Grafton Street, Dublin

Thanks Alonso. I must have a look for some sort of draft version of it on the Dublin City Council website.

thanks again. Must say though that I am not completely oppossed to cars in city centres. Sometimes, and I really do mean sometimes, cars can add something to the centre of a city. In reality though, the car has been allowed to dominate for too long. What I would hate to see happen is for a whole area to become pedestrian friendly, but because of this areas not in this area become completely dominated by car traffic. If you see what I mean?

They would probably be below the proscribed dimensions so would constitute exempt development

There does however appear to be a wider commercialisation strategy at City level and there doesn’t appear to have been a lot of discussion on this which is a pity because a balanced regulatory regime on commercialisation would be a real win win scenario!!

As promised (taken on 20.vii.07):

@PVC King wrote:

They would probably be below the proscribed dimensions so would constitute exempt development

PVC King, Ctesiphon, I first noticed these ads yesterday and thought they were fly-posters at first. Funny eh?

I don’t mind the design of the bins – in fact, I quite like them – but I have problems with their capacity, the number of them, their appropriateness in historic settings and their advertising potential.

So, one out of five ain’t bad.

These bins are now cropping up with advertisements outside the GPO. What a farce.
Forget regulating private property – DCC can’t even contain their own departments in an ACA/SPAC.

It’s also notable that the bin model popping up in other areas like the Coombe is decidely more attractive than the yokes being imposed on the city centre,

© Hartecast

There’s no doubting the city centre model’s efficiency and ease of use on a fast-paced street, but I cannot agree on the quality of design – I think it’s awful. Nit-picky perhaps, but the bag should not be on display, and the gun metal is lifeless and drab. The casting of the bin also has an unpleasant plasticy quality that looks cheap and slapdash. The above one manages to improve on this aspect also.

they remind me of a key ring for some reason … I’d agree Graham that the Cork St. version is better, the problem is one size doesn’t fit all, why they saw fit to remove the IAP O’Connell St. bins is beyond me.

I’ve noticed a fairly nasty third bin type that appears to be part of this scheme popping up in the DCC suburbs, you could slit your rist on the crude slot thats provided to insert the litter.

Just a few of the O’Connell Street ones have been replaced, but just enough to upset the balance, and many of course right outside the GPO. This is very annoying, not only because of how awful they are, and the visual clutter created, but also because they’re replaced one of the few decent pieces of the street furniture that was introduced as part of the IAP. The brushed steel bins are so smart – they look great simply in their own right, whatever about actually serving a function. Indeed I’ve even seen a few people taking photographs of them.

It’s also frustrating how the one-siize-fits-all approach is being rolled out across the city with these new yokes; by any logic the same model is not going to be suitable for all locations, let alone such a frumpy design as this. Again joined-up thinking given a back seat.

Having spent almost 12 months travelling abroad I had a stroll down Grafton Street today for the first time in as many months. I have to say I was highly impressed with the improvements relating to the quality of new shops on the street: Karen Millan, Sisley, TopMan, Ted Baker (soon), Swarovski Jewellers and Rocks Jewellers to name but a few. News today that Tommy Hilfigger is to open a large store on the street is to be welcomed as well. Of course, yet ANOTHER mobile phone shop (3 Ireland) had opened on the street, but you can’t have everything I guess?

However, what struck me most were the understated, and often elegant designs of the shop fronts of all the new premises. Even many current retailers on the street, such as Next, Pamela Scott, Wallis, The Loft Cafe, The Bus Stop newsagents towards the south of the street, and Fitzpatrick’s shoes had all introduced new, sleek, and reasonably eye-pleasing shop front designs within the past year.

I know the Grafton Street area was designated some sort of Architectural Conservation Area several months ago by the Council with a view to improving street and shop front design, as well as the street’s tenants. I’m glad to say that it appears to be working.

What I was most disappointed with, however, was those awful new bins, I’d seen pictures of them on this thread already, but the pictures don’t seem to do justice to their horridness. While they JUST about fit in on Henry Street, they look absolutely disgusting and TOTALLY out of place in the Grafton Street and St. Stephen’s Green Area. They also seem to have been literally flung down randomly all over the city. And why in God’s name have they replaced the lovely silver ones on O’Connell Street? I really would love to know what the Council were thinking. Then again, they never do seem to think much do they?