Dublinspirations
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DUBLINSPIRATIONS
A new report by An Taisce’s Dublin City Association says Dublin needs a full draught of the imagination that mayor Ken Livingstone brought to London if it is to improve the quality of life in the city.
However, the voluntary environmental body said that a little inspiration and a radical approach to planning could transform the streets of Dublin and add to sucesses such as the O’Connell St. Plaza and the Spire.
The report – ‘Dublinspirations’ – suggests a range of measures designed to ‘green’ Dublin city, including mandatory roof gardens, a clampdown on visual clutter, and a rethink on the Phoenix Park.
“Imagination and innovation are needed in our thinking and planning if the city is to build on the promising start that it has made at regeneration in the last ten years,†said Kevin Duff.
Dublin without the Phoenix Park would be one of the least green cities in Europe, says the report. There should be a concerted effort to create new parks in the city centre, or at least an inventory to identify potential parks.
Initiatives such as the obligatory provision of roof gardens in new developments are also proposed.
It includes graphic visions of how the Quays could look if afforested and how the Phoenix Park could comprehend outdoor swimming facilities and even a beach, along the lines of the Paris Beach project.
Dublinspirations suggests the need for a strategy to regulate and minimise the profusion of visual clutter that has degraded many streets and spaces.
It also calls for an improvement in public transport, the creation of a “truly cycle-friendly city†and measures to improve the lot of pedestrians.
Dublinspirations is available from An Taisce, The Tailors’ Hall, Back Lane, Dublin 8, Tel: (01) 4541786.
It got a piece in the Irish Times property supplement on Thursday. Their picture editor had requested two pictures from us – a ‘before and after’ of College Green without & with clutter – to go with the piece, which I sent. But they only used the ‘after’ pic in the end. Here’s the ‘before’ (late 19th century view):
Sounds very interesting. Is there a charge for the report? I looked on the antaisce website nd there’s no mention(!). Would love to read more.
Extraordinary how our field of vision has diminished in 120 years 🙂 And who do those people think they are cluttering the place up like that?!
Francis Firth took a similar ghostly photo a little later in the 1890s – the difference is certainly marked even taking into account pedestrians. And today it’s a view you often don’t see beacause of the buses parked/pulling up on Grafton St.
At least decent traffic signals are going in at the moment in place of the terrible old ones – here’s hoping the sequencing will be tweaked too.It sounds like a very interesting report – I’d like to get hold of it too.
Yes Graham, a narrower view, but taken from roughly the same spot. The trees are also excluded as examples of ‘clutter’.
Ye can have a copy of the report by calling in to The Tailors’ Hall, which is opposite Mother Redcap’s pub in Christchurch, and picking one up – there’s no charge. Or if you’re not convenient to the city centre, phone or email – info@antaisce.org – and request one to be sent to you (save postage by calling in!).
Lotts, it should be in Press Releases in the website now (it may have been missing over the weekend).
And another mention for it in todays Independent…so plenty of good publicity. A response from the City Manager or Lord Mayor would be very interesting.
Yes the piece by John S Doyle in the Indo was very nice 🙂
Think the Lord Mayor’s too busy with the Save Bewley’s campaign (bah!).
Street sign clutter in rural areas was a top story on BBC news this morning. They showed a bend in the road, that was marked by 20 signs each with yellow backgrounds. Here’s a link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/04/nclut04.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/04/ixhome.html
I was surprised but pleased that this was newsworthy.
On the subject of street furniture clutter in Dublin and College Green, here’s a 3d viz of Dame Street without street furniture.
The trees are also excluded as examples of ‘clutter’
I think in College Green’s case the trees are ‘clutter’ … they manage to block views of trinity from dame street and the bank of ireland from grafton street – they’re just in the wrong place, dividing what is quite a large space and sure grattan might as well not be there at all.
As far as i know they are london plane’s … not a good idea to plant plane trees in a group …
I agree trees have a place but on vistas that have a t-junction type pattern that they generally constitute clutter and in this case the architectural quality is so high that the buildings need no embelishment.
The Ulster Bank looks particularly stark in that image, does it normally blend into the streetscape better?
No, it really does look that bad from this location – just usually there’s buses blocking the view.
That’s about the only decent thing the trees here do too, they hide the view of the Ulster Bank from College St.Agreed that the trees are inappropriate for the location; they aren’t needed. Saying that, the row of three of the same that run along the entrance to Grafton St in front of Fox’s look well I think – and they add a pleasant maturity to the area.
An interesting view you’ve posted there Frank – whatever about the absence of all forms of life :), how the vista up to Trinity is opened up is quite impressive. It’s always something of a let-down in the summer when you look up from Dame St and all you see is a giant bush of leaves hovering over the slight mound at the entrance to College Green, concealing Trinity.
The potential for a piazza-like space here is blatently evident – so much so it appears as if the place was originally planned as such, like one of the great squares of St Petersburg, a city from which I’ve often thought the West Front could have been plucked right out of – got a lovely eastern European feel to it.
If the trees are ever removed, the problems with Grattan’s monument will truly become apparent – there’s some serious cracking going on with the plinth that needs attention.
Also two replicas of the famous seahorse lampposts should definitely be cast for the site to replace the two that were removed from what I can gather in the 40s/early 50s. Then again, surely even then they wouldn’t have been thrown out or dumped, they would’ve been quite valuable. They must be kicking around somewhere, either in a Corpo yard or someone’s back garden more likely :rolleyes:
There should be some record as to what happened to them…Im sure I remember there being 4 lamps here in the 1980s. Maybe I am wrong. Agreed Grattan (and Moore) need some TLC and perhaps they are next on the list. Im not sure what is going on with the Davitt monument as work started, then stopped even though the OPW announced it would be completed by spring.
There is so much cluter in this area. They very least that can be done is a reduction (elimination) of the street signage and the installation of some new lighting. Im not entirely tured off by the trees but if they go it should be in the context of the whole Green being pedestrianised. I would hate to see the area devoid of greenery though….. it being a Green and all.
Agreed about the need for greenery – of a lower level though, and of a kind that flanks the space rather than dominates it.
The lampposts definitely disappeared before the 80s. Lots of pics depict them as such – indeed there’s loads of interesting pics of College Green from the olden days worthy of posting – must dig some out…
@Peter FitzPatrick wrote:
I think in College Green’s case the trees are ‘clutter’ … they manage to block views of trinity from dame street and the bank of ireland from grafton street …
I know they do. But they were excluded for the purposes of our report, which just looked at the need to reduce and coordinate the mess of signage, electricity boxes, flagpoles and other items in the city streets and spaces.
I think the late-19th century ‘before’ photo makes all the argument necessary for the way College Green should look now (with people of course 🙂 )
The bollards around Grattan look nice in the above photo…such a wealth of detailed street furniture. .we’ll never see the like of it again!
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