kefu
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Thanks Morlan, that explains it.
I still think there are serious question marks as regards capacity.
I don’t believe the Tallaght line can currently handle a single extra tram considering they are often left queueing for up to ten minutes at Busarus and Abbey Street but I’m sure the RPA have this all in hand.Murphaph, can you explain how you run two tram lines into each other at right angles? Because for all the world this so-called connection between the two lines seems physically impossible to me, not least for reasons of capacity. Please someone explain this for me because I can not get my head around it?
One of the most peculiar things about the refurbishment of the Savoy is that little bits of it have been left unfinished like they ran out of money. Anybody who has taken a visit to the gent’s toilet will notice that. If you look closely around the interior, there are also little bits and pieces that haven’t been finished off. It’s like the snag list was done but never acted upon. I think all the city cinemas are suffering as a result of the resurgence of the Cineworld (former UGC/Virgin). As a very regular cinema-goer, there are regularly 100-yard queues in UGC and hardly ever a queue in either the Savoy or the Screen. Not really sure why.
It’s very interesting what long-term dereliction can do to you. When I saw that this site was finally being developed, I was absolutely delighted because the ground floor of these premises had been vacant for so many years. But when you see a picture like above, you realise we’re still losing the fabric of the city in a wholesale way. The Georgians are safe, but almost everything else is disposable.
All five from 47-51 George’s Street are protected structures. 51 is the Long Hall. 47 is the first building on the left and 48-50 is the middle three.
Interestingly, the only other listed buildings on the street are the Markets and Number 65, which is part of what used to be Sosume bar. It has changed its name again recently and evades me at the moment.
I think the building Frank refers to is Wicklow House where the Revenue are. But there is also something called Castle House, which is where Yamamori and all that are, and it’s pretty wicked too, I think.Regarding the as always terrific post by Graham, there was also a trend in the late 1980s and early 1990s for some of the terrible terrible apartment buildings on the quays to get a date stamp as well. It was almost like a final kick in the teeth for those of us forced to look at them.
dc3 is absolutely correct when he says that the taxpayer is actually bearing the cost of this and if you follow this to its logical conclusion, it’s a very shrewd move by Carrolls. They probably bought this stuff for a song and now get a tax write-off of at least €1 million. However, it’s still a terrific scheme to get important works into state hands and something that should be commended. It would be very difficult for IMMA or the State to justify spending €1.7 million to buy a 50 paintings in the present political climate. However, if you do it this way – you can just pretend to yourself that no money has changed hands.
And also in fairness to DCC, the relative volume of traffic from Nassau Street up Kildare Street is miniscule even at busy times, which means they can easily afford to have an automatically changing pedestrian light.
I have no doubt the Council would love to have something similar in place on the Quays and on College Green but the volumes of traffic are so large that those on foot will have to wait.
There are many similarly responsive pedestrian lights around the suburbs as well, especially near schools.
As has been highlighted many times before, there are also pedestrian light buttons, which are there purely for placebo effect and have no function whatsoever.It is pretty busy as you travel up the hill, obviously moreso in the morning.
But it was never really busy in the south-north direction.
What many people don’t realise is that you can still drive down Bridgefoot Street and turn right on to Usher Street and follow the road around back on to the quays. It’s one of those routes popular with taxi drivers but does involve a fairly treacherous right turn.We have had eighty years of independence to add to the stock of great buildings in Dublin and haven’t done such a good job.
Don’t think the swastika comparison holds any water.
British interests in Ireland spanned hundreds of years and like-it-or-not are largely responsible for the present fabric of the city.
The occupation of places like Paris and Amsterdam from 1940 to 1944 saw little if any building, rather the attachment of Nazi paraphenalia to pre-existing buildings.
Equally, many Nazi buildings have quite rightly been left in situ in Germany.
The argument about Seoul is a particularly good one. Had we destroyed everything built during our “occupation”, Dublin would be a very bland city.
And as previous posters said, most of these buildings were built on the instructions of an Irish parliament.
I think we should be at a stage politically and emotionally where no further royal or British insignia should ever be removed.
I would also imagine that any structures with such references are already listed.I think anybody who hasn’t read the full article should hold fire.
