darkman

@Rory W wrote:

From todays Irish Times

Spate of antisocial activities on Liffey boardwalk
Hélène Hofman

A meeting will take place tomorrow to address the problem of antisocial behaviour on Dublin’s Millennium Boardwalk by the Liffey.

The boardwalk, which attracts many tourists to rest, view the river and drink coffee, has become a magnet for people with alcohol and drug problems.

A Garda spokesman said yesterday that an operation to tackle the problem resulted in 46 arrests in the first two months of operation, and the problem has escalated this month and in July.

Between April 2006, when the operation began, and June 2006 gardaí arrested 26 people under the drugs misuse Act and 20 for public order offences. They also carried out 404 searches under the misuse of drugs Act during that period.

A cross-section of agencies, including the Homeless Agency, Focus Ireland, addiction services and community groups, will discuss measures to address the needs of those congregating on the boardwalk and at other Dublin city centre locations at tomorrow’s meeting .

“It’s not yet clear whether the problem relates to housing or drugs, so the meeting will focus on that so the relevant support can be delivered,” said Derval Howley, director of the Homeless Agency. “It does seem to be one of the main places people go during the day.”

A spokesperson for the Merchant’s Quay project, which works with the homeless and people affected by drug abuse, says the combination of good weather and a lack of day centres for homeless people means more may be congregating along the promenade during the peak tourism season.

The boardwalk, which stretches from Grattan Bridge to Butt Bridge, was built as a tourist amenity as part of Dublin’s millennium projects and was completed in 2000. Last May, a month after the Garda operation began, Dublin City Council erected a number of signs along the boardwalk informing people that the consumption of intoxicating liquor in a public place is prohibited. The council says it has received no complaints from the public since.

However, employees of the kiosks on the boardwalk say the antisocial behaviour is continuing to affect business and that most of the clientele now consists of tourists.

“It’s not good for business and it’s not good for the tourists,” says one vendor, who did not want to be identified. He has witnessed several incidents involving alcohol in the past month. “It’s the worst on sunny days when there are lots of customers. The guards are watching but when they come the people just put away their drinks and take it out when they are gone.”

“I don’t really feel safe, to be honest. But I have a security camera if anyone comes,” he said indicating the camera and monitor set up on a top shelf.
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“We won’t call the guards unless something really bad happens,” said the vendor.

TBH I always thought the Boardwalk was a mistake right from its inception. What the planners dont realise is that a large minority of Dubliners have absolutely no civic respect and of course the scumbags were going to make a home for themselves there. I really dont think this sizeable minority of Dubliners are mature enough or have the capacity to understand that loitering, intimidation, grafitti and littering are just not acceptable. Therefore why the planners bother I dont know. Just take a look at the gobsh*tes who thought it was a great crack to constantly vandalise ‘the speed of light’ ‘monument’ on the M1 motorway near Drogheda. Now it has to be taken out. Same with the boardwalk.:mad:

The road markings are being painted, the gantries are up and the emergency equipment has been delivered – cant be too long.

@daniel_7 wrote:

how is it a village compared to dublin when it has a third of its population ya typical dublin birdbrain!

In terms of scale the difference is very noticable between Cork and Dublin. Cork is far smaller no matter what way you look at it. The GDA has a population approaching 2 million. The reason these Counties Meath, Kildare, Wicklow are little more then suburbs of Dublin is because of a: Urban Sprawl, b: Dublin has whats known as a ‘critical mass’ of commerce and industry matched no-where else on the island. Even Belfast also looks town like to me and it has less then half the population. BTW I dont understand how you could take that as a slur against Cork. I like Cork, its a very nice place compared to the congestion in Dublin.

@Keen wrote:

sorry for not reading the whole thread here and butting in…

i was in berlin the last 3 days and had checked out the various options for flying there, Berlin has 3 airports with a combined passenger figure of 15.5 million. That is for 3 yes 3 airports…Dublin has 18.5 m annually and this is increasing. I think it’s high time for a MAJOR expansion to combat the present and the future. i arrived yesterday into a quasi-prefab terminal outpost and had to walk 20 minutes to baggage reclaim…did anyone notice also that the planes are taxi-ingin further from the main building? And that buses seem to be in operation but in my last 2 flights this month i have not had the opportunity to board one? I don’t know what is going on but it needs a huge boost to remain a credible place to do business…

I think we all want Dublin to become a hub Airport. It cant do that unless it gains critical mass i.e new terminals, new facilities, the extra runway etc. If you were to build a second airport, our main airport would lose out IMO. 20 million is not alot of passengers for one airport for those who think it is. The current terminal is inadequate, not the Airport itself…….

@Thomond Park wrote:

And after all the effort the design team put in to create a real showpiece for the City

Hi TP, yes and as I said sure the southern part of the street will be dug up for a luas extension they should have built in the first place…..is there any hope:(

Reading through the posts, its obvious ppl are happy with what has been done. Personally I think its ok but im resigned to the fact its about to be dug up for the Luas and they wont put it back the way it was when thats complete. Also casual digging by the ESB and others will interfere, as usual with the pavement.:(

So have I got this right. The same way as waiting for a bus…….weve been waiting decades for a skyscraper and now 3 are coming along at once (2 of which unfortunately look questionable in their design). About time. U2 tower will look great though:cool:

😎 Hi

Took a trip around docklands earlier and the pace and extent of developement there is truly breathtaking. I was just wondering when the 35 storey U2 tower is getting under construction? In a Dublin context that building would look quite big and it is an exciting development as it should give the council and bp the confidence to get on with highrise/skyscraper development.

Also the heuston gate tower. When is that due to get underway? That area is about to undergo massive regeneration. Eircom are to be the first tennants in the new 9 storey westgate development opposite heuston. Hopefully these two developements will compliment each other however I have concerns about the architecture of the heuston gate tower. It dosnt look like particularly exciting architecture. I certainly hope its not Hawkins house round 2 stuff:eek: Cheers

Thankfully the M50 upgrade begins on Monday. Imagine what the traffic will be like! Anyway the designs for the the N4 and N7 interchanges look impressive although I do think they could have done the flyover route a bit more. Phase 1 is 4 lanes between both interchanges, 3 regular lanes and one weaving lane including a hard shoulder. Phase one is approximately 8 kms long and will be completed in 2008. Electronic tolling is expected to be introduced on this stretch in the form of overhead gantries upon completion and the freak show that are the toll booths will be removed as part of phase 2.