GrahamH
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So is the RAPID scheme even operational elsewhere do you know?
What’s the likely reason the O’Cll St funds weren’t released?
(sorry for all these questions)Thanks for that – so where has the money come from thus far?
And was it intended to use these future RAPID funds for the IAP back in 1998?Ah you’re confusing us now Plug – we’re only moving on from sodium orange here – have yet to grasp the notion of a white bulb, let alone various shades of the colour 🙂
Oh yes, is there anything worse than a flourescent gone in a row – esp in clothes shops that use them a lot above cornicing etc, or a nice warm stretch of them with an ‘ice white’ replacement chucked in the middle 😮
Shows how much interest I take in clothes – light fittings and suspended ceilings are so much more worthy of one’s attention 🙂Unfortunately a lot of the (LED?) orange strips that light the balustrading on the bridges at the moment aren’t working, whatever about the spots that light the keystones.
Indeed lets just take a look now – it’s approaching 1.00am, high summer, lots of tourists about – surely the Liffey must be putting on it’s best show with bridges resplendent in flattering light?
…or maybe not.
You raise a point I’ve meaning to ask – where is the O’Connell Street money coming from?
€400m isn’t it – or this for the entire HARP area?Is the CC paying directly for any of it, or is some from the NDP or directly from the DoE?
Coooill!
Yes, doesn’t the trucking industry use these secret routes? 🙂
Thanks for that info Bill re the M50, though how is it that 50 had never been designated for a national secondary before the M50 came along? Even if it had been in gestation since the 70s, have our road names not been in place for longer than this?
Seems strange that 50 had never been taken before 1990, or 1970 as the case may be.Interested to note the poor old N1 has has now been downgraded to a Regional 😮
Seems so strange after all those years holding the top spot in the country, and the quality stretches that prevail in places like north of Castlebellingham.…largely as this terrace doesn’t even exist on most people’s radar, whatever about its secondary location 🙂
Still, a place that’s very much so ‘up and coming’ what with a-scheming in the air for College Green…Looks like Habitat got a very good deal considering their previous future rental outgoings.
A prestigious new store, acres more space and a prominent (if not quite the busiest) location in the city centre – and all for €300,000 less!
I expect this will rise quite substantially in the medium term though…A comprehensive summary TP – though of the negative points it’s important to note, as there are a great many pluses too.
But I think it can be argued that the pluses are run of the mill and are to be expected as a given in any urban space – improved paving, less traffic, greater pedestrian priority, better public lighting, an excellent level of cleanliness being maintained etc.The negative aspects are those I think that could have made O’Connell St, or rather could be making it right now in relation to inappropriate uses and decrepit properties that have not been acted on.
Specifically in relation to the taxi rank – one question.
If it is not visually damaging and not a pedestrian obstruction – why not put it on Lower O’Connell Street?!
Why not narrow the Lower median behind the Monument and pop the rank in there – the cars could make a neat U-turn between William Smith O’Brien and the Luas line. Why not put it outside Eason’s and Clery’s with a U-turn just before the Plaza – I’m sure these flagship stores would be delighted with this new level of accessibility?Why not? Because Upper O’Connell St is still very much so out of sight out of mind.
Who cares if there’s a huge rank up there impinging on the aesthetic and taking an amenity space away from the pedestrian – it’s only the Upper Street, up there with all those tacky, lower order, noisy, cheap stores and run-down buildings.
Never in a million years would the taxi rank be put on Lower O’Connell St, it’s too important. But the Upper stigma lives on as bouyant as ever, in spite of the admirable notions of this IAP.
The Upper street as has always been the case is not of real concern and so gets whatever is chucked at it.
There’s no doubting Westmoreland St has huge potential, particularly the eastern side of the street as highlighted in the article; there’s quite large floorplates to be created out of the EBS and ICS (think there’s only apartments on the upper two floors).
But I don’t think I’d like to see Westmoreland St devoid of traffic, it has an inherent avenue-like quality that almost merits a directional flow of traffic down the centre. Of course the farcical pedestrian/vehicle ratio needs to be rebalanced: goodness knows there’s probably 10-15 times the number of people on the narrow pavements than there are on the copious amounts of roadspace. But there is more than ample space for the two to coexist quite happily.
Saying that, if a traffic route were to be retained soley for public transport, i.e. buses, we could do without that either!
At least having a mix of cars and general private traffic dispells the buses – with ‘public transport only’ we’ll end up with a bus carpark like O’Connell St.
I think a restricted amount of traffic adds interest and variety to city streets.
To devote a grand space the size of Westmoreland St just to pedestrians is taking the European ideal a little too far I think.But certainly this thoroughfare is so important in the city as a link in the chain that were it to be blocked for whatever reason the city centre would fall on its knees – and yet scant attention has been paid to it over the years, even less then O’Connell St, at least it got a cleaning up in 1988, Westmoreland St has got nothing on 30 years except a clump of inappropriate trees!
The uses on it have equally gone to hell, and traffic completely dominates – all on one of the city’s grandest streets.The scheme that tackles it will be very important as it includes not only Westmoreland St, but also the link to College Green at the south and O’Connell Bridge at the north. The bridge needs attention in particular and the manner in which the pedestrian is almost totally excluded from ‘the experience’ of the street joining the river – this link is completely consumed by traffic in the centre. Just think how dangerous and ‘out of bounds’ we all percieve this central space to be, with traffic all lined up like the start of a racetrack – and then zoom they’re off over the bridge whilst the pedestrian is left mushed in to either side, allowing the car to take centre stage.