What it actually discusses is what the Irish people should try to save in the event of a disaster a la Hurricane Katrina.
And while it’s hard to argue with the save list of: the National Collections, Trinity College, Custom House, Dublin Castle, Newgrange, Hill of Tara, Cashel, Trim, Henrietta Street, Castletown, IMMA, Collins Barracks, and Hugh Lane, he also seems to have a soft spot for the “Garden of Remembrance at Islandbridge”.
It would take a tornado, not a hurricane, for the Garden of Remembrance to end up down there.
But the “sacrifice list” is bizarre. Forget about Busarus and the Loop Line.
As bad as the Westlink bridges are, can you imagine what life in Dublin would be like without them.Interesting point about RTE, Graham. I hadn’t noticed that.
The reason for that is because any type of recording equipment is illegal within the doors or gates of any court building in Ireland. That’s why you always see the unseemly scrum of photographers hanging around at the exits waiting to pounce.Well whatever about the rights and wrongs of pub chains, the Porterhouse did an amazing job restoring the art deco garage they now occupy in Glasnevin. I’d forgive them most things after that.
We already have chains of pubs in one way, where one publican owns seven or eight places around Dublin. And they all serve the same beers as well.
If anything, the Porterhouse chain is offering a bit of diversity compared to what else is available.Also as another suggestion, would it be possible to put a railing at the ends of Talbot Street and Henry Street and force pedestrians up to a new crossing somewhere around the amusement arcade?
Alek, that’s more like it. While I don’t agree with everything you’ve said, there is real substance to most of those suggestions.
The Port Tunnel is a huge issue all by itself and I do genuinely fear that the whole project is half-redundant before it even opens (in the absence of a full Eastern bypass).
As you’ve said – the restrictions on trucks are already being changed but in fairness to DCC, the vast majority of heavy vehicles trundling down the Quays fall in to the restricted zone.
The reality is that even with the toll-free tunnel, truck drivers will only want to use it for trips on routes to Belfast, Derry, and Cavan.
Anyone travelling to Galway, Cork, Limerick, Waterford etc will do everything in their power to avoid going anywhere near the M50 at least until its upgrade is complete.
I’d also still be interested in how you would propose eliminating cash fares from buses. I know the obvious solution is to just sell tickets in newsagents (and we certainly have enough of them in the city centre). But what about infrequent passengers coming from the suburbs.
And I think your excellent and original theory about people looking up at the Spire is exactly what makes it relevant that they are English tourists.
In future, don’t assume people aren’t interested in highly detailed responses – they are. And if not, they can choose not to read the posting.Alek – I find lines like this offensive: ‘… to prove Paddy is thick and stupid enough to get a Quart into a Pint pot’
I also find your one thousand word complaint a little bit much without so much as one single suggestion of where exactly the buses should go instead or how you eliminate cash fares.
The only fatalities I can recall involving a bus was the Wellington Quay tragedy, a totally separate issue from O’Connell Street.
The “several fatalities” to which you refer all involved trucks and bicycles from what I know, which is precisely what the Port Tunnel is an attempt to eliminate.
The whole point of the O’Connell Street regeneration plan has been to try and remove all unnecessary traffic from the street and make it a public transport artery.
I think everybody can see that this is exactly what will happen. We are now in a heavy works phase, which is inevitably going to cause disruption.
There are only a handful of north-south arterial routes in this city for which we have our medieval “city planners” – not our current administration – to thank for.
Calling for people’s resignations because two English tourists are in too much of a rush to obey pedestrian signals is infantile. I’m no apologist for Dublin City Council but a little more constructive criticism and a little less point-scoring mighn’t go astray.
Also the notion that somehow road safety is better in Italy, Spain and France can only lead to me believe you have never travelled in any of those countries. Britain and Ireland are models of sophistication when compared to running the gauntlet of road traffic somewhere like Rome or Paris.The only thing I would say is that there is no clear delineation between traffic and pedestrian spaces at many squares and plazas in many italian, french and spanish cities
There must be at least some onus on people to observe what’s going on around them
As a pretty obvious for instance, traffic and pedestrian lights should suggest pretty strongly that cars/buses are likely to be in the area.
I think perhaps we’re being a little quick in blaming the redevelopment before we know exactly what happened.
