Road Surfaces
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I know it sounds silly, but why is it that all roads in the cities and towns in this country are grey? We have a dull grey sky for most of the time, most city centre buildings are grey or white, and then the roads are either dark grey or black! I note that recently, for some reason, patches of road in Dublin city centre are covered in a light, sandy coloured finish, and it looks fantastic.
Would’nt it be wonderful to have all roads in Dublin, esp around College Green, Westmoreland Street & O’Connell Bridge finished in a light sandy colour asphalt or equivilant. It would add such warmth to what are somewhat austere streets, with all their grey, and would create a distinctive character for the city centre, as well as unify areas, esp north & south. It is done across the UK, obviously with red in London, esp down the Mall, and in other European cities, and is very memorable. Areas like Stephen’s Green/Merrion Square etc would also benifit enormously. The small patch on College Green at the moment looks very striking and elegant, if a road can be that! -
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Good idea, but lets crawl before walking, how about even road surfaces for starters, ones that are re-laid every couple of years, and some consistency and maybe even a few decent signposts, for the natives, never mind the poor ripped off tourists?
I live in hope… but more in doubt. ‘Ah sure it’ll do rightly’
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Yeah, the road ripper-uppers are a problem, and so in other places, services are placed underneath pavements instead (although pedestrians are then affected), something that can’t be done in a lot of Dublin due it’s ‘antique pavements’, which is good. Although in most other countries they are told in no uncertain terms where to get off. Most immediate city & town centres are rarely, if at all, dug up though, so there is little excuse for the City Council.
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Well for the last few years most of the roadworks seem to have been telcos. Now that the telcos have run out of venture capital, we’re seeing a lot less of that!
It is a shame when contractors are allowed to dig up a road and when they’re finished put down a vastly inferior surface.
Back in the seventies (?) there was a phase of building roads from concrete. Why did this stop? Where such surfaces remain, they seem to still be in very good condition, suggesting they’re more durable than asphalt. Concrete is still grey, but a more pleasing light shade, and it would be easy to add dyes to improve further.
James
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I was just thinking that about concrete (and you beat me to it). We used to live on the northside and I remember all the estate roads were made from concrete. I was back in the same area a while back and fondly found all the same roads still there. We moved to tarmac on the southside, and the concrete roads that did exist were all resurfaced with tarmac over the years.
More to the point – footpaths. I’ve noticed a lot of footpaths/sections of footpaths replaced with tarmac lately (Harcourt Street for example). Is this just temporary or is this the start of a new trend. I think concrete looks a lot better than tarmac for footpaths…
Poor telcos. And has anyone been down Harcourt Street on a bus at speed lately – pretty exciting stuff!!! You know the road’s bad when everyone bounces up and down and then giggles (I know, I know, it’s Luas work).
fjp
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Same where I live …..
I think concrete is being replaced however cause it is prone to crack under extreme weight cause it is harder…….whereas tarmac is more springy …. aka ….absorbs the stresses of heavy weight better. It all depends on the bed too …what lies beneath the outer surface and how well it is laid. -
I think there is also a noise issue with concrete – tarmac absorbs noise more easily. Its porbably less expensive to repair. As for the pavement issue, that all Luas related as those pavements will be resurfaced to integrate them with the Luas rails…in the case of Harcourt St one big footpath.
However I do have an issue with developers who opt for cheap old pour concrete to finish pavements in front of their developments instead of proper flags.
I think the coloured tarmac is a great idea. Also add glass for that sparkling effect on those rare occasions of sunshine -
Dosn’t concrete have those nasty seams down the centre, that tend to be filled with tar or somesuch?
I take strong issue with the manner in which the CC are ripping up the antique flags in the city centre at pedestrian crossings, and replacing them with those ridiculous red ‘non slip’ slabs, that extend right back, unneccessarily, to the back of the pavements. They not only clash with the remaining flags, but also destroy the character of the area in which they are laid. The same have been laid in vast quantities at the entrance corners to Stephen’s Green, amongst the refined new granite paving, and they look terrible, esp from the upstairs of the buses. Have they no sense of taste?Although Harcourt Street is a strong contender for the best worst road in Dublin, esp on the bus, have you ever been down Adelaide Road on a bus with a driver determined to make the lights?!! Holy God!!!, I’m missing 4 front teeth from hitting the handle on the seat infront. Well worth the 1.20 though, if you can get a ride like that every time.
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I hate that tactile paving (the colour rather than the the idea of course) but it doesnt have to be like that. Look at the new paving on Capel St Bridge. Hads anyone seen the city centre of Glasgow lately. They have competely repaved the area with beautiful slabs with same colour and texture tactile paving.
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besides the red and sometimes (piss) yellow tactile small paving slabs you usually see – it is possible to buy larger slabs (like a ramp down to the road level) with a ribbed effect like courdroy trousers and, you can also get larger slabs with dark/ black stone with (contrasting colour) stainless steel studs rather than dimples in you see in the red & yellow average types mentioned above.
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