urbanisto
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One for Mr Smart
Changes to St Stephen’s Green traffic by November – Altered routes will divert cars and buses from new Luas line
Olivia KellyThe biggest traffic changes on St Stephen’s Green since the Luas Green Line was constructed almost a decade ago, are to come into force in two month’s time.
New traffic routes are being introduced to divert cars and buses away from the site of the Cross City Luas line ahead of the start of work to lay the tracks.
The new Luas will connect the existing Green and Red lines through the city centre before continuing north to the new DIT campus planned for Grangegorman, then onto Phibsborough and Cabra where it will terminate at the Irish Rail station at Broombridge.
The Molly Malone statue on Grafton Street in Dublin, due to be moved to facilitate the development of the cross-city Luas link.
The line begins at the terminus of the existing Green line on St Stephen’s Green West, turns right on to St Stephen’s Green North and then exits the green left on Dawson Street. Two new turns off the green are being introduced to divert traffic from this area.
The first will be a right hand turn from St Stephen’s Green East on to Merrion Row. Currently traffic heading north on the east side of the green must turn left passing in front of the Shelbourne Hotel. Motorists who want to access Merrion Row to head for Baggot Street or Merrion Square must currently take a right onto Dawson Street and use either Molesworth Street or Nassau Street to loop back around to the green and on Merrion Row.
The new system will give two right turning lanes on to Merrion Row from the green and one left turning lane continuing around the green. This new system will be in place in late October or early November.
The second major change is at the diagonally opposite corner of the green with the creation of a new turn from St Stephen’s Green South onto the west side of the green. Traffic taking this new turn will cross the existing Luas line and then run parallel with the line as far as York Street. This turn allows motorists access to the Royal College of Surgeons and St Stephen’s Green car parks, or they can continue on to Mercer Street and take Noel Purcell Walk to access Drury Street and the car parks in that area. This new turn should also be in place by early November.
The changes, which will be permanent, provide additional routes for motorists and no routes are being closed off to traffic at this stage, Brendan O’Brien of the council’s traffic department said.
“We are not banning traffic from any current route along the green, or closing off any streets, but with all the construction activity we want to give people an alternative to being in that area.”
Restrictions and traffic bans will however come into force from next year onwards, when the left turn from Dawson Street to Nassau Street, used by buses and for deliveries at certain times, will be eliminated.
“Dawson Street will be quite problematic. When the major work starts it won’t be able to accommodate much traffic,” said Mr O’Brien
In anticipation of the laying of the line down Dawson Street, Kildare Street, currently one way heading south only, will be reconfigured over the next two months into a two-way street. Buses will be able to go both ways for the full length of the street, but cars heading north will have to turn into Molesworth Street.
Once the Luas line is operational the right turn at the end of Dawson Street will be a bus lane only so motorists who decide to turn from the green into Dawson Street will have to turn right into Molesworth Street.
In addition to these major changes the council will be reconfiguring traffic lanes, junctions and traffic islands and removing some car parking spaces from the green. It will also provide cycle lanes and widen footpaths.
Traffic changes required onwards from Nassau Street to College Green, Westmoreland Street and O’Connell Street will be the subject of discussions with the contractors when they are appointed Mr O’Brien said.
However, he said it was likely some extension of the Bus Gate, which sees cars banned from travelling north through College Green at peak times, would be required.M’luds in the Four Courts are beginning to have chamber envy of their colleagues down at Infirmary Road.
A newly designed “legal campus” with a landmark Supreme Court building is envisaged in long-term plans for the redevelopment of the Four Courts complex in Dublin.
The master plan recommends an overhaul of the city centre site, including the demolition of at least one building and the centralisation of all civil courts in one location.
Highlighting the “run-down, ad hoc and cramped” environment in the Four Courts, it outlines plans to “enhance and underpin the historic, civic and iconic status” of the site as “the focal point for the administration of justice in Ireland”.
A central feature of the plan is the demolition of the “dated and featureless” Áras Uí Dhálaigh, a red-brick 1980s building in the southwest quadrant of the complex, and the construction in its place of a dedicated Supreme Court building “worthy and reflective of the national and civic status bestowed on it”.
The proposals were first set out in a confidential report submitted to the Department of Justice by the Courts Service, in collaboration with the Office of Public Works, in 2009. It did not proceed any further at that stage, but it is understood plans for the first stage of the scheme are being pursued.