This has to change – the emergence of the view of the Bridge and O’Connell Street is one of the delights of the city centre, yet is often concealed by a rank of traffic and buses, and even other pedestrians there being so many squeezed into such a small space – approaching the crossing from a distance your only concern is watching out for your own ‘space’ rather than enjoying vistas…
😀
And there was me thinking the powerful, consistant, unbroken vista of Upper O’Connell St was going to be the saving grace of this Area Plan :rolleyes:
Why do the taxis have to go back here?!
Indeed, very comprehensive – ought to be sitting on the counter of every PVC supplier! By law 🙂
Makes a very good point via diagram about how many modern frames, and not just PVC, can wreck the balance of windows by the opening part being larger and bulkier than the fixed parts:
This is by far one of the greatest drawbacks of PVC, softwood windows from the 60s & 70s, and to a lesser extent aluminium.
It also goes to show the level of effort that once went into window construction to ensure the opening parts were concealed – esp evident in Edwardian casements similar to those those above.Some pics here of surviving sashes – a delightful terrace of buildings in the village of Durrus, or rather these buildings are the village of Durrus 🙂
Very unusual for windows to survive in shop/supermarket buildings due to Super Valu Syndrome, so great to see them here.
Just a pity the signage etc could not be more sensitive:
And a wonderful dormer in Kinsale, with curved sashes no less. What a priceless feature!
Can you imagine anything remotely near the same level of attention to detail being paid today, especially in such a secondary location? :rolleyes:
The overhead signs are welcome – was on it the other day and the difference in sign visibility and information is marked. They make any motorway so much easier to use if you’re not sure of where you are going – learned from hard experience in the UK 🙂
They’ve been in use all over the UK for many years and are very effective – particularly the ‘Get in Lane’ ones for exits.
Where the M50 differs with its British counterparts is the lack of sign lighting – not sure its needed though, seems to be more of a tradition in the UK more than anything else.Just a question I’ve been wondering for a while – why is the M50 so called?!
wary smilie 🙂
Got me there Andrew, and would also have to admit to remembering that thread too, only cause of Ewan’s remark though 🙂
Wasn’t aware of the building at the time though, and your definition of it as an ‘ugly’ structure (agreed) probably made most people gloss over it even more as being just another pile of rubbish on the quays.Good prediction re the design quality.
🙂
Ah, I wondered if that replace-before-they-blow method was a practice used. Was watching a pair of workmen working their way around Penney’s on O’Connell St replacing all the florescent uplighters, even though the vast majority were working.
So that’s what they were at!
An efficient practice – as long as the bulbs are recycled of course.Pity about the poor white light from LEDs, as it tends to be the most effective colour for lighting stone or in providing a good base for other colours to work off.
A good point. The domestic architecture of today is without doubt the new vernacular – something Phil raised before.
And by and large people do like what they’re getting – complaints about developments today relate to house size, or local facilities – not design.It’s only when your eyes are opened to the ‘other side’, dare I say the ‘reality’ of it all, that one’s views completely change.
Reflected I think with the PVC issue and notable even on this site – when people realise the damage PVC does, or come across the alternatives to the product for new-build, they are generally sickened from that point on anytime they see the stuff.To begin with you notice it on your neighbour’s house for the first time, then the next house, and the next, then you venture into town and it hits you like a hammer – oh no, oh God, it’s everywhere! 🙂
I often wish that shaft of light from heaven had never decended on me – could be happily walking around now with my eyes wide shut 🙂The same applies for domestic development design, and architecture on a much broader level.
Well if it’s not going to be green Plug, then it has to be blue – end of story. After all there is no other colour when it comes to lighting bridges except blue – as I’m sure you know 😀
Thanks for that – yes the contrast with facades and the undersides of arches on bridges always works very well. Even with the current contrast, in spite of it being green, you can see the potential.
There is a degree of that reflective movement of the water you describe on O’Connell Bridge at the moment – very calming 🙂
It might look spectacular if more pronounced alright.The biggest hurdle to get over it seems is not the lighting design itself, but the longevity of bulbs – they’re never replaced in this country, and when they are it’s often done incorrectly.
So especially considering the awkward positioning of the lamps (i.e. only accessible via a boat :)), we’d need bulbs that last for as long as possible, and a dedicated scheme in place for maintenance.The term LED springs to mind…
😮 😮
I think you’ll find it’s ‘sensitive’ J. Seerski 😉
That is the worst view yet! How could they possibly deem that fenestration to be in anyway compatible with the quays, whatever about the building’s grotesque scaling and facade treatment?!
Don’t know which to be more offended by – the demolition of the Ormond or the erection of this yoke.Design Unlimited indeed. Design Unfinished more like.
Agreed that the DART stations are now as ugly as they are utilitarian. Not the slightest dart 🙂 of imagination anywhere, and crude unfinished furniture by the bucketload.
And on a related issue, what does everyone make of the new eh ‘colour scheme’ of grey and, well, more grey?!
Tara Station is now like a morgue, and many others aren’t much better.I must admit to liking the newly painted Dundalk Station though that has had the green changed to grey and the white detailing changed to a strange buttery colour. This seems to be the scheme IE have adopted for the next 5-8 years or so for the Eastern Lines – bit unconventional, not sure what to make of it, though I suspect it’s going to get tired very quickly, particularly the acres of sheet metal in Tara St which looks ghastly already.
Is the DART green dead now for stations?
No doubt with that plant room on top.
I agree that any form of representation to the owners on this one is worth a shot; just because the planning wheels have stopped doesn’t mean the owners couldn’t do with a little persuading.
Did this application come about as a result of a sale of the hotel to developers, or is it a purely cosmetic project?
The incentive scheme J. Seerski mentions is suggestive of the latter.A fair point you make Andrew, but I don’t think anyone here was aware of this project until not just after, but quite a long time after the decision was made, let alone when it was up for public scrutiny.
