Alek Smart

Not wishing to Bah Humbug to excess,I must pose the question,why has DCC decided to cast Nassau St into a cavern of blackness…?

The stretch between Grafton and Dawson Street has been sans lumiere for some months now which effectively imposes a blackout after the shops close….this is in addition to the very poor general level of public lighting along Nassau St proper which depends totally on units placed high along the building side only…..:confused:

QUOTE Hutton :

“I see that DCC have just put in a new taxi rank on O’ Connell Bridge, on the north-bound side; well this should compliment the new bus stop that they put in a month ago, also on the bridge, on the south-bound side

And these are not the only ad-hoc new provisions to have been made by DCC on O’ C St within the last few weeks; pavement has been replaced by 2 new separate bus parking bays on O’ C St upr, outside Berties AIB and the Carlton/ Dick Quirkes “amusement arcade”, (you know the one I mean, where gambling slot machines are going on despite being a total breach of regulations). And of course there’s no sign of the new plastic poles being replaced by anything more suitable for the cycle-lane between Abbey St and O’ C Bridge.” ] END

The two Bus/Coach bays mentioned are not new,they were provided from day 1.
Why is another matter,however I suspect it may have something to do with the impossibility of operating that cack-handed Taxi Rank when even as much as a bicycle occupies space on the inside lane.

As for the OC Bridge Taxi Rank,well….. what can one say….It now provides Taxi drivers with a raison d`etre for barging through from the INSIDE (Left-Turn Only) lane on Westmoreland St.
If DCC were GENUINE in their concerns for public safety they would have coned off the southern near side aspect of OCB with the same floppy poles that outline the cycle lane at the approach to Eden Quay.
As it currently stands DCC`s new tinkering has seriously increased the risk of RTA`s ESPECIALLY in relation to Cycle/Vehicle collisions.

One suggestion worth considering is to remove the current Taxi Rank along the Riverside at Aston Quay and relocate it to the Eastern side of OCB,ie: Burgh Quay.

Currently the Aston Quay Rank limits Taxi`s and their customers to a Westbound route only.
Relocating the Rank to Burgh Quay,if properly structured,would allow Taxi`s to position for North/South/West bound departures with relative ease.

This suggestion would only be truly effective if DCC were to surrender the current On-Street Quayside Parking TOTALLY.
However given the abysmal track record of this outfit I would imagine they would impose some cack-brained swop of parking to allow for continued blockage and restriction of Aston Quay.

This suggestion would also allow for the crazy OCB “Rank” to be removed in the interest of public safety and sanity.

Sadly ,since both Mr Phillips and Mr Tierney appear to live and work from a hermetically sealed bunker deep beneath Wood Quay I would expect little except perhaps a mild rush to commission a consultant or two to report as to why such a suggestion could NOT be considered….:D

Although pretty much to the TfL London standard design,and quite possibly used under licence,this to my jaded eye is probably the most complimantary piece of infrastructure to appear on the “New” O Connell St.

Perhaps now those foul looking Payphone Cubicles will be removed along with some of the central median lamp standards which have not aged well at all.

However,at this stage it`s unlikely that there is ANYBODY in DCC`s employ with responsibility or interest in the ethos of the O Connell St IAP as it once was….Ivor Callelly`s Taxi Rank saw to that…. 😡

What a Mega Thread !!
And what a pity it cannot be somehow spliced into DCC`s Intranet for some of it`s Senior Executive Planners to peruse..

As a daily user of the Street I remain convinced that the decision to locate Mr Ritchie`s Tower of Light ON the Henry/Earl/O Connell St axis was and is fundamentally flawed.

This I feel comes from a total lack of preparedness on the part of DCC AND The Dept`s of the Environment and An Taoiseach as to what EXACTLY the ethos of the “New” O Connell St was to be.

Elsewhere in this thread we can read of the social milleu which throngs the Street by times.
It is even described and,correctly so,as a street where North and South can meet and interact etc etc…

Yet DCC`s eventual outcome for O Connell St has been to turn it into a long ribbon-like Transit Camp with only Disincentives to those who would wish to dally a while or to use a fine urban space for relaxation or even for living……

Instead we see a street without a single public bench to sit on,a very striking signature piece of modern architecture which instead of acting as a magnet for humanity simply stands at busiest pedestrian junction in the state acting as avery real and potentially fatal impediment.

