An Irish Planning Students Blog

Dublin’s €60 million Samuel Beckett Bridge, designed by internationally renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, opened to traffic this morning.

Motorists have been advised there is no right-turn from the bridge on either side of the river and no left-turn from North Wall Quay onto the north side of the bridge.

The 120-metre long, 48-metre high bridge spans the river Liffey from Sir John Rogerson’s Quay near Macken Street on the south side to Guild Street at the site of the new National Convention Centre on the north side.

It was one of two bridges commissioned from Calatrava by Dublin City Council 10 years ago. The other, the James Joyce Bridge, opened at Blackhall Place near Heuston Station on Bloomsday, June 16th, 2003.

The new bridge was projected in 1998 to cost £10 million, but the costs ultimately rose to almost €60 million.
(more…)

THE NUMBER of large lorries using the Dublin Port Tunnel has halved in the last two years according to figures from Dublin City Council.

The tunnel, which brings vehicles from the M1 to Dublin Port avoiding the city centre, opened in December 2006 and has had a steady increase in use by four- and five-axle lorries to a peak of 7,044 a day in August 2007.

The number of lorries taking the tunnel has since declined sharply to an average of just 3,582 a day in August 2009.

Five-axle lorries taking the tunnel fell by 42 per cent from 5,246 a day in August 2007 to 3,013 last August. The reduction in the numbers of four-axle vehicles using the tunnel has been greater still with 1,797 a day taking the route at the peak, down to 569 – a drop of almost 70 per cent.

However, the decline in use of the tunnel is not a result of large lorries taking to the city streets. Dublin City Council said traffic counts at North Wall Quay, East Wall Road, and Seán Moore Road, the three routes lorries would previously have used to reach the port, revealed a reduction of up to 96 per cent in five-axle vehicles and 83 per cent in four-axle vehicles using the city streets since the opening of the route up to last September.

This decline coincides with the council’s ban on five-axle lorries in the city from 7am to 7pm.

However the reduction has also been recorded during night time hours and the prohibition does not apply to four-axle vehicles which can use the city streets at any time.

The reduction appeared to be a “reflection of the economic and particularly construction downturn”, the council said.

IrishTimes

A new report presented to Dublin City Council says that retail activity in the city centre has been in decline since April 2008.

The report was prepared as the local authority decided to review its ‘Bus Gate’ traffic management system, which has had a dramatic adverse impact on retail trade in the city centre — particularly late-night shopping.

On the north side, footfall declined by 14 per cent in September compared with September last year. In reality, the fall-off on the north side may be worse, because the analysis includes O’Connell Street which is also a transport hub, so footfall figures may include people who are not shoppers.

On the south side, the decline is even sharper, at 19 per cent for the same period.

Thursday night shopping was seriously hit by the Bus Gate system, which banned cars from College Green during the morning and evening rush hours.

In September this year, footfall on Thursday nights in the Grafton Street area was down 36 per cent compared with September 2008.

Dublin city councillors have now voted to lift the ban on private cars passing through the area from November 18 to January 15.

Environment Minister and Green Party leader John Gormleydescribed the decision to temporarily scale back the Bus Gate as “a retrograde step”.

Meanwhile, luxury retailer Brown Thomas has moved to streamline management and administration costs as exceptionally tough conditions continue in the retail sector.

Under the plan, human resources, information technology and the finance departments of Brown Thomas in Ireland andSelfridges & Co in the UK will be merged.

The Sunday Independent understands there are no plans for cuts to the “front of house” workforce.

The move to amalgamate back-office services follows the decision by Canadian billionaireGalen Weston to reinstall BT’s deputy chairman Paul Kelly to head up the Irish operation.

Former managing director Nigel Blow left the company in September.

In a statement to the Sunday Independent, Brown Thomas said: “Following the recent appointment of Paul Kelly, chief executive of Selfridges & Co, as deputy chairman of BrownThomas Group, a review of internal administrative structures has been initiated.

“The HR, finance and IT functions for both companies will now be merged to ensure the most efficient alignment of their resources and to take full advantage of the economic recovery when it comes,” the company added.

- JEROME REILLY

Sunday Independent

BUS journey times through Dublin city centre have fallen by half since the controversial bus gGate started operating last July.

City traders claim the ban on cars using College Green in the morning and evening peak is killing business.

But up to 90 million Dublin Bus passengers a year will experience a marked reduction in their commuting times if the system is allowed remain in place.

New figures from Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann show journey times on all routes through the city centre have fallen since the bus gate opened.

Before the bus gate it took an average of 20 minutes to travel from O’Connell Street to Nassau Street, with journey times of 35 minutes not uncommon. Now, it takes just 11 minutes — or 18 minutes in very heavy traffic.

Dublin Bus also said that in September 2008, journeys through O’Connell Street, College Green and Dame Street in the morning peak took between three and 18 minutes to complete, with the average time almost 10 minutes.

