O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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Havent seen the completed street in person yet but from the DCC traffic cameras I seems that the upper end has no cycle lanes, while of course the lower end has no cycle lanes between the bridge and Abbey Street and the odd inside lane (never used except by the utterly insane) between Abbey St and the Plaza. Plenty of places to part your bike though….preferably permanently (It always amazes me how many people seem to leave their bikes attached to stands/poles for weeks on end….don’t they use them?)
Thomond Park wrote:I noted from RTE that cycling facilities are an issue]Was the event you are referring to well advertised and attended?
Saw it on the news but heard nothing about it before hand and given the number of tourists in that part of the City at this time of the year it is hard to tell if the people there were there by accident or design. Still never one to knock a street party particularly family orientated ones as that type of event is what seperates a good from a boring city.
Thanks Stephen.
I would like to have gone, but didn’t hear anything about it.
If people think that the street is woeful now after it ‘s got its multi-million euro makeover….imagine how it was before the revamp. It was really really bad.
Don’t blame all the Dubs either for the litter problem…..Dublin is a melting pot of all peoples; rich and poor, young and old, good and bad, etc…from outside Dublin and abroad. In highly congested areas of people litter and general grubbiness is always a probem.
Note: aspects of London, New York etc…But given the amount of cash spent it is not possible to consider to the no scheme world;
My main gripe is the length of time it took to deliver
This family day out was barely advertised at all; not even anyone here with an interest in the street knew anything of it! Hardly befitting the completion of such a major project in the city – the only possible indication being the much needed painting of the GPO’s bollards taking place last week in time for the occasion. They look great.
Not that the GPO is finished just yet – as predictable as clockwork, cherrypickers have been reerected for the installation of LED lighting strips inside the pediment 😉
Luckily it is incredibly deeply modelled, so there ought to be no problems relating to visibility of lighting units this time round – they should be completely hidden in all views of the building.
Spotted this in today’s paper
Call for improved footpath safety
Ali BrackenA number of safety measures to protect pedestrians at a dangerous junction on O’Connell Street, Dublin, near the Spire, have been recommended by a jury at an inquest.
Maree Buckland (60), Warwickshire, England, originally from Ireland, was killed in 2005 when she was hit by a double-decker bus while crossing the road over to the Spire on O’Connell Street just off North Earl Street.
The inquest heard that the stretch of road where Ms Buckland and her friend Jagdish Mangat had crossed was paved similarly to the footpath and could lead to confusion that this part of the street was pedestrianised.
Ms Buckland sustained fatal head injuries following the collision on September 15th, 2005, and was taken to St James’s Hospital in Dublin. She died eight days later.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death and recommended the crossing be re-evaluated by Dublin City Council with improved sign-posting and clearer road-markings.
© The Irish Times
Its is a tragedy this woman dies but I still stand by the point that it is up to people to pay more attention when crossing the street here. It is not the fault of the paving…or lack of signage (there is a forest of signal lights here)…or lack of barriers/bollards.
This family day out was barely advertised at all; not even anyone here with an interest in the street knew anything of it! Hardly befitting the completion of such a major project in the city – the only possible indication being the much needed painting of the GPO’s bollards taking place last week in time for the occasion.
Its a shame that the DCC didnt make more of this, especially given the length of time the street has been a building site. The website also remains to be updated…still taking about Phase II works beginning in April…. a revamp of the page and some photos of the new street would be welcome! Perhaps you could pass on some of yours Graham!
With the street repaved now and looking good it somehow emphasizes the tawdry and grotty shop fronts all the more. The Council should act on this immediately That holiday shop on the corner of Henry Street across from the GPO has to be number 1 on the hitlist with the proprieter/landlord/owner of the premises fully accountable for having no taste and low standards. Anyone ever notice too the tawdry conditions of some soliciters premises, especially allong the quays. With all the money that these cunts make ye’d think they have something more to show for it instaed of their premises resembling Bargaintown. The fine old Georgian block on Ormond quay that houses an early bar and those who work at the bar come to mind.
First of, I am not involved in Architecture and have no such qualifications. I need your help please.