This involves the construction of a new building on a derelict site at Hammond Lane, adjoining the Four Courts, that would house the family courts and the Courts Service headquarters. The Courts Service is currently based in nearby Phoenix House, a privately owned office block it occupies under a long-term lease.
The 2009 document, which roughly coincided with the completion of the Criminal Courts of Justice on Parkgate Street in Dublin, set out a “long-term strategic vision” for a single civil and family courts campus at the Four Courts.
It outlined six options, ranging from retaining the status quo to developing a new campus at an alternative city-centre site, before coming down in favour of centralising all court and court-related functions at the Four Courts and a new facility at Hammond Lane.
“The option would substantially achieve all project objectives, and do so at a cost lower than all alternative realistic options that address the needs comprehensively,” it states. The estimated cost is not included in the copy seen by The Irish Times.Courtrooms
The chief limitations and deficiencies with the current Four Courts complex, the report states, include an insufficient number of courtrooms for current and future volumes of business, the ad-hoc layout and the absence of a single civil and family law office.
It also points to the “poor condition, insufficient scale or in cases total absence” of appropriate space for many court users, including members of the judiciary, staff, lawyers and the public.
The report followed a strategic study by the OPW which examined the scope to develop the Four Courts as a single civil courts complex. That study proposed a new campus-style layout with quads and arcaded links, and where all new buildings would draw their inspiration from the example of the Four Courts building – designed by James Gandon – but in a “contemporary idiom”.Dublin City Council – City Architects have published a new study on Aungier Street. One hope that there are some tangible actions arising from it.
AUNGIER STREET: Revitalising an Historic Neighbourhood
On Friday 23rd August at 3 p.m. as part of the Carmelite Community and Priory Gathering Weekend, the Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn will launch the Aungier Street Project Report.
The project is a pilot of the wider Dublin City Council Public Realm Strategy which recognises that condition, character and uses of the surrounding buildings can add to how the public experience the area. The publication sets out a number of recommendations and next steps to be undertaken in collaboration with local residents and businesses.
The project lists possibilities and ideas to stimulate change on Aungier Street, transforming it from a place to pass through into a destination, showcasing the value of its heritage and unique character and promoting economic regeneration. This urban project is innovative in approach – looking at things afresh, rethinking the ground-rules and proposing change for the better. This is an opportunity to reinvent a part of the city; to make the undervalued valued and the ordinary extraordinary.
The Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn says: “I want to compliment Dublin City Council, the Dublin Civic Trust and the Heritage Council for their work in producing this excellent Report. My view of Aungier Street will never be the same now that the splendid architecture of the buildings and the mansions has been drawn to my attention. This report makes us all see the street from a totally different perspective. I look forward to new initiatives taking place in the Aungier Street area over the coming years and the street going from strength to strength.”
Ali Grehan, City Architect with Dublin City Council, says “Although Aungier Street is often over-looked it is one of the great neighbourhoods in the historic core of Dublin and has a fascinating history. The Aungier Street project looks at revitalising the area by using its historic value as a district and its quality as a place to live in, work and visit.”
The street was laid out by Francis Aungier in 1661 through the former grounds of the Whitefriars monastery. Planning a street of this scale among the narrow lanes of the medieval city was a new departure. The grandeur of the street also gave rise to a new type of city mansion, several of which still survive to greater or lesser levels of intactness. These would have been the grandest houses in pre-Georgian Dublin and the known survivors are designated as both recorded monuments and protected structures.
There is an exhibition about the architectural history of Aungier Street on display in the Whitefriar Centre for the gathering weekend and there will be a guided walk of the area at 1 p.m. on Friday 23rd August led by Pat Liddy and a walk on Saturday at 12 noon led by Dublin City Council architects’ division.
To view the Aungier Street Project report on line click on http://bit.ly/14ClvH2
ENDS
It seems any criticism of Dublin City Council’s corporate attitude to the maintenance of historic (or any) paving in the city is (as usual) entirely misplaced.
From the City Council’s website in response to recent An Taisce comments:
Media Release Tuesday 13th August 2013: Use of Granite in the Maintenance and Repair of Footpaths
I reference to the article in today’s Irish Times “Dublin’s historic footpaths being destroyed by cheap granite” and would like to mention that this particular item was discussed at a recent Dublin City Council Strategic Policy Meeting.