With the College Green Quality Bus Corridor — or bus gate — in place, journeys are now taking between two and ten minutes, with an average of five minutes.

“We have ten routes which all show the same thing,” a Dublin Bus spokesman said. “For bus passengers, it’s all about knowing the journey times. It’s an extremely important priority for us. The bus gate is not a high capital project, but it has had a major impact.

“It’s of huge strategic benefit. It has calmed the whole city centre and taken out the congestion that affects all road users. We carry 140 million passengers a year, and up to 90 million would be affected by this, and 40pc of all buses travel along that route.”

Bus Eireann also said it had seen a number of benefits for commuters including reduced journey times, more consistent operating times and improved reliability of the services in terms of arrival and departure times.

“Feedback from customers on these services has been very positive about these benefits, which carry a large number of commuters in and out of the city every day to key population centres such as Ashbourne, Kells, Navan, Trim, Mullingar and Drogheda,” a spokesman for Dublin Bus said.

Improvements

“In general, there have been improvements in running times of peak-time services of between five and 10 minutes on each departure, which has been greatly welcomed by customers,” he added.

Cars are banned from using College Green from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday.

Retailers have threatened to take a High Court case against the ban, claiming it is responsible for a loss of trade.

Brown Thomas and Brown Thomas car park, Louis Copeland, Weirs, Q Park, Park Rite and Trinity Street car park have all threatened legal action, while the Dublin City Business Association claims that business is down 30pc because of the ban.

It wants the ban lifted until next year, when a new bridge opens across the River Liffey which will be able to accommodate car traffic.

- Paul Melia

Irish Independent

AN BORD PLEANÁLA is to reopen a planning hearing into Dublin port proposals to infill 52 acres of Dublin bay.

The hearing was suspended last month after it emerged the board’s advisers HR Wallingford, had undertaken work on plans for Bremore port which is a potential rival for Dublin’s port’s expansion plans.

In a letter received by the parties to the hearing yesterday, the board said it did not accept there was a conflict of interest.

However, the board said it would be changing its advisers and dispensing with the services of HR Wallingford.

The hearing will reopen when new advisers read themselves into the brief.

The issue of conflict arose after it emerged during the inquiry that HR Wallingford had provided advice in 2004 to Drogheda Port Company which is planning a deep water port at Bremore, in north Co Dublin.

In deciding there was no conflict of interest the board noted the HR Wallingford adviser assigned to the case commenced employment with the company only in 2007. It also noted that in recent years HR Wallingford had also worked directly or indirectly for both Dublin Port Company and Dublin City Council.

The board said it will now appoint a new expert to replace the adviser but will reconvene the oral hearing under inspector Brendan Wyse as soon as feasible.

Welcoming the news, chairman of Dublin Bay Watch, Gerry Breen, said it was ‘‘keen to put our side of the argument to the hearing”.

Source:  IrishTimes – www.irishtimes.com

Interesting timing by SIPTU to announce the redevelopment of there “iconic” Liberty Hall.

Liberty Hall is to be replaced by a significantly taller building with a “sky pod” on top similar to the Gravity Bar at the Guinness Storehouse, to give visitors panoramic views over the city and Dublin Bay.

Siptu unveiled details of the proposed development today at an annual conference marking the trade union’s centenary, pledging that the new Liberty Hall would have a “wow factor” second to none in the capital.

Designed by Gilroy McMahon Architects, who were also responsible for Croke Park, the facilities would include a 300-seat theatre at lower ground level, a heritage centre illustrating Siptu’s history and 15 floors of open-plan office space.

The existing 17-storey building, which is 60 metres (198 feet) tall, would be replaced by a 20-storey tower rising to a height of 84 metres (277 feet), with a glass-fronted “sky lift” to take visitors to an enclosed observation terrace at the top.

Unlike the present tower, which has square floorplates, the new one would be trapezoid in shape — although the architects have sought to ensure that the relative proportions of its height and bulk would yield a satisfactory “slenderness ratio”.

After carrying out shadow studies to measure the impact of the proposed tower on nearby buildings as well as extensive consultations with Dublin City Council’s planners, they even shaved two metres off every floor to produce a better result.

The “sky dome”, composed of two interlocking semi-circles, would have three levels, incorporating the observation terrace and Siptu heritage centre, space for temporary exhibitions and an outdoor café enclosed by a five-metre glazed screen.

Des McMahon, of Gilroy McMahon Architects, said it was likely to attract 250,000 visitors annually, generating good revenue for Siptu. From the terrace, it would be possible to look down on the GPO in O’Connell Street and other historic buildings.

Another important element of the new Liberty Hall’s “engagement with the public” would be its generous double-height entrance area, stretching the full width of the building, including a podium adjoining the tower not unlike the present one.

