D’Olier & Westmoreland St.

@hutton wrote:

before the planners directed Sam

And what about the first time round – the opposite was the case!

Some great images – that’s interesting about the 3-bay buildings, why go for just two 3-bayers at the end of the terrace?
Also interesting to note that despite this, the regular chimney placement is still maintained over the buildings.

I find the regular chimneys the most striking feature of all WSC development – they helped not only to enliven the roofscape and looked visually pleasing, they also demarcated each property from the whole. The view of O’Cll St’s rooftops from here was always impressive, esp at that raking angle.
Also nice to see the corner there with College St and the shopfront wrapping round.

You can also make out the time dropping ball on the roof of what is now Ballast House 🙂

Here’s a view of D’Olier St from c1900 where you can at least see the irregular make-up of the buildings, whatever about detail, including the big stone building in the middle. Note that even the terraces on either side of it aren’t the same:

WestMorland St 🙂 is part of the IAP area, but was given little attention as one might expect really in the O’Connell St IAP.

What little that was drawn up envisages D’Olier St lined with an avenue of trees along the edges of the existing/widened pavements, while Westmoreland St is more up in the air because of the Luas proposal. Presumably until this is sorted, little will happen on this street.

What was drawn up shows Luas using the eastern side of the thoroughfare with no trees here as a result, a large platform outside the Westin, and the western (Bewley’s) pavement widened with trees running along its edge, along with suggestions for coordinated street furniture etc.

Personally I’d like to see Westmoreland St maintaining its existing layout, but made into a grand avenue with a rigid planting of trees along widened pavements.
Assuming the Luas does not come this way, it could be one of the most successful avenues in Europe with its impressive dimensions, absolutely no clutter in the centre, and only the single break of Fleet St to disrupt things a little.

Yes it has great potential – it’s crucial that it loses its motorway-like status and is turned into a proper city street where pedestrians hold sway.

Yes – almost like a rolling country estate 🙂
Often wanted to have a wander around the Provost’s tranquil gardens – must be the most desirable (and expensive) back yard in the country!

Interesting to see the rear of the screen walls of the BoI – one of the most well-worn shams in the book I know, but never fails to fascinate all the same.
And look at how fine the BoI-to-Fleet stretch of buildings on Westmoreland St is without those trees – looks like they’re lining a street in Belfast!

WSC = Wide Streets Commission

Yes, just left of centre at the top of the image there. You can catch a glimpse of them when walking between the Old Library and the Arts Block.

The Wide Streets Commission was a body of influential and ‘enlightened’ 🙂 individuals which had great power in dictating the shape of 18th century Dublin, and to a lesser degree the 19th century city – spanning from 1757 through till about 1849-51 or so (always forget the latter date).

Dublin centre traffic ban could aid retailers
Arthur Beesley, Senior Business Correspondent

Traffic should be banned from Westmoreland Street, one of Dublin’s main thoroughfares, in order to boost the city’s retail business in the face of growing competition from out-of-town centres, according to a report commissioned by Dublin City Council.

The report by property consultants Bannon Commercial said that the creation of pedestrian-only zone on the street would make it easier for shoppers to move between the main retail centres on Grafton Street and Henry Street.

Bannon listed the recommendation among a second strand of measures which should follow an initial series of efforts to stimulate the retail trade in the city centre.

Dublin City Council has already adopted some of the first phase measures, including efforts to encourage developers to make “larger floorplate” units available on Grafton Street and surrounding streets. The council also wants to see more leisure and night-time activities available in the Henry Street.

The report was commissioned last year, amid increasing concern about the quality of retailers now on Grafton Street and concern that a major portion of the money spent by city centre shoppers was “leaking” to other retail locations.

It said recent changes in Dublin’s traffic management had substantially reduced the traffic on Westmoreland Street, noting that its dimensions create the opportunity for a large scale public space between the two retail main retail zones.

“Removing all the traffic from Westmoreland Street will open up substantial redevelopment opportunities on the eastern side of the street where a number of large scale potential development plots are currently in office use.”

Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald said this recommendation was “aspirational”, but added that the council would be considering the future use of Westmoreland Street once its efforts to boost Grafton Street and Henry Street were further advanced. “It would be much too early to suggest that that’s going to be the logical outcome of it,” he said.

The discussion would depend on traffic issues, the likely footfall on the street and the location of the linkage between the two Luas lines. A Government decision on this point is likely in the autumn.

One possibility under consideration is that the Sandyford Luas line would join O’Connell Street from St Stephen’s Green, via Westmoreland Street. If adopted, this proposal would have a major impact on traffic levels on the street and the scope to increase pedestrian access.

The report does not mention the Luas, but makes clear the challenge facing retailers in the city and the “opportunity” to redress the balance.

“From a position of limited competition before the development of the the Square in Tallaght in 1990, Dublin city centre now represents less than half of the significant retail offer in the Dublin area,” it said.

“A key goal of the growth of the city in the longer term must be to reinforce the linkage across the city. Re-invigorated shopping zones north and south of the city, if combined to a single shopping trip, will prove very difficult for any other shopping proposal to match.” Bannon said the council should remove retail services from the list of normally permitted uses on the two main shopping streets.

Mr Fitzgerald said the council was reluctant to intervene in the market but said such action may be justified. “If there’s a demonstrative requirement to intervene in the market through the planning process, then I think it’s the job of local government to do that to whatever extent we can.”

© The Irish Times

QED I would have thought? I wonder what sort of strategy will come out of all this deliberating by the CC.

It would be pretty easy to get rid of all private cars from Westmoreland Street between the Westin Hotel and O’Connell Bridge.
Getting on to Westmoreland Street directly from Pearse Street, Nassau Street and George’s Street is already banned.
So once the Port Tunnel opens [and the trucks are gone] all remaining cars could be sent up to Christchurch and around onto the north quays.
This would leave the area available only to taxis and buses. It would make the traffic worse around the Christchurch area but apart from that, I wouldn’t foresee any other difficulties.
Full pedestrianisation would, in my view, be extremely difficult and probably counter-productive for Westmoreland Street.
If Luas is to travel down this way, I guarantee this will be what happens with only limited access for private cars to some of the multi-storeys.

so again, what needs to be done is to have huge pedestrian crossings, in other words synchronize the traffic lights so that the whole area is clear in one go so you can cross anywhere, not just at crossing points.