Oh how different the GPO “Plaza” could have been with the Tower of Light standing directly in front surrounded by layered steps in the form of the present “Torc” like circular surround…This would have left the Henry St/Earl St pedestrian route unimpeded and certainly safer for humanity.

Sadly for Dublin however we are now forced to “Stand idly by” while this Republic watches its main street disintegrate into a chaotic mess with NO official recognition of what could be done to redress the situation……:mad:

By all means lets have more segregation of Cycles and other forms of transport BUT how about doing it with a modicum of concern and taste ?

What DCC have stuck down along this SHORT stretch of OC St. is little more than archictecturally irresponsible when viewed in the context of the €50 Million + which the SAME authority spent on its O Connell St IAP.

For example,if DCC had applied the SAME utilitarian standards to the ENTIRE OC St programme it could have extended the scheme all the way to St Lukes in Drumcondra……:o

There is also the rather uncomfortable reality that the New Cycle Lane significantly INCREASES the risk factor to Cyclists progressing across OC Bridge as Motorists carry out the Illegal,but generally accepted Left Turn from OC St onto Eden Quay.

The previous situation was that such Mororists would creep around the corner hoping to remain invisible (Or not giving a toss cos they certain of not being reprimanded).
Now however the cretinous classes are taking that turn at a wider sweep and as a result faster,therefore ANY cyclist bathing in the Safety Glow from this “Segregation” is in for a VERY rude awekening as he/she is creamed by some motoring neanderthal. BE EXTRA CAREFUL at this location.

(Bear in mind that recognizing reality is not something which DCC considers part of its remit so NO warning signs or devices will be erected,as is the case along the new Leeson/Morehampton/Waterloo Increased Cycling Risk Area. )

Well I was hoping somebody would have uploaded some pics of the “Segregated” Southbound Cycle Lane between Abbey St and Eden Quay..
I am assuming that the City Council will make available the Environmantal Impact Assessment report……..(The INDEPENDENT one I trust)
I am also sure that we shall be able to study the INDEPENDENT Safety Audit of the “New HI-Tech” arrangements……:eek:

From an architectural perspective I believe the slim lines of the black floppy poles compliment the Baulistrading on O Connell Bridge SO well…don`t you agree people…???? 😉

Quote Stephen C

“So here is todays puzzle – What do you do when you are on O’Connell Street (at the junction with Abbey Street to be exact) and you need to find out where the new Comfort Inn on Granby Row is? Anyone? [End]

And when the unfortunates eventually get to the NEW IMPROVED Dublin City Comfort Inn you find the venue has NO safe parking or unloading space in front of its doors.
The Car/Taxi/Bus/Coach/Ecocab simply has to hike up in the outer lane of three along Granby Row and directly AT a major Right Hand Turn to boot.

Does this constitute a Road Safety Hazard ?
Is this a Public Safety Issue ?

I consider it hits the Bullseye on Both criteria.

HOWEVER The Dublin City Manager and his band of merry professional men in the Planning Section have a somewhat more relaxed perspective on all this oul safety stuff…
In short …keep her goin lads until somebody is killed or injured then we`ll blame some Driver or other for not keepin an eye out……..:o

Professional Planners…..where`s the P45`s kept….. 😡

Just came across a fascinating pair of B+W snaps on this website.

http://www.dublinbuses.com/nelsonpillarview.html

Very differnt to the usual O Connell St views !! 🙂

What a pity Graham,that you didnt ramble a little further Northwards to the junction of Dorset and Nth Frederick Streets where you could have recorded for historical purposes yet another fine example of a City Council which appears to be run by professional wideboys and chancers.

Just as you clearly outline the nonsense of the old vs new Traffic Signal poles at the Waxer,so to could you document the state of the roadway at Nth Frederick St junction.
Here DCC have had almost every Civils Contractor with a JCB in Dublin around to dig,backfill,re-dig and half back-fill again.
The icing on this particular cake was a contractor doing a very nice PERMANENT job but only on HALF the width of the original opening,leaving the other half full of the usual loose chippings and assorted other muck which the heavy rain soon washes away.