The three-storey podium, set back from Eden Quay, would be “a place of welcome”, with a café, information desk, reception area and a large cut-out in the floor through which a curving staircase would lead down to the new theatre, all lit up at night.

Ground-floor level would be raised by almost a metre, to protect the building against future floods, with more space created outside on the constricted footpath at the corner of Beresford Place by cantilevering the tower over the lower three floors.

Access to the office floors would be via four lifts at the northeastern end of the tower, protected by turnstiles, and there is also provision for two staircases. The public “skylift” would be located on the western side, with views over the Liffey Quays.

One of the principal objectives, Mr McMahon said, is to create “an appropriate, energising and inspiring” workplace for Siptu’s staff, allowing them to interact in a way they cannot do with the present arrangement of “isolated” cellular offices.

These offices are laid out around a service core that takes up 40 per cent of the floorplate on every level, compared to 30 per cent for the much larger service core now proposed. “It’s totally impossible … really a white elephant”, Mr McMahon said.

“The Eiffel Tower is as valuable today as was 100 years ago, but Liberty Hall is not. It was a building of its day — not unique, except for its location and timing [it was completed in 1965] – and a carbon disaster in terms of its use of energy.”

Dave Richards, who was pivotally involved in designing the new building, said it would be the first office block in Dublin to achieve an A3 energy rating, with less than half the carbon dioxide output of newly-constructed air-conditioned offices.

As a result of relying on partly-assisted natural ventilation as well as low-watt lighting, solar panels and a building energy management system, Siptu would be able to reduce its annual energy bill from €450,000 to just €220,000 a year.

Mr McMahon said he was convinced that the new Liberty Hall, which would be much broader on Eden Quay yet appear quite similar when viewed from O’Connell Bridge, would quickly become a “transparent and translucent” Dublin landmark.

Source: www.irishtimes.com

A bit of good news this morning. The RPA have with drawn there objections to the Ballymun Shopping Centre development. Finally the last piece of the regeneration of the main street of ballymun will get constructed!

Real Estate Opportunities (REO) said today it had secured full planning permission for the €800 million regeneration of Ballymun Town Centre in north Dublin close to the airport.

At 255,000 square, Spring Cross, as the new development will be known, is reputed to be the largest mixed use town centre permission that has ever been granted in Ireland.

The scheme includes 360 apartments, 60,000 square meteres of retail, 35,000 square metres of offices and 11,000 square metres of other uses including an 11 screen cinema, bowling alley, public library, creche and restaurants.

“This important achievement demonstrates the quality of both REO’s development portfolio and the ability of its management to create value. This project is a flagship in the company’s Irish portfolio and we are confident we can commence construction in 2010,” said Real Estate Opportunities’ chairman Ray Horney.

REO, which is 67 per cent owned by Treasury Holdings, said the project said that about 2,000 jobs will be generated during the construction period. It is expected that 8,500 direct and indirect jobs will be created once the scheme is completed in 2012.

Treasury Holdings has been responsible for a number of landmark developments in Ireland including Spencer Dock and the country’s first Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Powerscourt, Co Wicklow. It is also the owner of Battersea Power Station in London.

At the end of August, REO said that its portfolio declined by 6.2 per cent during the first six months of 2009 to CNY9.47 billion (£835.9 million).
Source: IRISH TIMES

I have yet to see the documents on An Bord Pleanala this morning, but eagerly waiting to get a gander at them.

Got my Dublin Bikes subscription card today, can’t wait to have a go on one of these bikes! This is the card you get below, the same size as your credit card:

According to Dublin Bikes and the City Council the scheme is proving even more populour then they ever imagined it would be. I find it hard to believe why they did not put out more bikes in the first place. There are only 440 bikes for some 6000 people. But sure i can’t really comment as i havent had a chance to use one of the bikes yet.

Can’t wait to get in there give them a go and be able to get over to Fallon & Byrne for lunch in a jiffy, and back to college for the afternoon!

In my opinion a scheme that will most certainly be a success! With any luck if the popularity of the service last they will expand it to other parts of the city.  I also don’t believe we will see any of these bikes in the Liffy, but only time will tell!

Dublin City Council has said 6,000 people have subscribed to the Dublinbikes scheme which was introduced last weekend.

It said more than 5,000 people had registered for long-term hire cards and almost 1,000 for its 72-hour duration short-term subscriptions.

The council has 450 bicycles available from 40 stations between the Royal and the Grand canals.

Cyclists can register online for annual membership using a credit card at a cost of €10 or can pay with a credit card at 14 of the stations for a three-day €2 ticket.

Rental is then free for half an hour and costs 50 cent for the first hour, rising to €6.50 for four hours. The bikes are available from 5.30am to 12.30am.

The scheme is being funded by advertising agency JC Decaux in exchange for advertising space in the capital.
Source: www.dublinbikes.ie

The Dublin Bike Station on Dame Street

May it be really successful!