Stop building social housing in the city centre. No amenities make up for massive gangs of scrotes and junkies.
I don’t know how good something like that would be today, there’s not a whole lot around. Could eb quite nice as a green space, especially if you could tie it into the rest of the Custom House curtilage. Metrolink will probably bring more though traffic around, with people getting off at Tara street for the IFSC/Docklands.
Could definitely do with a bit of a road diet though. Islandise the bus stop. Turn one of the westbound lanes into a bus only lane.
Could someone post the full article? It’s behind a pay wall 😔
Pasted Article
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>Three years ago, the Business Post Magazine asked a number of creatives about their hopes for the capital in the decade to come. But just a few weeks later the world came to a standstill with the rapid spread of Covid-19. Borders slammed shut, flights became grounded and plans were ripped up. Dublin has survived the pandemic, but it has not emerged unscathed. It is battered and bruised, with an uncertain future. We asked five Dubliners from different walks of life about the change they would like to see in the city. Feljin Jose, chairperson of Dublin Commuter Coalition Shortly after I moved to Dublin in 2006 from a rural village in Kerala, India, a leaflet flopped through my family’s Phibsborough letterbox. It detailed a plan to link the city centre and north Dublin with an underground rail line called “Metro North”.
>
>I was just ten years old, and it fascinated me. Reading that leaflet was the start of my journey into transport advocacy. I began searching the internet, devouring information on proposals for Metro West and new Luas lines crisscrossing the city. I imagined a city connected by a modern network, where it would be possible to travel from one side to the other quickly, cheaply and sustainably. My vision for Dublin today has not changed since that day in 2006. And, apart from the Luas Cross City extension, neither has Dublin’s rail network. Transport Infrastructure Ireland has been designing the latest version of the metro, MetroLink, since 2017. The railway order was submitted to An Bord Pleanála in 2022. By the time construction starts, it will be 2025. The first journeys will take place in 2034— 28 years after I received that leaflet.
>
>On the positive side, Dublin has a fairly good bus network. It’s not perfect, but it covers most of the city and the vast majority of people live close to a route. The BusConnects redesign being implemented now is changing things for the better, alongside the introduction of the 90-minute fare. These measures have transformed a lot of people’s commutes; my own transport costs are less than half what they were before the pandemic. Unfortunately, rail fares remain extortionate.
The main issue with Dublin’s transport is the lack of wide-scale active travel and rail infrastructure. Cities usually move from bus to rail on their densest corridors. The Dart was launched in the 1980s, followed by the Luas in 2004, but since then we’ve stalled. My vision for Dublin would have involved underground rail like Metro North, Dart+, a rail version of the M50 through Metro West, more Luas lines and upgraded commuter and Dart lines. While most of these are all being planned now, they should have been delivered 15 years ago.
>
>Rail allows much higher capacity, which frees up space in the city. Instead of someone getting the bus for their entire journey, they would take it to their nearest metro station which would bring them into the centre in 20 minutes. That space could then be used for public plazas, trees, cycle lanes, wider footpaths — all combining to make a more liveable city. The space we currently give over to cars and buses in the city centre would be reduced and there would be more space for people. Dublin city has been badly planned. We have prioritised travelling by car for 30 or 40 years, to the point where it is seen as the default option for many. But we do not have space for everyone to drive into the city centre and park in front of their workplace. If you look at the Dublin City Council traffic cordon count, the percentage of people travelling into the city centre by car is just 27 per cent — down from 40 per cent in 2010 — while the rest is made up of more sustainable methods.
Despite this fact, well over 50 per cent of road space is given to cars. People talk about how we have narrow medieval or Georgian streets. But most Georgian Dublin streets are very wide. Streets like King Street, Dame Street, Pearse Street, Beresford Place and Parnell Square are not lacking in space. Cars take most of it but transport a very small number of people. And that number has been decreasing. It’s only because that number has been decreasing that the city is able to function. My vision for Dublin would mean children would be able to walk and cycle in their local areas, people would be able to get around the city using active and public transport, and parents wouldn’t have to provide a taxi service for their children and elderly relatives. Older people generally have to stop driving at a certain age, but in other European cities they are still able to live independent lives using sustainable modes of transport to go to the shops, see their GP, or visit loved ones.