Dublin City Council Roads and Traffic Department are committed, to the reuse of antique paving, and where possible to the use of Leinster Granite for the maintenance of areas of antique granite. Granite that has been returned to Dublin City Council is reused if in good condition but approximately 10% is lost through lifting and relaying and general wear and tear. When sourcing granite for paving maintenance and repair, Dublin City Council must adhere to the Department of Finance Procurement guidelines, and it is only recently that Leinster granite became available and at competitive prices.
Every effort is made to fuse the existing and new paving thereby avoiding a conspicuous disruption to the continuity of Dublin footpaths. However, because of a shortage of indigenous stone, repairs have been carried out using other materials or stone. The entire practice in relation maintenance and repair of antique granite pavements is being assessed in the context of the Public Realm Strategy. A mapping exercise showing the areas ofantique paving to be maintained has been done by the Heritage Office. When both of these exercises are complete a policy manual will be brought before the City Council for adoption. That policy will then apply going forward and a decision will also be made on how to deal with the existing situation. I hope this brings clarity to the situation regarding the use granite on our footpaths.
ENDS
Approx 10% is lost “through lifting and relaying and general wear and tear” …so how long before we lose it all then?
…and most irritating for me, when the opportunity comes along to refurbish the public realm outside this terrace to make the pavement wider and perhaps add some smart pieces of street furniture….its completely ignored by the city council. Fools that they are.
Its nice to see some quality on the street. There’s an air of ‘do what you want’ to so many of its shops and premises. The former Mermaid Cafe building is surely the next candidate for a repaint?
I understand the extension has been shelved due to funding (surprise surprise). The work on the Dargan Wing (including a new roof) has been completed. The works to renovate the Milton Wing are due to being later this year. The gallery will be completed in 2016! Until then we have the Millennium Wing and the the few other rooms that are open.
@GrahamH wrote:
The more one considers this terrace, the bigger a joke it gets. The very image of the city is being persistently undermined here, in spite of the signage not having planning permission, in spite of being officially designated for removal under a statutory Area of Special Planning Control and an Architectural Conservation Area, and in spite of negatively impacting on the character of Protected Structures. It is such an unholy mess, one would be forgiven for thinking it a Photoshop job.
And yet another Photoshop job tells a thousand words in terms of the impact of reinstating the original end pavilion (lead downpipe optional).
The wider view from O’Connell Bridge. What a transformative effect.
Immediately, a coherent Georgian context and legibility is restored to the setting of the bridge. All that is required is a comprehensive reshaping of the public realm (planned for Luas BXD) to radically alter our perceptions of this critical space in the city
Taking in the adjacent pair of houses – and acknowledging that none of this is without technical challenges – the very image of O’Connell Street, the Liffey quays and the ceremonial spine of the city is reshaped.
Of course we’d ditch the Victorian plate windows, and a handful more chimneys wouldn’t go amiss. But this is achievable if the will and, fundamentally, an undertanding of the built form of Dublin was there to do it. Alas, this stuff just isn’t trendy enough, is it?
It appears the elaborate shopfront currently under construction at 32 Bachelors Walk will house ….a fro-yo outlet. Seems like a lot of trouble for such an underwhelming use.
The Arches sculpture on St Stephens Green is being dismantled and relocated as part of the new traffic layout on the east side of the Green. Its part of a huge city wide process of wrecking due to take place as part of Luas CrossCity 🙂
The endless bridge works on Marlborough Street …endless… and the just begun work to fill in cellar etc along the proposed route will surely mean that Dublin City Centre will look like a dump for a couple of years to come.
Another repaving horror show on Earlsfort Terrace to the front of the National Concert Hall. Old granite paving relaid in the most awful fashion with cement grouting as wide as your arm. I will post some images shortly.
7 years after it was started, the ‘new’ public lighting scheme on Pearse Street has finally been completed and the odd bod collection of old stuff removed. And despite earlier grumpy comments from me, the finish of the pavement looks well.
We’re making progress people…
No sign of the same for parts of historic granite on College Green though. That will have to wait until Luas CrossCity.
Its not exactly rocket science is it…. There’s an obvious symmetry to D’Olier/Westmoreland Streets from O’Connell Bridge. Wide pavements, focal points, tree lined etc. These are all logical urban design devices that one would expect here.
I know for certain that an enforcement notice was served on this premises in 2010 because I referred it to the Council at the time that the Nokia signage replaced the Baileys sign in September of that year.
I fear that the owner of 33, 34 and 56 will refuse to undertake the works that have been permitted unless he gets new signage.
