hutton
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Ah twas such a shame – no sign of Jackie Healy Rae, though there is a nice pic of him & his offspring in the book… 😀
@ 400 pages long I suspect that Chaos will keep some contributers off the discussion boards here for a little bit… Frank seems to be back on track – the efforts by him & James Nix have produced a publication that would appear on first inspection to rank alonside Destruction of Dublin ( which in my own opinion was far finer than “Construction”) .
A polemic work – well done to Fmc & JN!
@Owen O´ Callaghan wrote:
Perhaps Mr McDonald’s real difficulty is that Cork is in the midst of one of the most exciting development phases in its history.
Oooh who ever said anything about Cork people, chips, and shoulders?
Im sure in speaking about a thriving city, Mr O C must be refering to the wonderful Mallow road that was built above/ on top of the residential and urban townscape beneath; theres one I certainly overlooked in my contributions to the best roads/ worst roads thread. ( I cannot think of a worse scheme built in Ireland in recent years – inc Sligo) :rolleyes:
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@dowlingm wrote:The problem with this whole plan is that it is literally as good as it gets. Olivia Mitchell has some decidely dubious notions about transport and has the Heuston-Spencer Dock interconnector in her sights. If there is a change of government a “review” (a delay) is certain.
@aj wrote:
maybe this is true but surely no new goverment would be so stupid… i think the goverment (despite the scepticism over whether or not they can deliver it) realises that the transport issue is a vote winner or loser!
No unfortunately not. Over the summer, the FG wing of the new plotical party “Finegael-and-labour” ( 😉 )brought out a survey, taken in Nth Dublin & its environs, that showed the vast majority of persons surveyed would prefer to use public transport for commuting. After an initial release & one or twp interviews, Olivia Mitchell completely changed tack & started banging on about the quality of signage on the M50 SEM. Open goal, govt with its pants down in terms of presiding over the unused Dublin – Drogheda – Navan railway, and all O.M. can do is rant about an issue of far less strategic importance. At a recent talk, Frank Mc D referred to her in terms of (roughly) “ravings of a mad Sth Dublin housewife” – an assessment that I am inclined to share.
There are talented people in “Finegael-and-labour”, such as Richard Bruton, but I am not convinced that O.M. is one of them. It is a poor reflection on that party that she was appointed to front-bench on an issue of such importance.
Sorry folks, I too wish that at least one of the major parties would have a competent pair of hands on this area 🙁@dave123 wrote:
I’m sure my children’s children’s will go on the new Atlantic coast Railway when its finally completed. I will have probably already used the new super duper fantastic trans Atlantic highway under the Ocean :rolleyes:
Why wait til then? By all accounts it´ll be open in 2009 – See http://www.atlantictunnel.com/ for further info. At least now we know where Martin E got his advice 😉 , and theres probably as much chance of seeing one completed as there is the other 😀
Theres nothing like a launch by 4 govt ministers showing different colored lines on a map to get the media in this country wetting their lips :rolleyes: Fair enough, if it´ll be delivered – yet lets judge by deed rather than by word – and then attribute credit accordingly.
I am confused by this scheme and the sudden emphasis on public transport by this govt. I am unable to understand that if this is bona fide, why then are there currently QBCs in Clondalkin and the Merrion road without the buses to run on them? Why has this govt refused to release money under the 2000 NDP allocated specifically for the purchase of 120 buses? :confused: These are measures that could provide immediate relief – but perhaps its not as good PR as pretty lines on a map! (BTW Is the existing Heuston – Connolly line, via Phoenix Park due to be used or not, does anybody know?)
In order to convince, a plan should show thought, consistency, and vision – infrastructure should be future-proofed by not having unnecessary restrictions placed at the outset. In particular it seems odd to have a heavy rail metro link up with existing Irish Rail at 4 points, yet build the metro at 4´8´´ gauge – while Irish rail is 5´3´´ in width; if that is whats planned, it is perverse. To my eye, it also shows lack of clarity of vision to build the Metro and the missing Luas link on top of one another; is this not overkill & wasteful?
Time to regauge Harcourt Luas to 5´3´´ and have as a Dart/ metro?
What if the current Luas to Sandyford was regauged to Irish standard and run into a tunnel prior to transversing the Grand Canal city-bound? If this were so and the line is then completed to Bray, as planned – and as should have originally been done, there are 3 benefits –
1) Increased maximum capacities – Dart/ Metro/ Heavy rail rapid transit can accommodate up to 6 times more than trams can carry at peak times.
2) Far superior inter-compatibility & flexibility; suburban trains from Arklow and Wicklow could run straight into Stephens Green, and if the Metro is built 5´3´´, then onto the Airport/ Swords. This gives the 2 advantages of relieving congestion at Connolly – Tara Street, and also that international experience shows that 30% of passengers are lost when it is required that they have to change – this can be avoided.