>
>We need to focus a lot more on our public spaces. We should beautify them and make them accessible. College Green Plaza will be wonderful for Dublin; it is expected to open in 2026. It will create a key city centre location to meet and enjoy the city without being on a road surrounded by cars. It’s so central and it’s such an important public space – making it a focal point for people. I would also like to see a new plaza created in front of the Custom House, with traffic diverted behind. How we interact with the Liffey is so car focused. We see the spaces alongside it as road and most of the riverside footpaths are too narrow to walk on. We need to work on making a public space right through Dublin so people can walk and cycle and enjoy the river.
Finally, we can’t afford not to invest in high-capacity rail projects like MetroLink and Dart+, and I believe they will be built. Public and political opinion on sustainable transport has changed. There are very few people who want to see them cancelled. I look forward to taking my first journey on MetroLink, hopefully by the time I’m 38.
The points raised in this article are very valid. Dublin in my opinion doesn’t invite you to spend time in the city, there are few places for people to stop and socialise and spend time together. If we look at the places people gather outdoors they’re mostly parks like St. Stephens Green or green areas like along the canal in Portobello.
Go to other major cities and they have plazas with seating and areas for people to gather, they have on street seating outside cafés, bars and restaurants, we don’t have that option as there’s no space on the footpaths. If we could pedestrianise more streets and remove car traffic from wide roads we have the option for open spaces for people to gather.
Grafton street is one of the most pleasant streets to walk on in Dublin because there are no cars, imagine if we removed the car lanes in front of fusiliers arch and connected the bottom of Grafton street to the College Green plaza with pedestrian only streets, you could walk all the way from Leeson Street entrance of SSG to the Central Bank entirely undisturbed by cars and past bustling shops and social spaces.
Obvious dodginess aside, that’s a good idea because it gets good sunlight. The bridge is ugly as all hell though so that’s a problem.
Valid points and paints a wonderful (and feasible) picture of what the city should become. Unfortunately, he hasn’t learned from his long stay here that none of this will be done in time when it’s needed.
7 comments
Stop building social housing in the city centre. No amenities make up for massive gangs of scrotes and junkies.
I don’t know how good something like that would be today, there’s not a whole lot around. Could eb quite nice as a green space, especially if you could tie it into the rest of the Custom House curtilage. Metrolink will probably bring more though traffic around, with people getting off at Tara street for the IFSC/Docklands.
Could definitely do with a bit of a road diet though. Islandise the bus stop. Turn one of the westbound lanes into a bus only lane.
Could someone post the full article? It’s behind a pay wall 😔
Pasted Article
​
>Three years ago, the Business Post Magazine asked a number of creatives about their hopes for the capital in the decade to come. But just a few weeks later the world came to a standstill with the rapid spread of Covid-19. Borders slammed shut, flights became grounded and plans were ripped up. Dublin has survived the pandemic, but it has not emerged unscathed. It is battered and bruised, with an uncertain future. We asked five Dubliners from different walks of life about the change they would like to see in the city. Feljin Jose, chairperson of Dublin Commuter Coalition Shortly after I moved to Dublin in 2006 from a rural village in Kerala, India, a leaflet flopped through my family’s Phibsborough letterbox. It detailed a plan to link the city centre and north Dublin with an underground rail line called “Metro North”.
>
>I was just ten years old, and it fascinated me. Reading that leaflet was the start of my journey into transport advocacy. I began searching the internet, devouring information on proposals for Metro West and new Luas lines crisscrossing the city. I imagined a city connected by a modern network, where it would be possible to travel from one side to the other quickly, cheaply and sustainably. My vision for Dublin today has not changed since that day in 2006. And, apart from the Luas Cross City extension, neither has Dublin’s rail network. Transport Infrastructure Ireland has been designing the latest version of the metro, MetroLink, since 2017. The railway order was submitted to An Bord Pleanála in 2022. By the time construction starts, it will be 2025. The first journeys will take place in 2034— 28 years after I received that leaflet.
