Re: Re: Welcome to Ireland’s ugly urban sprawl
Kefu the major flaw in that calculation is that so much of Dublin is outside the M50 and very little development is occuring inside the M50 unlike London where densities are much higher. I have a freind who is an insurance assesor who regularly travels to London, all the assessors there don’t have company cars, they use the Tube to visit the subject properties. Here my mate will use his car to assess houses in Ballsbridge, why? Because that is the mentality here, where everything is reflected in the desire for immediate personal convenience, that would be fine except that this model is in crisis, traffic is a disaster because there simply isn’t the space in the urban core to accomodate it.
The problem is that as opposed to admitting that the model is flawed the government here has proceeded to build more roads to give a 3-5 year fix. This is further compounded by local authorities in neighbouring Counties granting planning for low density housing estates at the edge of their towns on the basis that there are few traffic problems within their functional area and because they are in a position to supply the demand from Dubliners who aspire to home ownership.
This model would be fine if the developments were higher density and located on important transport corridors such as rail lines, but they are not in most cases. The real problem is not the housing but the traffic that it generates when all these commuters converge on the Cities outskirts at motorway junctions at peak hours. This in turn generates public frustration which in turn translates into political pressure, the politicians in needing to be seen to do something have to be seen to do something.
This requirement to deliver any solution has led to some of the worst transport planning decisions in the History of modern European planning, the Hill of Tara and the refusal to move a roundabout at Carrickmines were entirely preventable. But the Minister involved refused to listen to professional advice and destroyed National monuments for quick fix solutions.
What is required now is that the National Spatial Strategy be implemented, the strategic planning guidelines designated the area where the M3 services as a ‘set aside’ area i.e. one where only development consistent with local needs was to be accomodated.
If it takes an hysterical english newspaper article to point out how far off the path we have gone, we really are in worse trouble than I thought.
The platform for change document published by the DTO is a comprehensive solution to Dublin’s transport provision going forward, it could have provided a system for commuters to get to work quickly, in a comfortabe and stress free manner. It had the potential to secure an extensive rejuvination of the City with many new transport corridors created densities could have increased dramatically. Typical Europeans use the train/bus to commute and their cars in the evenings and weekends that is not an option for most people here. Our infrastructure means that most must use the car for everything. Planning on the continent works better becasue population profiling and behaviour modeling is part and parcel of strategic planning models
Instead badly planned development has occured because the planners allowed substandard development in places that were not capable of providing sustainable development. But suceeded on the basis of low price property returns on minimal site cost.
Developers do not supply market demand as desired by the market, they supply what the planners give them permission to erect.
