O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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I still find the lack of information tiresome. They don’t seem to realise that people are curious about what is happening.
Mind you they may well be keeping quiet deliberately to avoid the attentions of the two-bit environmentalists that want to save a handful of trees etc, never mind the fact that 200 new ones scheduled are for planting. Anyone who has seen north king st will know how surprisingly mature these nursery trees can look.
Money is a big issue – Cork CC went looking for govt funding for Patrick St rejeuvenation, and got a miserly €1m… hence the slow progress on that projetct. So there’ll be war if DCC got carte blanche to do what they like for as much as they like.
There was a story in the Independent around a month and a half ago saying the O’Connell Street regeneration funding was in jeopardy. It wasn’t. At the last city council meeting, the city manager was at pains to say that the money for O’C Street has been ringfenced. He said that at times it was difficult to spend the money, because everything requires lengthy consultation and so on. The money is there – I don’t think there are any questions about that.
The images I have seen for the 6 yokes on the plaza are about 6 years old at this stage, and appear to be made of some material that glows from within after dark, (some thing along the lines of the perspex columns on the set of Graham Norton – to draw a bizarre comparison! – although somewhat more refined)
I’ve seen rough ideas for the stalls, benchsetc, but nothing set in stone.
As far as I’m aware, there is to be a light placed beneath each of the 250 or so trees on the st, to illuminate from below after dark, and LEDs are being considered for longevity.
The paving for the plaza is to be set in alternate strips of stone and/or colouring, whilst the standard pavements at each side of the street may have a cobble edging of a foot or so in width, finished off with wide granite kerbstones.
There is to be lighting at the edge of the side pavements lighting the 2 lane roadways on both sides of the st, lighting of a more intimate pedesrian level to light the central median, and the same again I think to light the side pavements.
The side pavements are to be widened, eating up part of the existing third lane on both sides of the st, the other parts to be consumed with the widening of the central median.
Stalls to sell newspapers coffee (at 3.50 a cup) are planned for the central median, as well as various sculptures etc.
The central median should definitly be reserved in my opinion for statues commemorating people, including modern of course, to be added in the future, rather than having abstract art, the idea of a ‘hall of fame’ as it were,down the St I find appealing, a great feature for the throughfare.
Aaah they (the light yokes as you so eloquently call them Graham!) are probably along the lines of those on Temple Bar Square. You know the ones that have been well maintained by TBP and are in perfect working order and don’t look an absolute state!
I have seen an artists impression of the proposed stalls on O’CSt. They look quite good. There are even pictures of them up in the street for passers-by to view… well done the Corpo.
Was anyone there this morning or has all of the novelty factor of the Spire worn off at this stage?
Anne Graham, the Streets manager says the section from Abbey St to Henry will take a year, roughly from today, with the remaining section(s) another year.
Also it is increasingly likely that the trees at the top end are going to be retained as part of the plans, this is crazy.
One of the best part of the plans is that the new trees, planted at regular intervals down the thoughfare will unify the whole st, north middle & south, this scheme will be utterly lost with the retention of the mighty specimens dominating the place at the moment.These must be removed, whereas I don’t want to appear flippant about these wonderful trees, God knows they’ve seved us well as the grand old ladys of the st blocking the Gresham’s view of the derilict site & Fingal Offices across the road, they have to go to enable the full effect of the new trees to be appriciated, ie continuity.
They were planted I think in 1903, with most of the others on/left on the st in the 60s, 70s & 80s.
We are getting a half arsed plan as always …..thanks to the Green Party, Ciaran Cuffe & Co for inanely stirring all this trouble up. I really don’t care about all this any more…..The optimism and hope is gone.
Maybe we ge what we deserve.Just to clarify, is the entire street effectively to be narrowed to two lanes? Not just the plaza section…
I don’t know wheter this is a coincidence or not, but two large infformation boards have gone up on the hordings in the middle of the street…
In that case I hereby officially apologise to the city council for accusing them of arrogance and not keeping us informed!
If the Metro is to stop at O’Connell St and D’Olier St does this mean that all that lovely (and expensive) granite will have to be torn up to faciltate construction of the stations… and horror of horrors a cut and cover tunnel! There’ll be the newly planted trees to consider as well. I wonder if anyone has considered this…
Also, I notices a story in yesterdays Indo which seems to suggest that the upper end of the street’s redevelopment (and this was in the contect of paving etc) was dependent on the Carlton site. No action there, no action on the street. Can this be true?
Good point Stephen,
Seems to me that if the timescale which MR Brennan has proposed to the RPA is to be achieved then the whole street will be dug up again just about when the new scheme has settled in. Thats the problem with the approach here, make it up as you go along !Also what about the effects on the city of building cut and cover stations at D’olier Street, O’Connell Street and Stephens Green all at the same time !!!
JJ
Dear oh dear, do we know where the proposed station is going on the st?
Suppose it would make sense to have it beside the Luas line crossing the Abbey St axis, but in what format so as to be unobtrusive?What was the wording of the Indo report Stephen – does the entire area’s dev rely on Carlton?
Anne Graham appeared pretty sure the dev in this part of the st would take place in 1 years time as planned.
Does anyone know if the Carlton has been compulsorily purchased by the CC? If so there should be no delay. Something major happened with regard to this site a couple of months ago but I can’t remember what.I was always under the impression that the Georgian townhouse at the top end beside the RDHotel was the only 18th century building on the st, not so.
I was looking closely at Joseph Tudor’s engraving of Sackville st from 1750, and there, on the corner of Henry St are exactly the same buildings that are there today, all be they now clad in Victorian frippery and nasty pink paint and a ghastly 80s shopfront.
This building must be fully refurbished, painted and the sashes restored. It would be wonderful to have a dignified wooden shopfront wrapping itself around the corner of the two streets, rather than the partially blank wall that currently greets visitors to Henry St.I agree regarding the refurbishment of those buildings on the corner of Henry St. and O’Connell St. They look in shite condition and would compliment the GPO if they were done up.
In a 1950s picture I have of them, one has a splendid wooden oriel window projecting from its facade, now in its place is a nasty vast expanse of 70s picture window crap.
I can’t remember if the ‘Come in and Visit’ is still plastered across the same building -hopefully not.Here is the Indo article from 8 Jul:
THE erection of the Spire marks the beginning of the rejuvenation of O’Connell Street.
Work is already underway on the paving to provide a new civic space in front of the GPO.
The square tree-bordered plaza is to include grey, white and pink granite stones, imported from Spain and China.
The plaza is part of a radical initiative to attract more people, business and tourists to the city centre.
The reduction of traffic lanes on O’Connell Street, designed to give pedestrians priority over traffic, is also underway.
The timetable for rejuvenation is as follows:
* June 2004: All works south of the Spire as far as Prince’s Street are expected to be completed by this time next year.
The plaza will include new lighting, the lime trees, which controversially replaced the older London Plane trees, and a number of retail kiosks.
* December 2004: The area from Prince’s Street to O’Connell Bridge, including the Luas tram lines, will be completed during the second half of next year.
Again, the newly paved and wider central area will feature new street lighting, lines of trees and more retail outlets.
This phase sees the completion of the rejuvenation of O’Connell Street south of the Spire.
* 2005: The development of the area north of the Spire is scheduled for 2005 but is largely dependent on plans for the Carlton site, now under control of Dublin City Council. Detailed targets will not be set until after the future of that area is decided, a spokesperson said.
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