It appears that DCC does not have a single Professional Civil Engineer who understands the somewhat fragile relationship which exists between the Irish climate and wheelbarrowfulls of loose filling…..Time and time again throughout the DCC administrative area we see remarkable evidence of Potholes,fissures,and chasms which are negligently filled with loose shingle,tar or simply stones only for the rain to wash it all away and for the original hole to deepen,widen and pose a greater threat to health and safety !

I have given up on this crowd of Shams in Civic Offices,as far as I can make out they subscribe to the Pee`n Bev school of hard neckism with little or no realization of the consequences of their actions… 😮

Publicrealm I see where you are……
It`s in the “Old” Ireland :rolleyes:
The Ireland of “Come all ye`s” and “Ah sure what`s your hurry”,and that Ireland was no bad place for much of the time.

However those very individuals for whom you so elequently plead were to be found in the vanguard of the NEW Ireland.
These very highly placed Administrators were the ones telling us very forcibly that we now had a NEW vision of Ireland to encompass and nowhere was this message pushed home with such fervour as with the O Connell St IAP and more particularly The Tower of Light project.

Now my feeling is that IF these very Administrators and shapers of public thinking were SERIOUS about their “New Vision” then they should have applied their considerable weight behind it 100%.

It has rather rapidly transpired that these Civic Administration “Visionaries” were in fact wearing dark glasses whilst driving about the place in SUV`s with “Privacy Glazing” fitted.

I can hardly find ANY location on the Street where the promise of the original IAP has been met.
Just take a Joycean Stroll Northwards along the median to take in the absolutely insane “Built Environment” of the Taxi Rank and it`s knock-on effect on general and bus traffic alongside,not to mention Public Safety.
If this crock of crap meets ANY Western World “Best Practice” criteria then I am willing to be corrected.

I believe that many of the “Features” of the IAP have turned out to be Highly Undesirable from the Public Safety perspective with a glaring reality that those responsible for the Implimentation simply did not do their calculations or superimpose their plans on the reality of the pre-existing street.

The Pedestrian Crossing at Henry St-Nth Earl St functions constantly in Near-Miss mode as does the entire Abbey St Luas crossing.
When one factors in the negligently designed mess at Cathal Brugha St/OCS Taxi Rank then we see a combination of large scale Public Projects which it would appear had almost NO risk analysis carried out upon them in real time mode.

The O Connell St IAP was a once in a lifetime opportunity to do a Wide Streets Commission job fit for the next 200 years.
The IAP team dropped that ball,largely due to having NO ability to do a “Big Picture” job on the project.

From Day one this project had one MAJOR design and Implimentation conflict and that was the Streets status as a National Traffic Route and on a secondary level THE major cross city public transport artery.

Long before a sod was turned on the street the IAP team SHOULD have had this status conflict wrapped up,with the street in effect closing to ALL traffic.

This would have entailed much out-of-the-box thinking in Traffic and Public Transport terms BUT it would not have been impossible and required ONLY committment and an understanding of the conceptual vision of the original IAP.

But thats all in the past now…The modern NEW Irish Administrative Professional has been shown up as a Snake-Oil salesman who is every bit as rooted in the “I`ll get U the Blue Card” ethos as any mid -1950`s rural TD and as a result has bequesthed us the current Curates Egg.

When one sees such old stalwarts as Dublin Bus going public on the RTE 9 o clock news with accompanying totally superflous on bus cctv evidence of 50 minute journey times along the street then we know the game is really up.

DB`s Operations Manager appears in the Herald plaintively calling for the “Implimentation of a new Traffic Management Plan” as a matter of urgency…with the startling news that just such a plan is “Before the City Council” for its consideration.. :confused:

Yet the SAME City Council instituted the OCS scheme with strong comments about this very Traffic Management Plan changing the face of the City Centre for ever when the OCS project was complete… :confused:

Crikey Pub Realm WHAT bigger fish have this crowd of Professional Administrators and Planners got to fry…:eek:

Is the City Management team planning a Barbie on the Giant Crane Footprint ? or is it just too good a weather footprint to miss out on a Fourball with all those other compliant professionals perhaps…. 🙂

Yes indeed PubRealm…..The “lads” may well be critical but so is the damn Street and the City as well ….!!!! :p