[Article] Consortium proposes to build €52m cable car in Dublin

whiskeyman

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=171620128&p=y7y6zx834

Consortium proposes to build €52m cable car in Dublin
04/02/2006 - 08:41:21

A private consortium is proposing to develop a €52m cable car service along the Liffey quays in Dublin.

The cars would transport sightseers 80 metres above the river from the Guinness Brewery near Heuston Station to a terminal at Spencer Dock.

Each of the four cable cars would transport 25 people on a 20-minute trip and tickets are expected to cost €15 each.

The project would involve erecting four giant steel towers, two of them significantly higher than Liberty Hall, along the three-kilometre route.

The Irish Times had an artists impression last week.
Frank McDonald (Environ Editor) was impressed, and there seems to be positive things being mooted.

Can't say I think the same. Could this actually happen?
It reeks of white elephant.

Seth Brundle

The artists impression I saw looked terrible. I would be opposed to this as I think it would doesn't suit the nature of Dublin's quays and would just look terrible.

Transport21 Fan

The view would be fantastic alright and it would be a huge tourist draw if built no doubt. Just think of a moving version of the Gravity bar at the Storehouse. I am sure I would love it. There is a great cable car in New York which connects Roosevelt Island to the West Side of Manhattan which this idea kinda reminds me of.

But it does reek of the same carry on as the absolutely farcical idea of building a mono-rail from the airport to an imaginary theme park in Swords (translation: housing development) a year or so back. But having said that, this is much more do-able and not a sinister.

If it was built it would be a huge draw, but I can't see it happening. I would imagine the planning permission would be a monumental hurdle. The NIBMYs would go nuts. How is the Liffey Water taxi doing in terms of passengers btw?

I tell you what would be a huge tourist draw - rebuild the Hill of Howth tramway. The view from up there is pretty mindblowing and yet nobody seems to know about it. Better still run a new Luas line out to Howth via the coastal route with a loop around Howth. If we can reopen Western Rail Corridor for a handful of grannies on free travel passes sitting on 3 trains a day...

How long do you think it'll be before Claremorris demands a cable car to connect it with Knock Airport for social justice!

Seth Brundle

Transport21 Fan wrote:

The view would be fantastic alright and it would be a huge tourist draw if built no doubt. Just think of a moving version of the Gravity bar at the Storehouse. I am sure I would love it.

I presume the same was said for the boats going along the liffey. IIRC I read that there was an average of 35 people using that per day! :rolleyes:

BuffyBot

Sounds a bit pointless to be honest.

Archeron

anyone got a picture of the artists impression?

Genghis

whiskeyman wrote:

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=171620128&p=y7y6zx834


The Irish Times had an artists impression last week.
Frank McDonald (Environ Editor) was impressed, and there seems to be positive things being mooted.

Can't say I think the same. Could this actually happen?
It reeks of white elephant.

It looked ugly to me, I have to say - at 85m above the city it would destroy the cityscape. I couldn't believe Frank McDonald was so positive about it - can we find out if he is involved or something?

Transport21 Fan

BuffyBot wrote:

Sounds a bit pointless to be honest.

Like the Western Rail Corridor, except if won't be a fleecing of Irish taxpayers to indulge a failed experiment, so it hardly bothers me. If they want to build it and can get permission then let them, if it flops then only a few people with more money than sense will get burned.

It won't happen anyways, the NIMBYs will go mental.

JackieChan

There is no way this cable car can get the go ahead, the artists impression showed how it would dominate the sky from the quays to spencer dock.
I think tourists here would think, 'OMG-Are these guys nuts!'

Maskhadov

Its Minging Ugly

Noooooooooooooooooooo

BuffyBot

Like the Western Rail Corridor, except if won't be a fleecing of Irish taxpayers to indulge a failed experiment, so it hardly bothers me.

You mean apart from the eyesore it will be, and become when/if it fails? Who will pay to remove it..oh, wait - that'll be the taxpayer.

Anyway, can anyone say monorail (again)

Transport21 Fan

I don't consider it an eyesore at all. The towers are small in number and fairly light in design. I can see were Frank MacDonald is coming from in supporting this.

It's that Irish mentality again, anything new frightens the Paddies. We are a simple, fearful people. From the Dublin Spire to Luas to the Metro. Paddy does not deal with new ideas too well.

The more I think about this cable car the more I like it. It's a tourist product like the London Eye, were some eejits are getting this idea it is public transport project is beyond me. Yep, sign me up.

But it won't happen anyway, the NIMBYs are too powerful in Ireland.

cil_aine

Transport21 Fan wrote:

I don't consider it an eyesore at all. The towers are small in number and fairly light in design. I can see were Frank MacDonald is coming from in supporting this.

It's that Irish mentality again, anything new frightens the Paddies. We are a simple, fearful people. From the Dublin Spire to Luas to the Metro. Paddy does not deal with new ideas too well.

The more I think about this cable car the more I like it. It's a tourist product like the London Eye, were some eejits are getting this idea it is public transport project is beyond me. Yep, sign me up.