Its all driven by the nonsense that is ‘the Validation Process’. Scandalously, since we emerged from the Celtic Tiger period where fortunes were made by site notice erection companies and newspapers charging €1,000s in some instances for notices, all at the behest of the bureaucracy, little if nothing has been done to being sense to this process.
Actually a prescribed form of site notice has only appeared since the P&D Act 2000. Despite asking for a ‘brief description’ of the development, validation officers have repeatedly pushed for more and more detail..all on this one page (hopefully A4). Hence the format.
Of course, there is evidence that this push to detailed site notices is not universal. I have regularly seen site notices in Jackie Healy Rae land that say simply: Brief description of the proposed development ‘a house’. Tradition?
Needless to say, a more logical notice system applies in the UK. And there the Local Authority erects the notice.
If you would like to witness site notices gone made and contributing to the overall sense of urban neglect…then pay a visit to the HenryStreet – OConnellStreet – Moore Street site owned by Chartered Land.
I love that view of the bridge above…just look at the hoards of people corralled onto narrow pavements on the city’s widest bridge while acres of space is afforded to cars. Says it all no?
Thats a brilliant image Graham….a wow factor image.
In saying you overstated the importance of refurbishing the site I wasn’t downplaying how desirable it would be. I simply feel that the IAP for O’Connell Street, which sought to substantially reimagine the premier street in the city (and that by some reports spent €70m before it came to a shuddering halt), failed to alter the perception the built environment and public realm of the city in the minds of the citizenry, so I am not sure how refurbishing one terrace would achieve this.
A project of international appeal might be a comprehensive plan for the north Georgian city and a move towards UNESCO status.
Oh and around the corner at 55 O’Connell Street (Hickeys Pharmacy – a dodgy clan if ever there was one) all that plastic muck went up a few months back for some beauticians. The irony is lost somewhere over Dublin Bay. Another enlightened landlord there…
Well lets not count our chickens just yet Graham. This is the terrace today:
A couple of things to note. The big canvas advertising that went up in the last couple of days on the front to add to Nokia et al. The shocking pink shopfront of the new sew and mend business that opened last week (with no planning permission for shopfront changes). The refurbished shopfront of the former Elverys/then newsagent/now Max cafe.
Suffice to say, I think you’ll be waiting a while for your coordinated rusticated granite shopfronts along the full terrace.
The planning decision is messy. I reckon the condition that mentions the replicated Georgian shopfront to No. 34 is a cut and paste error by the planner. It may well be clarified in the Final Grant.
I think you overstate the significance of improving this terrace. It would be welcome to improve the terrace certainly, but as the humble postcard is in demise, I think its unlikely to radically alter people’s perceptions of our fine city.
Across the way, the new currency converters in 1 O’Connell Street has put up new signage – without planning.
At long last an application has been lodged to refurbish and bring back to use the former Dockrells store on South Great Georges Street. No details up as yet…you know how you need to wait 4 weeks until DCC scans on the documents…modrin technology and all.
The development will consist of the upgrade and extension of existing retail shop building over three floors above basement level. The works will comprise of; the upgrade and extension of existing retail shop building over three floors above basement level. The works will comprise; the upgrade of the existing fabric to include; the retention and repair of; existing brick and stone to front, rear and side facades. Existing windows to front, rear and side facades. 6no existing brick and stone chimneys. The reinstatement of two number windows to existing modified picture window to first floor level to Georges Street. The demolition and removal of 600msq of existing retail shop area comprising; the flat roof extension to rear of first floor terrace building including existing lift enclosure. A section of the 3rd floor structure 2no. existing brick chimneys to the main roof to Georges Street. The demolition, replacement and upgrade of existing structure comprising; existing ground floor, first floor and second floor structures. Existing roof structures. Existing roof profile to be reinstated reusing existing slates. The provision of 550msq of new retail shop area comprising new 2 storey above ground floor extension to rear of existing brick terrace (overall height 13.00 metres to parapet, 17.83 metres to lantern) The provision of new stone and glass shop fronts to Stevens Street and South Great Georges Street, detail of signage to form subsequent application. The subdivision of the overall retail premises of 3250msq (2250msq existing and 550 msq new) to provide 3no. retail units comprising; 1no. new retail unit to South Georges Street of 463msq GFA extending to Ground and Basement Floor Levels 1no. new multi storey retail unit of 2192msq GFA to South Great Georges Street and Stevens Street, extending to ground, basement, first and second floor levels, 1no new retail store to Lower Stevens Street of 222msq GFA, including Ground, first and Second floor levels all associated works.
