college green/ o’connell street plaza and pedestrians
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Re the letter of the woman from the National Council for the Blind: the rights of the entire people of Ireland to have the limited remaining historical heritage of their capital city preserved outweights the needs of a smaller number of blind people to have studs on the pavement at every last crossing. There’s no doubt in my mind what is for the greater good. Maybe if blind people had to actually look at this shit every day, they’d change their tune. While we’re at it, we should dig up the steps leading up to every Georgian building in Dublin so that wheelchair users don’t have problems. And maybe we should pump billions into levelling out sloped streets so that those in wheelchairs don’t have problems. IT’S THE FUCKING REAL WORLD AND YOU’RE DISABLED: GET USED TO IT.
That’s a more than a little harsh – tactile paving could be implemented but the job could be done more sympathetically is the basic point here.
I hope you never suffer from a disability when there are people as sypathetic as you around
@Rory W wrote:
That’s a more than a little harsh – tactile paving could be implemented but the job could be done more sympathetically is the basic point here.
I hope you never suffer from a disability when there are people as sypathetic as you around
+ 1
As Graham said, it’s been resolved elsewhere; there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel or start getting hackles up at this stage in the game. The solutions are old news and should be standard procedure across the board.
(Which is of course exactly what I’ve done with is quote :))
I thought Graham;s main grievance, or the straw that broke the camel’s back, was the use of tactile paving at the entrance to a BoI car park that has only a handful of users every day. I’m not sure if his letter stated that particular occurence or just comprised a general complaint but there is a middle ground where heritage and mobility needs can both be met. As with most things, i’m sure there are blind people in Copenhagen and Vienna etc etc where they don’t destroy the urban fabric for them…
Maybe if blind people had to actually look at this shit every day, they’d change their tune
Jaysus…
@Rusty Cogs wrote:
The pedant in me shall point out that bats have good eyesight, on a par with humans and actually better in low levels of light. However, if the bat in question was shortsighted the fact that he would get about in fog (or any other climatic conditions) using sonar rather than sight would render their myopia as inconsequential to navigating.
(Friday fact for ya 😉
Ah now don’t be getting technical with me – it’s a metaphorical bat which I used for dramatic effect. On the subject of tactile paving – why can’t they use the far superior variety which can be seen in the link above? The blind do need facilities for crossing streets but the ones in the link are far more tasteful and aware of their context than the rubbish used by DCC.
Sorry – it’s hard to make out. That’s one of the most important elevations in the country; the West Front of Trinity. It’s hard to make out behind the trees and LED signage.
Yep, just incredible. It defies reason.
Should anybody hold the slightest doubt that the recent cack-handed treatment of College Green may just be an irrelevant conservation or heritage issue for those who get upset about such matters, amongst the many other developments yet to feature here include this brand new stretch of paving outside Trinity College on College Street. A previously near-straight run of antique granite sweeping around from College Green to the junction with the concrete paving after the pedestrian crossing at the top of the picture, an expanse of historic paving, probably along with the original pedestrian crossing tiles, has since been removed and replaced with modern granite. Why on earth was historic granite not put back?
A miserable scrap of antique granite paving is now left stranded further up. Baffling.
If there is the faintest virtue to this particular mess, it is that the granite chosen here is vaguely rust-toned in the Dublin tradition, if still whiter. I wonder where it was sourced. It could be very attractive used on a large scale such as around the Green or Dawson Street.
But absolutely incredibly, this too, even as good quality modern granite (not that it should be here at all) has been utterly mauled. This was it the evening it was laid with fine, elegant, crisp joints.
This is what was done to it a day later!
I kid you not. Cement strap pointing across the board, including over some of the historic granite.
This is an absolute scandal that public money, invested in expensive public assets, is being completely wasted with the most appalling standards of workmanship. Is this what DCC claims: The quality of the work was monitored and checked and we’re satisfied with the finish on it?
Shocking, shocking stuff. And of course a classic instance of where the visually-impaired’s mobility is, very simply, impaired.
