O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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The LED sunken lighting – these are going to look fantastic when lit – I’m guessing the inner or outer ring of lights may be a different colour:
The greatest Irish photographic cliche, Larkin silhoutted.
Don’t worry chewy – it’s still possible to take a half decent pic of him!Those bins all over the place are temporary.
And finally finally – Mansfield Chambers with the Luas power lines passing by – what a pity, in front of one of the street’s finest.
Suppose every other European capital lives with it.Excellent Gabriel as usual!!!
Notice from one of the pics, that very interesting Irish disease:
Road signs half way down poles, grrrrrrrrrrrr
Nowhere else in the world is this witnessed!!
Thanks Graham, they’re greats pics.
It has been so long since I’ve been in Dublin, I didn’t realise that the roads on the street had been narrowed.
Is it buses and taxis only now?
Also, now that there is more footpath space, will the restaurants and pubs on the street be able to put some outdoor seating for the summer? There was always a lack of outdoor seating in Dublin in the summer compared to other Europeann cities.
Well done for all the photos.
The photo of the plaza from Clery’s illustrates very well the function of the curved edges of the pavements: to visually blend the higher surface into the lower surface and reduce the cluttering effect of pavement / road / pavement / road / pavement – make it look more like a unified plaza.
This trick reminds me of the ‘ha-ha’ at the end of the lawn at the back of Castletown House; a wall and ditch that prevented animals from coming right up to the back of the house, but looking from the house all you saw was the lawn blending into the parkland beyond.
Was it just the animals it prevented from coming near 🙂
It’s a brilliantly simple idea – it was used all over Britain too to protect ornamental gardens near the house from the wilder parts of the estate.A feature that has come into view since being able to walk in front of the GPO portico is the top of the two tall bollards at either side, where the holes from the lamps which used to be perched atop are now evident. The right-hand one has been long blocked up but weirdly the left-hand one hasn’t.
There’s a pic here of the hole – it’s difficult to say if the lamps were ever converted from oil to gas and hence if the hole is the result of a gas pipe. I’ve seen a pic from 1900 and the lamps appear to be gone already.
You can see too in the pic where the plinth of the lamp used to sit.
I notice there is no provision for locking up bicycles along the new stretch and it looks like the new trees are going to be used instead as can you can see from Grahams photo which is a shame as it looks untidy and will damage the young trees.
Walked down in front of the GPO Tuesday night at about 10PM. WOW! Even in the rain it looked good.
The quality of the paving, the lighting, the trees – everything is to a high standard.
One thing, the traffic lanes are badly marked and I’d worry that pedestrians could easily stray into them (especially at night, in the rain).
As regards locking bikes to trees. The council shoud remove and impound them immediately. There should be a solution though, in fairness to cyclists. Some appropriate provision should be made to have discreet bike stands on the street or off it (say Princes street near Arnotts Car Park entrance).
I agree with earlier post re putting signs half way down poles. The tram crossing signs at the middle Abbbey St junction have this ailment. The signs are at the correct height but the poles are just too long!
Does anyone have any idea on when they are going to get working on the rest of the street? Let’s hope that they don’t wait too long. The plaza is lovely but the rest of the street is still very run down.
thats another thing i noticed, did anyone else? because of the way the plaza is all dark-grey block it is very difficult to know when to stop and pause before crossing the road, the idea is nice but in practice its disarming
in recent times i tried make a conscious effort not to jay walk but you do find yourself walking across the road not cos the lights has turned green but cos a number of people around have started to cross sheep like
btw the cobble-like tram line stretches look nice
Well I think the traffic is still going through there way too fast. It should be made go ultra slow. There doesn’t seem to be any recognition on the part of drivers that the plaza area is now a sensitive, pedestrian-oriented zone. It’s still just a case of ‘piss down O’Connell Street as fast as you can’.
And you’re right, it’s dangerous. They’ll have to do something about that.
Yep – they’re going way to fast – I was in the car on O’ Cll Bridge yesterday for the first time in years (it was really scary being sandwiched in the middle of the acres of traffic!) and when the lights turned green the surrounding traffic just booted it away up the street – and if the plaza is empty ahead with the lights green at the Spire, they race to make them too, esp motorbikes.
With regard to the distinction between roadway and pavement, this was obviously going to be a problem from day one – it’s so tempting just to walk across the usually vacant plaza roadways, indeed to such an extent that the crossings at the Spire look almost ludicrous with half the street empty, often with traffic held up at the Abbey junction.
Certainly the tripping factor from not noticing the change in levels is an issue, but then again if you use the crossings as we should be – there isn’t a problem!The bikes tied to the trees look awful, and they will damage them over time. This must be stopped but a partial explanation is that the bike-park behind O’ Cll Monument has been removed for the moment.
What is completely unacceptable is the parking of massive motor bikes in the middle of the median, which is happening all the time. Indeed when taking the earlier photos I was restricted from taking a few wide shots because they were in the way.
The cheek of them, it’s the same as parking your car there. These must be clamped, that’ll stop them pretty smartish.I am making the assumption that the new civic plaza demarcated by the trees is really only there for use during civic functions. ie, it is only really designed to be functional during certain celebrations or events when the street is closed off to traffic. Does anyone know what the deal with it is? I am sure the aim is for the traffic to go slower through it all the time, but I don’t really see it functioning fully except at the times which I have mentioned above. Anyone else any thoughts on this?
Thanks
Phil
Well it has the function of addressing the GPO which was as big an issue as the ceremonial function during the planning. Don’t know if you remember Phil the scrawny 80s trees that used to block the view of the building but their absence has made such a difference.
But yes – to an extent the plaza is somewhat obsolete in that most people don’t even want to walk down its median section because of how exposed it is, you feel a bit uncomfortable – and it doesn’t appear to lead anywhere as well.
But the views of the GPO from here, in the middle, are unparalled, and the way the perspective of the building changes as you walk along is fantastic – it makes such a powerful statement now.
It’s difficult to stand back and view the plaza in the context of the street as a whole, as we’re seeing it being assembled all the time, as well as the lead up to it, ie the stretch from the quays that has yet to be finished – but I think it works.
Once the lower stretch is finished and you can walk along the lines of trees approaching the Spire, and then suddenly the whole place opens out, I think it will be felt that you’re somewhere special and that this area of the street is being treated the way it deserves.Graham, sorry if I came across in a negative way. I fully agree with you about the way it opens up the view of the GPO. I loved walking past outside it for the first time a few weeks ago (i think i put a post about it up). I suppose that all I am saying is that it will probably work at its best when it is being used for functions etc.
Thanks
Phil
Why no street furniture in the centre median? Like something facing the GPO – it does look very good from there. Or is supposed to be a walkway only?
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