The refurbishment of O’Connell Street included the clean sweep of all street furniture along the footpaths and these included the phone boxes. Dublin City Council provided for these to be relocated along the central median with sites being allocated to Eircom, Smart Telecom and my little company.My suggestion was that we should all sit down together and agree a standard design which most people would consider logical as opposed to one company erecting something akin to old petrol pums with a light on top or a big box like what is on the corner of Abbey Street, College Green with adds for McDonalds.
Eircom, (Babcock & Brown) ! and Smart being full of their own importance want to erect their own design. Dublin City Council are going to insist (correctly) on a standard but they will not be in place for a year. They have given my company permission to proceed with my own pedestal and this will be installed on Tuesday North of the Spire. Before there is an avelanche of protest from all you professionals let me explain:
Payphones in the city are a requirement.
The fixing method I use is that the pedestal is bolted into a plate that is inserted at the time of paving. This is existing but unseen about fifteen meters north of the spire. The pedestal can be removed and a different one erected in less than half an hour with one single spanner. Eircom did a big hole and throw in a few barrows of cement.
The design I am trying to create – or want you to create – must include the following:
No sharp edges if someone walks into it.
Preferably stainless steel.
Small, it only needs to house a phone and not a shower.
Must compliment existing street furniture.
Base and central pillar (I propose) must be round so as debris and paper will not collect around it.I will install the unit I have made (with permission from Mr. Killian Skay) this Tuesday north of the spire. If any of you guys wander by I would really appreciate your criticism and assistance. Working together we can get it right or near enough, imposing some of the existing monstrocities on this new street with their Bronx style advertising is not the way forward.
If anyone thinks they can produce the Real McCoy for a fee I am prepared to discuss.
(My phones are Smart Phones (not Smart Telecom) and the digital display and operation are line powered so no electricity is required)
Thanks very much.
Tom
Payphones sometimes fail to provide the service they should in return for the space they take up.
As soon as they break, they stop providing the service and become street junk or street thieves, swallowing coins into some device to be collected later by some urchin.
There should be service level agreements on payphones to allow for removal of payphones that are too frequently out of order.Many payphones do not display the price of calls, just a ‘cost per unit’ like a hotel phone. None provide freephone directory inquiries as they used to. No phones return change, despite other vending machines having this capability.
They could be more useful and still comercially viable.
I’ll be interested to see your new design but I sincerely hope that DCC do not allow telecom companies to overdose with their kiosk. True some are needed….though I think they are becoming redundant due to mobile phone usage. I would prefere to see the phones, just like bike stands relegated to side streets. Or why not integrate the phones with the kiosks taht are planned!
That’s an excellent idea – the northern-most one could also be handily incorporated into the taxi shelter that seems to be going in up there. With a number of kiosks being installed along the street, there ought not be any need for further telephone facilities.
It most also not be forgotton that O’Connell Street features what is probably the largest public phone facility in the country in the form of the purpose-built 1920s telephone room in the GPO, housing 10-15 units.Tom, to clarify, are you looking for help in future designs for your phone pedestals? And has the standard DCC design to be installed next year been decided on yet?
“”Payphones sometimes fail to provide the service they should in return for the space they take up.As soon as they break, they stop providing the service and become street junk or street thieves, swallowing coins into some device to be collected later by some urchin.
There should be service level agreements on payphones to allow for removal of payphones that are too frequently out of order.Many payphones do not display the price of calls, just a ‘cost per unit’ like a hotel phone. None provide freephone directory inquiries as they used to. No phones return change, despite other vending machines having this capability.
They could be more useful and still comercially viable.””
That is exactly the type of response I would expect to get elswhere. I was trying to solicit ideas on the type of pedestal that would be most suitable, not a running commentary on the commercial aspects of running a payphone company.
