Luas Road surface.

1) The surface between the rails depends on whether vehicular traffic is allowed to drive on or cross the rails. For some roads (Middle Abbey St.) a breakdown in the single lane will mean cars will have to drive on the rails to pass; some roads will allow driving along the rails for access only. You can see a great example on Steeven’s Lane; from St. John’s Road there are cobbles, which turn into tarmac in a nice curve out from the hospital. I can imagine idiots trying to race trams along there.

2) I’ve seen the construction process on Parkgate Street since it started, and there are about 20 ducts underneath the rails for services. Besides, I can’t imagine the kind of contractor that fills in a hole in cobbles with tar would be capable of working on a railway line.

Does anyone know the legal position regarding repairs made to roads? The roads around Smithfield, Liffey Street and St. James’s gate look like tarmac patched with cobbles at this stage, but I’ve never seen a bad repair around Grafton Street.

I always find the ‘throw a piece of lumpy asphalt in a hole and leave it’ as particulary Irish.

As Irish, as the saying ‘ah sure it’ll do rightly!’ ‘Are ye mad or what?’

Once down the thing is left there until someone makes the first compo claim. What it does for the appearance of the fair city!

Can anyone explain why the once semi open sides of the existing bridge on the SCR Rialto (which LUAS will one day pass under) was altered by the placing and setting of a continuous and high corrugated concrete finish that really has visually destroyed the old bridge – they stick out like sore thumbs along both sides of the bridge.

Its to stop the local scumbags from shorting the powerlines to run the system and electrocuting themselves in the process (although maybe the latter would be a positive side effect). But you are absolutely right, it destroys the old bridge.

EL ARCHITINO has a more aesthetic architectonic solution to this problem, one which will not have any negative side effects on the bridge in question; sterilise the poor.

EL ARCHTITINO feels that, this approch can be taken in order to increase the beauty of many urban environments and will undoubtedly result in better world for architectural expression.

this conceptual project will be entered in next years sterling prize along with results from field testing.

The track construction allows for cross feeds of services as it can span up to 1.5 m but new services have been laid parallel to the lines which should minimise th erequirement to cross the alignment. The ducts under the track contain some services such as comms cables but most are reserved for Tram related cables. Digging up of the surface within the tram path will be prohibited.

As for the bridge at Rialto the parapets have been provided mainly to prevent road vehicles, which could collide with the parapets, ending up on the tracks below, hence the massive concrete sections. I agree that its ugly and could have been done in a more appropriate way.

JJ

There had to be a more appropriate way ….the massive concrete sections are horrendous one would not see them outside the US embassy in Baghdad !!

The first (I think) of the Luas platforms is being laid to the rear of the Jervis Centre.

Its raised 1 foot from the road level and is edged in stone slabs with those studded grip slabs set in behind the stone, like a railway platform.

Very attractive as it doubles as a fancy pavement.

But I wonder will they have the good sense to resurface the traffic lanes on Harcourt Srteet and the green prior to the opening of the Luas – this would make sense…

ive heard of a good few people who have come off their bikes at various points around the city becaues of the new luas rails, how is this not the case in other european cities which have trams and heavy bicycle use?
different track design?

well if you don’t try and cycle along them….. a view from Toronto

http://www.p45blogs.net/northern_disclosure/archives/000024.html

Have just returned from Toronto and am a huge fan of their streetcar system. It’s quaint, but reliable, fast and fun – everything mass transit should be. However, if Luas followed the Toronto model, I think the bodies would be piling up on the streets within hours.
I’m not sure how Luas will interact with other traffic, but the streetcars seem to rely on a combination of road manners and pedestrian cop-on, qualities in short supply on the streets of Dublin at the moment. In Toronto, where there are no mid-street stops, you have to hail the streetcars down from the side of the road, cross out into the traffic, which has to stop for you, and then repeat the process when you are leaving by the (automatic) back door.
There are small notices to be careful of oncoming traffic and motorists just have to exercise a little caution and consideration.
It works like a dream. Like the rest of the city.
I should add that Torontonians thing their traffic is hectic, but I think sounding the horn counts as road rage there…