3) Waste can be avoided. Different gauges requires more trains rather than less; as opposed to being able to economise with an optimum number, equally each gauge will require different maintenance workshops with different tools & different approaches required for the different models.10 years is a long time in infrastructure delivery
By 2007, when elections are due, this Govt will have been in power for 10 years. Recently I was in a planning museum in Paris ( http://www.pavillon-arsenal.com/home.php ) , where it was explained how before 1900, there was very little urban rail in the city – yet by 1909, 67 kilometres of metro had been completed. Compare & contrast?
At the end of the day, to my eye the record of this govt is to promise by press release a definite move on overdue needs, while then not delivering. Euphoria in certain quarters of the media at being able to bang on about Martin E´s plan seems to be matched only by their amnesia. DTI, DTO, Strategic Rail Review and whatever-yer-having-yerself. There´ll be another consultants report, another review, a consultants report on the review, followed by a review of the consultants report on the lack of implementation of the original review. And the merry-go-round goes on and on. The only exception to this is expenditure on roads, which at present is a ratio of 4 : 1 when compared to money spent on public transport.
What irritates is that they point out whats wrong, would appear to know roughly whats needed – yet then do something else. Maybe come 2007, I´ll follow their direction – I´ll say I´ll vote Fianna Fail, I´ll mean to vote Fianna Fail, but when it comes to the ballot card somehow my X will end up somewhere else 😀
@ctesiphon wrote:
Agreed, hutton. Where social history is concerned, which is not always immediately apparent from the physical fabric of a building, it is important to tread softly. ( 😮 I’ll get my coat…)
Yeah- get yer coat, take yer hat and all the rest of it – such puns wheely bore me :p
jdivision wrote:Dunnes owned so much property in this area that they had not been utilising to its full potential[quote/]No offence jdiv but thats an understatement if ever.Often the term ‘speculators’ is associated with the word ‘faceless’ -but Georges St is certainly not that. (BTW Re the Dunnes currently open on G st, has anybody else noticed the lack of fresh fruit and veg therin, or is it just me? :confused: )
What thoughts anybody on the idea that the wonderful gothic brick block from Fade St to Exchequer St needs a plan to deliver on its own particular specific conservation/ usage needs?
It´ll be worth keeping an eye out so that they put the brass plaque back on Dunlops factory – it being the worlds first pneumatic tyre factory & all that. V. important it goes back up – Im all too tyred when vernacular history simply disappears. Up with the plague of plaques! 😀
@ctesiphon wrote:
However, can I ask why this was posted in the main Ireland section rather than in the Irish Planning sub-forum? This is a planning matter at heart and, as such, belongs in the other place. Or do most people on this board not bother looking above the line? There’s some good debate going on up there ^^^ in the purer air 😮 of the planning world that could really benefit from the input of non-planners. Some of the debates are slow, but that can only be the fault of the board members (not the Board members though 🙂 ). It’s up to all of us to get stuck in. I’d like not to read this as a reflection of the division between the two disciplines and, by extension, as a confirmation of some of the comments in the Board’s Annual Report, but it’s hard. While we mightn’t always agree (godforbid!), we are technically all in this game together- architects, planners, enlightened laypeople.
So come on in- the water’s lovely (and I hear the sharks have gone into hibernation, so there’s no better time).Eeeek youre probably right in hind sight – I simply thought “ah news – i know where this would be appreciated” 😮
Maybe I should have planned my posting better 😀 😀 😀
– i dont mind if PC or anyone else relocates it over
Once again apologies for the “do-first-plan-later” crime on my part :p
H
“a BLOATED MONSTROUS LUMP OF DEVELOPER RUBBISH”. – Devin, Meeoooow!
“Fully agreed about that latter yoke – truly hideous” – G HickeyDito. I reeeally loike de corner balconies; a perfect lesson in how to protect the apartment interiors from nasty natural light :p
Ardee Court looks alright – although there too the balconies on the left seem also designed to keep out light :confused:
What about the Wonderful Barn, Leixlip?
Recently added to the World Monuments Watch 100 Endangered Sites list, its current condition and the proposals for it would certainly seem to qualify it for fitting the brief of ” ‘encapsulates’ the spirit of Ireland” 😮
You can see it now before its context is changed totally –http://www.wmf.org/html/programs/resources/sitepages/ireland_wonderful_barn.html
😀
H
Another road to add to worst roads list – Belfast´s West Link. Was stuck on it yesterday in my southern reg car beside Sandy Row yesterday for almost 1 hour during loyalist disturbances. Was never so glad in my life to see the Nips present. The more i know about NI politics, the less i understand; loyalists protesting about the RIR being disbanded; how do they do this – by shooting at them in riots! :confused:
Glad to be back in one piece 🙂
H.
