Reply To: Another history question

Believe it or not, the completion of the widening of Bridgefoot Street (the bit nearest the Liffey) is in the transport objectives of the new draft Development Plan 2005-11. This was begun in the early ’70s as part of the now discredited Inner Tangent scheme.

It’s pointless to widen that street now cos you would also have to widen Thomas Court, the one that runs down the side of St. Catherine’s Church, which was part of the original plan. And that’s not going to be done now cos people live in the houses.

But the main reason why it shouldn’t be widened is that it would destroy the urban context of Mellowes (Queen Street) Bridge, the oldest and most hump-backed bridge on the Liffey. Currently, the streets leading off to each side line up with the bridge. This is very rare in Dublin now. So many bridge junctions have been blasted open by street widening or ruined by bad new buildings that the Mellowes Bridge context is really worth hanging onto.
An taisce dublin are trying to get this objective removed from the new draft Development Plan.