‘Disability improvements’ indeed.
maybe the urban forum could have a “urban crimes top 10 list” and urban crimes tribunal to rival the PTRB that hords tens of millions of tenants deposits….
something along those lines;) they get given awards every year.
If they don’t accept them the site does….http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2009/0801/1224251848790.html
anyway will a master plan come out of this that pleases no one but makes the right call?
i’m enjoying this it…
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2009/0803/1224251928761.html
@missarchi wrote:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2009/0803/1224251928761.html
Paving in Dublin city centre
Madam, – Elaine Howley, of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, understandably highlights mobility concerns of the visually-impaired in the urban environment (July 31st). Any considerate society addresses these needs in a balanced and sympathetic manner, taking account of the requirements of both the individual and any special sensitivities the host context may have.
In the case of College Green, authorities were dealing with historic paving in the most architecturally important urban and civic ensemble in the State – one of the few spaces in Dublin of true European significance. This is a highly sensitive conservation area which demands the very best in design skills and craftsmanship.
English Heritage has outlined a number of ways of dealing with tactile paving in such contexts, stating: “Historic areas are more sensitive to the colour and types of paving used, so the standard red and buff-coloured concrete blistered paviors can often be inappropriate for their surroundings, being in close proximity to buildings of special architectural and historical interest. A sensitive interpretation of the guidance which incorporates both human and environmental needs is required.”
In spite of tactile paving not seemingly being required outside the bank, featuring two minor driveways in a pavement where the visually-impaired have right of way, a number of sensitive options were still available for consideration outside Trinity College. These include the recommended use of brass studs set into the paving or specially textured slabs of contrasting natural stone. In any event, the net benefit of this tactile paving has been cancelled out by the mind-numbing array of newly installed municipal clutter on College Green, which generates unnecessary obstruction for the visually-impaired, as well as markedly degrades the aesthetic quality of the capital’s flagship civic space.
Henry Grattan and Thomas Moore on College Street now stand in pools of tarmac, while both are surrounded by enough poles and traffic signal boxes to wade through the visual chaos like a Venetian gondola. A deliberate Continental design reference no doubt. The magnificent long-lost vista of James Gandon’s former House of Lords portico from College Street also remains concealed by a forest of scrawny trees, a situation that could have been corrected as part of the Bus Gate works. – Yours, etc,
GRAHAM HICKEY,
Dublin Civic Trust,
Castle Street, Dublin 2
Great stuff, Graham. Beats hissy rants on internet message boards, eh? 😉
Thankfully, the Master is otherwise engaged today. He went to observe the Dublin Bus Gate in operation last week. And liked what he saw. “Smoother than a trout’s crotch,” declared He, with a spring in his step. Suitably inspired, He’s gone to battle his way through the masses in Ikea to buy the wherewithal to build His own Beemer Gate. He’s planning to cordon off 14 square miles of north Kildare, from which He’ll ban whomever takes his fancy. As you can imagine, few vehicles will be allowed entry.
I’ve therefore taken advantage of His absence to hack into his laptop. Because I need to set the record straight.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2009/0805/1224252004782.html
where’s the underground carpark?
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2009/0805/1224252003524.html
@Graham Hickey wrote:
Henry Grattan and Thomas Moore on College Street now stand in pools of tarmac, while both are surrounded by enough poles and traffic signal boxes to wade through the visual chaos like a Venetian gondola. A deliberate Continental design reference no doubt. The magnificent long-lost vista of James Gandon’s former House of Lords portico from College Street also remains concealed by a forest of scrawny trees, a situation that could have been corrected as part of the Bus Gate works.
Completely agree x 1,000,000%
Great letter.
Where even the trams pull up symmetrically… And just think what a wirescape would do to that scene.
Aesthetics will always play second fiddle here – I suppose we must just live with it.
Gina Quin’s piece was hardly earth-shattering, but was fair enough as far as it went; to my knowledge, parking in the city centre here is generally free Sat and Sun, to encourage the uses she advocates. But I always despair a bit when transport policy is dictated by the needs of suburban earth-mothers with FOUR weans who all need to be transported at the same time to the same destination for the same purpose in some kind of scaled-down tank. Why?
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