PS Keep up the adding of scenic routes – makes for a good list
Was in Belfast yesteday, and i thought i would catch a snap of these for the record – standard lamps. Must say, I think their street seats (black metal grid style) are superior – more comfortable and perfectly functional. H
@t.scott wrote:
Is that the title of the book, chaos at the crossroads, and when is it expected to be released!!?!! any and all info greatly appreciated.
The title is indeed Chaos at the Crossroads. Expect it out for Christmas; a little birdy mentioned to me that it is being published by Bandon in Cork, so perhaps a quick call thru may secure you one of the 1st copies – and/ or if youre feeling really cheeky, you might be able to find out from them details as to the launch night :p Hope this is of help –
H
If you want to see monumental Irish wolfhounds, may I suggest Liam Lynch monument in Knockmealdown Mountains on the Tipperary/Waterford border.
Erected circa 1930, the monument was to consist of a round tower 2/3 scale of a real tower with 4 bronze wolfhounds at each of the points of compass at base.
However money ran out and the monument was left unfinished until …. about 1997, when a number of locals and other enthusiasts got together, started raising funds, and subsequently commisioned the sculptor Pauline O´ Connell, put a hound on each of the 4 points. (And in fact an extra hound was cast which has subsequently ended up in the possession of my own family 😉 )Hope this is of help
PS – AHR´s house at Rathcoffey in Kildare is well worth a look; no wolfhounds, but a very interesting and remarkable neo-classical (ruined) edifice constructed on top of a medieval hall house – a real gem! Also a defensive gatehouse nearby
http://kildare.ie/Heritage/History/historic/castles/rathcoffey-castle.htm
http://homepage.eircom.net/~hgeissel/PFLocal/PFNKE.htm@ctesiphon wrote:
However, I think part of the problem is that the N11 lane was so badly designed in the beginning. ….Some ‘improvements’ have been made to the lane in the last few years, but it all still gives the impression that it was designed for the convenience of motorists rather than for the safety of cyclists.
Finally (before this turns into a thesis), I wish cyclists would be more law-abiding. If you want to go against the flow of a one-way street, get off and walk.N11 does seem like a poor joke in terms of serving the cyclist. If its design arose from form following function, then one can only suspect that the primary function was to clear the road of cyclists – not so much for cyclists, but for the convenience of motorists.
In particular I like the way cyclists are told to yield at points where, if they were cycling along the road, they would have had right-of-way; extra stops are so incentivising for usage :rolleyes: . And then there is the up-down special effect where, at vehicle entrances to residences, cycle lanes adhere to the contours of dropped curbs that were designed for pedestrians and motor vehicles, but never conceived for bikes. It is frustrating to watch that mistake being repeated again & again; after constructing new cycle lanes adjacent to the pre-existing lanes which had failed partly because of this along N11, Dun Laoghaire Co Co went ahead and repeated the same basic error from Whites Cross to the entrance to Leapordstown race-course 😡 (I wonder whether the engineers responsible ever themselves cycle – or do they just see bikes as playthings for kids, with the resulting consequences clear in subsequent sub-standard designs?)I disagree as to cyclists having to get off bikes for one-way streets – more cycle contra-flows should be put in – Kilmainham (outside the gaol) works well 🙂 One ways are conceived primarily for motor vehicle movements; it is unfair, if not offensive, that cyclists needs come subservient to the car. Being both driver & cyclist, I have no problem with someone cycling contra to a one-way – provided they do so with care, on the left, & dismounting if needs be, such as at junctions.
What I would like to know is, what do people make of the new “dotty” lines on the right hand sides of the carriageways on the regenerated stretches of O Connell St?
@Paul Clerkin wrote:
Don’t go on the comedy circuit, you would be toast
I shed have known my puns would not be appreciated :p
Graham,
Its always a pleasure to read this thread – particularly with all of the period photos which you uploaded; I note that the thread title appropriatey has a lit bulb as the accompanying icon 😀
However I don’t know if I agree with your last comment as to “those flippin signs are tacked onto so many of these posts”; it would seem to me that this is probably the better practice than the more frequent one-pole-per-sign/ light/ camera that is done all around Dublin.
Take the junction on the south side of O’Donovan Rossa Bridge, opposite the Four Courts; between only the four corners of the junction, there are approx 18 poles holding lights and signs, and of course no attempt at consolidation. Poles stand side by side with all most military dignity and precision, each one bearing a singular sign or item as if it were their duty……And you have to ask yourself; “are the poles invading, or do they just multiply at night?”
:p
