No Plaza-ing Some People

at

The proposed civic plaza at College Green, Dublin 2

Olivia Kelly, in The Irish Times, reports:

Dublin Bus wants to keep running buses through College Green in defiance of Dublin City Council’s plans to develop the area as a pedestrian- and cyclist-only plaza.

The bus company, which previously publicly supported the council’s plans for a new €10 million civic plaza, wants An Bord Pleanála to stop the council from banning buses from crossing College Green, and to hold a public oral hearing on the scheme.

Dublin Bus wants to keep running buses through College Green plaza (Irish Times)

Previously: I’m Walking Here

Leah Farrell/Rollingnews

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30 thoughts on “No Plaza-ing Some People

  1. The Dude

    Great to see the progress here.

    What a well-planned scheme. Obviously College Green should be turned into a bus park. To match the snazzy electrical cabinets. And while DCC, Dublin Bus and Luas scrap it out, the NTA are where exactly?

    Should provide an interesting model for foreign professional practitioners to come and inspect.

    Hats off to all concerned.

    1. Mr. Ed

      To be fair, the NTA are probably far to busy dealing with those pesky færies right now to have time for this sort of thing.

        1. rvs

          More trams? Cities like Amsterdam and Prague show it is possible (although I realize unlikely to happen in Dublin).

        2. scottser

          restructure leap fares so you can hop on and off all forms of public transport around the city?

          i’m concerned about how to get a drum kit to a gig on dame st though.

  2. Barry the Hatchet

    It’s not unusual for buses to run through public plazas. I was in France earlier this summer and they have loads of pedestrian spaces surrounded by retractable bollards which stop other traffic, but lower to let buses through. It seemed to work really well. Though I think it only works if there is a relatively low volume of routes passing through, which is not the case with College Green at the moment.

  3. Harry Molloy

    Am sure there are good arguments for and against. It would be nice if there was no buses but from a practical point of view at this moment in time would it make it far to onerous to cross the city on public transport if a luas wasn’t available to you?

  4. Bort

    If this comes in at 10 million it will be MIRACLE! A new open space for junkies to hang out in a country where it rains 225 days a year. A new canvas for filthy paving stones. I walked through town from Stephens Green to Smithfield on Sunday and the city is filthy. Love them or hate them we need the buses, where are they supposed to go? Where’s the taxi rank going to go? Crazy idea, I wouldn’t fancy walking through it at night. O’Connell St. #2 Outdoor seating for a cafe or restaurant would be nice, is there any plans for that? So pedestrians and cyclist sharing the space? I see how you can cycle South to north but what about cycling east/west on Dame st?

    1. Luke Warm

      This response is the kind of reason why the country is in the state it’s in, cynical, used, jaded and negative

      1. Bort

        If it came in under double the expected I’ll be surprised. I’m all for improved public space but this one really baffles me. As a fair weather cyclist I cycle from Kimmage to O’Connell St every weekday and go down Dame st, looking at the plans, I’m either sharing space with pedestrians or I have to dismount my bike. If I get the bus the bus takes the same route, what are the new routes for buses? Buses are not perfect but we need to get them through town as quickly as possible, this would be just a big empty space when our brief summer is over.

        I have as much right to be against it as anyone does to be for it. It will take longer than planned, it will cost more than planned and I doubt it will get the use planned for it. The country is in this state because of the Government and County Councils. There will be no accountability if it turns into a nightmare build. There are better ways for 10 million to be spent, hire more Gardaí so that you can actually feel safe in existing public spaces. Wolfetone Square, Bachelors Walk, O’Connell St or anywhere in the City Centre once the sun goes down.

  5. Gorev Mahagut

    I think the City Centre should be closed to all motorised vehicles except ambulances, fire brigade, police and the luas. Goods and people can be transported by horse-drawn wagons, bicycle or on foot. The town will be quieter and safer. The air will be fresher (except for the smell of horse poo).

  6. Niamh

    Hmmm. I’m a Dublin Bus fan, both because I use them all the time and find them delightful a solid 78% of the time, but also because I cycle, and they are gentlemen/women when it comes to caution around cyclists. The fact that cycle accidents hardly ever involve busses in this city – a city this crowded, with quite a lot of busses – is remarkable really. Can’t help but think they deserve kudos for that. It’s almost as if…they really do just care very much about not killing cyclists.

    That said, the plaza is such a nice European idea. I dunno. A cab driver once told me the whole scheme was the demented brainchild of a high-ranking and chronically blinkered civil servant of some sort. Learn all kinds of things from cab drivers.

    1. edalicious

      Totally agree with you on the bus drivers and cyclist thing, they’re always very careful and accommodating.

      1. mildred st. meadowlark

        Seconded. I get the bus every day up through college green, and the skill and care shown by the bus drivers -especially towards the more careless/obnoxious cyclists- is admirable.

  7. Blonto

    Make a pedestrian area from Georges St/Aungier St across to Grafton Street. And from Stephens Green centre to college green. It’s always jammers with traffic, and the foot paths are too narrow for all the pedestrians.

    1. Spaghetti Hoop

      There already are pedestrian routes linking these points; the Georges Street arcade through Castle Market, Coppinger Row and Johnson’s Court. Secondly, Grafton Street is the pedestrian route linking Stephens Green with College Green.

      1. Blonto

        True. But it can be a pain in the hoop getting around Exchequer St, Clarendon St., South William.
        One big pedestrian area would be great.

  8. Yeah, Ok

    I could live with the buses, but not if taxis get the same rights of way. They are a scourge throughout the city and we should stop allowing them to disregard the ROTR whenever and wherever they feel like it. A good chunk of the traffic holdups in the city centre are specifically caused by taxi drivers abusing the rules, especially at night.
    Ideally the buses wouldn’t be there either, mind you. Surely there’s someone thinking about alternatives for them you’d hope…

  9. Kenny U-Vox Plank

    It’s just sour grapes from Dublin Bus because they lost the outsourcing contract.

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