To the other replies, thanks for your input. The long term idea is indeed to incorporate the phone pedestals into the kiosks and this will be done at the O’Brien Monument. I am talking about small neat pedestals as opposed to “kiosks”. For the last six years DCC have instructed Eircom not to advertise on their kiosks but they continue to do so. That is why they want to erect their own kiosks because they are more interested in the advertising space. My contention is that in the event of a bomb threat (and that is an everyday possibility) a quick scan of O’Connell street, and other streets should allow the gardai to determine what areas are safe without looking in the type of Kiosks at the corner of Abbey Styreet, or opposite Trinity.
As far as phones being out of order – they are linked to a central computer and an out of order phone flags the system. I am a small operator and I do not have Babcock & Browns millions of other peoples money to waste. On my phones the cost of the call per minute is displayed when you dial the first four digits. If you are blind you are told by a voice prompt but this has nothing to do with the design of the pedestal.
All I am trying to do is do the thing right. Sure it won’t satisfy each individual from two million people but open consultation is surely better than the Gung Ho attitude of other companies.
Thanks for your replies.
TomWell i will praise you for seeking opinions.
My opinion is the same as that already expressed. A good place for public phones is attached to the back/side of the proposed kiosks.
A better place is on the side streets off o’connell street.
Surely your company is not so small that it cannot wait till the kiosks are in place ?
Regarding aesthetics. something neat like the kiosks on grafton street would be a apropriate. But in a style that matched the materials used in oconnel street.
Small neat and attached to something else so that is is not sticking out by itself.
Having examined your website , it would appear that you already have a design for oconnell street. Why not let us have a look and we could give you some feedback.
Tom, to clarify, are you looking for help in future designs for your phone pedestals? And has the standard DCC design to be installed next year been decided on yet?
Graham,
I am sorry I did not answer your question. Yes, I am looking for help in the future and I base that request on the fact that architects are better at desiging a pedestal than Eircom or myself. I feel that Smart, Eircom and myself should install the exact same approved pedestal throughout the City and I am not talking just about O’Connell Street.
There are a number of features I would like to incorporate and if you “Google” Digital Frames I think that these could provide all the information required to make a phone call without building a big monstrocity to hold a small payphone that thugs will congregate around.
I would also contemplate giving something back to the city and I am sure you are aware of the problems that existed with drug dealing on O’Connell Street and the never ending problem of chewing gum. Each location could be fitted with a web cam saving thousands of pounds that could be taken off the existing line and this could me monitored by a dedicated litter watch or whatever but at least act as a deterent.
If you can help my mail address is tom@fennetec.com.
Killian Skay is the architect for the street and he is a gentleman. Sure there will have to be improvements to what I have prepared and thats why I’m here. I can not do drawings or AutoCad but I am sure the right person could look at my idea, go back to his drawing board and provide the right design.
Thanks again,
Tom
A Boyle.
DCC took the decision to clean sweep all the footpaths on either side of the street and relocate the furniture on the central median.Regarding aesthetics. something neat like the kiosks on grafton street would be a apropriate. But in a style that matched the materials used in oconnel street.
“Having examined your website , it would appear that you already have a design for oconnell street. Why not let us have a look and we could give you some feedback.”
Jeez, you weren’t long sussing that out !!
I can’t give you a look at what I have because I would have to assemble it. I am not sure which phones in Grafton Street you are talking about, is it the Eircom ones?
And yes, my company is that small because Esat BT and ITG played monopoly with DCC property by acquiring sites and doing paper transactions and selling them on while I obeyed the rules and waited eight years to get my few sites. I could not afford to wait another week let alone a year or else I would become one of the beggars that people complain about !!
Finally, I really appreciate any help I am getting here and I did realize before I posted that I was letting myself in for a pasting. I welcome criticism if it results in a facility that O’Connell Street deserves.
Thanks again.
Tom“
yes the eircom ones on grafton street . There is one in front of mac donalds if i am not mistaken . I think they date from around 88. Something simple like that (in a metal that matches what is in oconnel street.)
An anti grafiti coating would be a good idea.
Second please don’t paint the phone themselves in garish colours as eircom did with their blue and orange look.
Putting them in three in a row in two places is much more preferable to putting 6 in seperate slots.
But they should not go in. You should be putting them on the side of buildings , in rows on cathal brugha street.
A row of telephones beside at the taxi rank would be ok.
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