out as a distintive pieces of architecture, like the museum, gmit and the new yeats building by galway city council. i take the points of the previous comments, but i feel that the afore mentioned building are just repetition of the current tread in irish architecture, the coach station was an obvious design for a bus terminal and the development at prospect hill has dundrum shopping centre splattered all over it. i know im going to get lambasted but thats the way i feel. You can go to every major city in europe and see some buildings that take your breathe away, unfortunately no building galway city does that only gmit. During the celtic tiger you would thought that the designs would have be more innovative and cutting edge, but unfortunately, density of units was all that mattered to developers.

[BTH]

the new yeats building by galway city council.

Do you mean the bizarre extension to the Grammar School? Personally I think it's a monstrosity - very slick, well detailed and constructed- but utterly inappropriate for the setting. The Grammar School is such a graceful building and looks to have been well restored but the extension just screams for attention. It's also noticeably taller than the parapet level of the older building - in it's planning the heights were supposed to match up.

Agreed that the general standard of architecture in Galway is poor. Hopefully some new developments like the new NUIG Engineering Building and the proposed Art House cinema will set the bar a bit higher.

[rob mc]

Isn't that for the reopening of the Ennis to Athenry part of the western railway corridor? Double tracking into Ceannt is a separate thing, although it would be great news if that was going ahead.

Actualy i think your right,my apologies

That sucks,the double tracking of that line is long over due,i remember hearing about it a couple of years back and still no sign of it.

[rob mc]

You can go to every major city in europe and see some buildings that take your breathe away, unfortunately no building galway city does that only gmit.

Galway is far from a major city.

Plus you gotta realise that Galway is in a peripheral region and the only city in connacht,which has a low popluation compared to other provinces.Its a wonder there is a city as big as it at all considering all the disadvantages of the area its in.

[cgcsb]

Hate to burst CIE's bubble but I dont think it'll be possible to run a seven train per day per direction service to Limerick, a commuter service to Athenry and have a train every two hours per direction to Dublin all on that short section of single track. that would be very bad for passenger safety .

[mcadesigns]

[quote="BTH"]Do you mean the bizarre extension to the Grammar School? Personally I think it's a monstrosity - very slick, well detailed and constructed- but utterly inappropriate for the setting.QUOTE]

Thats the whole beauty of the design, the contrast between old and new. Imagine if you were a student going into the new building, it kind of draws you in and makes you want to learn. But i agree with you, that it is sometimes hard to get the balance right between old and new. At least they went away from using copper, timber and grey limestone clad......

[rob mc]

Irish Times

A DELAY in the reopening of the €106 million Western Rail Corridor is being anticipated by Irish Rail in spite of a planning appeal being withdrawn against a new train station along the route.

Last year Coen Holdings Ltd lodged an appeal against the decision by Galway County Council to grant planning to Irish Rail to construct a new train station at Gort, with a decision not expected before January 24th.

The reopening of the rail line between Ennis, Co Clare, and Athenry, Co Galway, will allow for the restoration of intercity services between Galway and Limerick and Cork after a gap of 33 years, along with increased commuter services into Galway.

Originally due to be operational in 2008, and more recently to open in the spring, the spokesman said the retendering for the works due to the withdrawal of the planning objection was one of a number of factors leading to the delay in reopening the rail link.

“We are told that line is going to open in the summer, but at the moment we don’t know what part of summer that will be.”

The spokesman said Irish Rail would first see how the line performed before deciding on a proposal to construct a crossing point near the Co Clare village of Sixmilebridge, which would significantly increase capacity on the route.

Five stations, including Gort station, are to be upgraded.

[Fergal]

Hate to burst CIE's bubble but I dont think it'll be possible to run a seven train per day per direction service to Limerick, a commuter service to Athenry and have a train every two hours per direction to Dublin all on that short section of single track. that would be very bad for passenger safety .

The rules for operating that bit of single track are that only one train is allowed in a section at a time - two trains in the same direction is not OK. So the maximum capacity they can squeeze out is one train between Athenry and Galway at a time, max. It takes about 20 minutes to do this distance, so you're really limited to one train arriving, letting passengers on and heading off again every 40 minutes. They might be able to have two trains at the station at the same time, then you could get two arrivals in 20 minutes. And the commuter service to galway is included in those seven services a day you mention, I think.
So they can run the service they're planning, it just won't be a great service. But passenger safety is very unlikely to be an issue.

[cgcsb]

thanks for the info. I still think that it will be very tight and will limit the possibility of future expansion of services.

[Global Citizen]

Difficult to make out too much detail from this image although it has to be an improvement on the existing mess. But whats with that protruding watchtower to the left (north) of the complex?
Across the road from here is the Headford Road Retail Park. A concoction of ghastly warehouse style shop facades surrounding a carpark with a Mc Drive Thru in the middle. The place is a momument to the lack of imagination on all those involved with its existence. It would be difficult to fuck it up any further.
To my mind the place is a wasted opportunity for a site that had much greater potential given its proximity to the heart of Galway city. SHAME.
Anyway back to the Galway Shopping Centre over the road. As I said, is difficult to tell but it looks a lot better than what is there now.
Whoever compiled the image got one thing spot on - The high volume of traffic approaching the Headford rd roundabout is one constant that will always be with us.

[rob mc]

Difficult to make out too much detail from this image although it has to be an improvement on the existing mess. But whats with that protruding watchtower to the left (north) of the complex?
Across the road from here is the Headford Road Retail Park. A concoction of ghastly warehouse style shop facades surrounding a carpark with a Mc Drive Thru in the middle. The place is a momument to the lack of imagination on all those involved with its existence. It would be difficult to fuck it up any further.
To my mind the place is a wasted opportunity for a site that had much greater potential given its proximity to the heart of Galway city. SHAME.
Anyway back to the Galway Shopping Centre over the road. As I said, is difficult to tell but it looks a lot better than what is there now.
Whoever compiled the image got one thing spot on - The high volume of traffic approaching the Headford rd roundabout is one constant that will always be with us.

A LOT better

before:
http://www.harcourtdevelopments.com/images/galway.jpg

After:
http://www.galwaynews.ie/sites/files/galwaynews/imagecache/Main/sites/files/galwaynews/images/x4_New_look_Shopping_Centre.jpg

Check out this site if you wanna see better pictures:
http://www.lsharch.co.uk/portfolio_retail_mixed_gal.htm

[rob mc]

Galway Independent.

The Galway transportation Unit has unveiled an ambitious plan for 2009, which includes the progression of the Galway outer-bypass and improvements to the bus service,they also want to have the N6 from Athlone to Ballinasloe finished this year and Ballinasloe to Galway finished in 2010.

Many other road projects are to be included in the project including a motorway from gort to tuam and from tuam to Galway, as Galway city coucil has recieved one of the largest road allocations in the country under the national roads plan 2009.

[rob mc]

Galway Independent

GLUAS the proposed light rail system for galway will go ahead despite the recession. The GLUAS working group have said that the project was designed with the recession in mind.Cllr O'Brolchain will be meeting minister dempsey soon to discuss the funding for the project.

Not so sure about this one myself.