>
>On the positive side, Dublin has a fairly good bus network. It’s not perfect, but it covers most of the city and the vast majority of people live close to a route. The BusConnects redesign being implemented now is changing things for the better, alongside the introduction of the 90-minute fare. These measures have transformed a lot of people’s commutes; my own transport costs are less than half what they were before the pandemic. Unfortunately, rail fares remain extortionate.
The main issue with Dublin’s transport is the lack of wide-scale active travel and rail infrastructure. Cities usually move from bus to rail on their densest corridors. The Dart was launched in the 1980s, followed by the Luas in 2004, but since then we’ve stalled. My vision for Dublin would have involved underground rail like Metro North, Dart+, a rail version of the M50 through Metro West, more Luas lines and upgraded commuter and Dart lines. While most of these are all being planned now, they should have been delivered 15 years ago.
>
>Rail allows much higher capacity, which frees up space in the city. Instead of someone getting the bus for their entire journey, they would take it to their nearest metro station which would bring them into the centre in 20 minutes. That space could then be used for public plazas, trees, cycle lanes, wider footpaths — all combining to make a more liveable city. The space we currently give over to cars and buses in the city centre would be reduced and there would be more space for people. Dublin city has been badly planned. We have prioritised travelling by car for 30 or 40 years, to the point where it is seen as the default option for many. But we do not have space for everyone to drive into the city centre and park in front of their workplace. If you look at the Dublin City Council traffic cordon count, the percentage of people travelling into the city centre by car is just 27 per cent — down from 40 per cent in 2010 — while the rest is made up of more sustainable methods.
Despite this fact, well over 50 per cent of road space is given to cars. People talk about how we have narrow medieval or Georgian streets. But most Georgian Dublin streets are very wide. Streets like King Street, Dame Street, Pearse Street, Beresford Place and Parnell Square are not lacking in space. Cars take most of it but transport a very small number of people. And that number has been decreasing. It’s only because that number has been decreasing that the city is able to function. My vision for Dublin would mean children would be able to walk and cycle in their local areas, people would be able to get around the city using active and public transport, and parents wouldn’t have to provide a taxi service for their children and elderly relatives. Older people generally have to stop driving at a certain age, but in other European cities they are still able to live independent lives using sustainable modes of transport to go to the shops, see their GP, or visit loved ones.
>
>We need to focus a lot more on our public spaces. We should beautify them and make them accessible. College Green Plaza will be wonderful for Dublin; it is expected to open in 2026. It will create a key city centre location to meet and enjoy the city without being on a road surrounded by cars. It’s so central and it’s such an important public space – making it a focal point for people. I would also like to see a new plaza created in front of the Custom House, with traffic diverted behind. How we interact with the Liffey is so car focused. We see the spaces alongside it as road and most of the riverside footpaths are too narrow to walk on. We need to work on making a public space right through Dublin so people can walk and cycle and enjoy the river.
Finally, we can’t afford not to invest in high-capacity rail projects like MetroLink and Dart+, and I believe they will be built. Public and political opinion on sustainable transport has changed. There are very few people who want to see them cancelled. I look forward to taking my first journey on MetroLink, hopefully by the time I’m 38.
The points raised in this article are very valid. Dublin in my opinion doesn’t invite you to spend time in the city, there are few places for people to stop and socialise and spend time together. If we look at the places people gather outdoors they’re mostly parks like St. Stephens Green or green areas like along the canal in Portobello.
Go to other major cities and they have plazas with seating and areas for people to gather, they have on street seating outside cafés, bars and restaurants, we don’t have that option as there’s no space on the footpaths. If we could pedestrianise more streets and remove car traffic from wide roads we have the option for open spaces for people to gather.
Grafton street is one of the most pleasant streets to walk on in Dublin because there are no cars, imagine if we removed the car lanes in front of fusiliers arch and connected the bottom of Grafton street to the College Green plaza with pedestrian only streets, you could walk all the way from Leeson Street entrance of SSG to the Central Bank entirely undisturbed by cars and past bustling shops and social spaces.
Obvious dodginess aside, that’s a good idea because it gets good sunlight. The bridge is ugly as all hell though so that’s a problem.
Valid points and paints a wonderful (and feasible) picture of what the city should become. Unfortunately, he hasn’t learned from his long stay here that none of this will be done in time when it’s needed.