But it won't happen anyway, the NIMBYs are too powerful in Ireland.

the london eye is totally different, number one its not an 80m cable car that runs along the thames, also its pleasing to the eye and fits in with the surroundings. from what i've seen of the plans for the cable car, it's not particuarly pleasing on the eye! it will change (imo for the worse) the appearance of not only the liffey but inner city dublin too. i supported the spire, i think it's a beautiful peice of work, and i support the luas and metro, however this peice looks ugly and cluttered. how will it benefit the city? build a cable car somewhere more fitting ie hill of howth or dublin mountains (OR EVEN AROUND THE DOCKALNDS) but please not along the liffey.

Capt'n Midnight

Considering the fuss over the view of the Customs House being blocked by the railway bridge I'd reckon this is a non starter.

Seth Brundle

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Considering the fuss over the view of the Customs House being blocked by the railway bridge I'd reckon this is a non starter.

We have a FF led government and Martin Cullen at the helm of transport - anything could happen unfortunatley!

Maskhadov

the wheel is far better than this scar on the landscape that is being proposed. Its not just irish people who hate these ugly peices of tourism...the french dispise them too.

Lets call a halt to this madness and develop something that actually complements the dublin skyline not scar it

Cassiel

Monorail! Monorail! Monorail!

BuffyBot

From the Dublin Spire to Luas to the Metro. Paddy does not deal with new ideas too well.

Nice bit of pointless generalisation there..

Transport21 Fan

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Considering the fuss over the view of the Customs House being blocked by the railway bridge I'd reckon this is a non starter.

I must be the only person in Ireland who loves the Loop Line Bridge. Apart from the fact it takes 10,000s of cars out of Dublin city centre everyday, it is a class bit of kit. A real piece of lateral thinking to join two railway terminus in a very clever manner. The original Interconnector. I really don't get this obsession of tearing it down so we can see the Customs House as the Dandies with powered wigs and blush looked at it while going "oooh hah ha hahha!" while pinching their snuff boxes.

Back to the cable car, yes the more I look at the more the idea impresses me. To get fully behind it I would like to see a scale model of the towers along the Liffey in relation to the city skyline. I suspect they won't be too obtrusive. Just beacuse the towers are taller than Liberty Hall does not mean they have the same bulk or mass. Anyways, I think the tower in the illustration is graceful and elegant.

But I do agree it won't happen. But I think that's unfortunate as well.

oscarBravo

Transport21 Fan wrote:

I must be the only person in Ireland who loves the Loop Line Bridge. Apart from the fact it takes 10,000s of cars out of Dublin city centre everyday, it is a class bit of kit. A real piece of lateral thinking to join two railway terminus in a very clever manner. The original Interconnector. I really don't get this obsession of tearing it down so we can see the Customs House as the Dandies with powered wigs and blush looked at it while going "oooh hah ha hahha!" while pinching their snuff boxes.

I like what the LLB does. I just hate the way it looks.

Metrobest

First it blocked the view of the wonderful Customs House. Then Irish Rail made the Loop Line Bridge even uglier by festooning it with the most hideous advertisements for alcohol companies. Welcome to Dublin :rolleyes:

There are many examples of fine bridges in Ireland, modern and ancient. But the Loop Line Bridge isn't one of them. I'd love to see it re-designed. Surely there's potential for someone like Calatrava to design something more "airy" that would enhance the cityscape and allow a better view of the Customs House and IFSC areas?

SeanW

TBH it looks worse with the ads gone

T21 fan, no-one dislikes what it does (except perhaps SIMI) it's how it LOOKS that gets people so PO'ed

Transport21 Fan

BuffyBot wrote:

Nice bit of pointless generalisation there..

Really, I thought it was just a add-on comment to illustrate that the Irish do not handle new ideas very well. Which they don't. I think the anti-Luas and anti-Dublin Spire phobias of the past more or less prove this.

oscarBravo

Transport21 Fan wrote:

Really, I thought it was just a add-on comment to illustrate that the Irish do not handle new ideas very well. Which they don't.

You just did it again.

Transport21 Fan wrote:

I think the anti-Luas and anti-Dublin Spire phobias of the past more or less prove this.

No, they prove that some Irish people don't handle new ideas very well. That's a generalisation also, but it's a much more accurate one.

Transport21 Fan

oscarBravo wrote:

You just did it again. No, they prove that some Irish people don't handle new ideas very well. That's a generalisation also, but it's a much more accurate one.

Well that's true as well.

oscarBravo

Transport21 Fan wrote:

Can I ask you about archery?

Yes, on the Archery board.

Transport21 Fan wrote:

Do you think that guys who are into the whole arrow and target stuff are trying to compesate for some Freudian hang-up?

No.

I don't recommend asking questions like that on the Archery board.

Transport21 Fan

I see you live in Ballina, and I am not far from there, it there an archery club up this way as I was thinking of getting into it. Serious.

oscarBravo

Yes, I'm the secretary of Mayo Archery Club. Seriously, take it to PM or the Archery board - this is way OT for here.

Transport21 Fan

I was thinking I could shoot arrows from the cable car at CIE head offices.

loyatemu

comparing this to the london eye is totally bogus - London is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world and has a population of 20 million or so within an hours drive.

they might as well make the cable-cars elephant shaped and paint the whole thing white.

Capt'n Midnight

re loop line - they should leave the pillars and put in a flatter deck