Parade Rejuvenation Kilkenny

road_high

Was over at the Heritage day at the Castle. It was a lovely day and full of tourists,made proud of Kilkenny once again as a destination

However, it was dissapointing to see the works on the Parade still drag on....why could they not have it completed for the Tourist season
This was supposed to be a Millenenium Project...it's now end 2009 :eek:
Ah well, will be nice when it's finished I guess...

fabbydabby

No it wont.

Keeps people in jobs though I suppose.

Cabaal

I had a chat to people working in the castle, its due to be finished November apparently.

Disgraceful considering the whole of the city celebrations thing this year have now passed and the parade has been in bits!

Threadhead

It's pretty disgraceful alright. But then again the entire Kilkenny 400 celebrations have been an absolute disgrace and a shambles and the organisers should be ashamed of themselves. The lack of planning, consultation with locals and any memorable event has reduced the whole idea of Kilkenny 400 to a logo that appears on a few banners and gets stuck on events that would have been happening anyway.

fabbydabby

Totally agree.

I am reasonably tuned in to what's on locally and I am only familiar with Kilkenny 400 as a logo, a couple of signs and nothing more.

Instead of an umbrella term for the city's annual events, there should have been just a one-off festival thing to mark it and leave it at that. Somethng akin to Junction in Clonmel, but with fewer scumbags.

Dan Chipowski

I can't really fathom how it could take so long either, and at the moment I don't see anything wonderful about the work being done.

Plus, the paving slabs on the Left Bank side of the parade are extremely slippy and almost dangerous. I have to hold my footing walking up there everyday, I can't imagine what they'll be like when they get a bit of ice on them.

Loveless

it'll be like the whole swimming pool saga again.. a couple of people will fall, breaking their arms.. Council closes Parade again for re-surfacing works.. keeps builders in work for another few months. :rolleyes:

Threadhead

Ye should check out Paul Young's cartoon in the Kilkenny People this week.

It's a funny look at what the Parade is going to look like in the future.

Captain Havoc

Does anyone remember the confederation celebrations? They stuck up the old gates of the city and had a changing of the guard, also medieval games in the park along with other things going on, I was pretty young at the time. Kilkenny 400 has been a thumbs down. I don't think we should complain about the tiles over at the left bank, someone might read that one post and then decide that "a lot of complaints" were made on an internet forum and thus they have there excuse to resurface, but unlike what loveless said, I don't think it'll be as quick as few months. I think it will look good when it's done though.

Threadhead

I was quite young at the time of the Confederation celebrations but I can remember them quite well. It was a hell of a spectacle. I can remember there was jousting up in the Castle Park as part of it too.

Kilkenny 400 has gotten nowhere near that level of celebration. It's a right shambles. I mean, if they had any consideration for it, surely all the rebuilding that's going on in town wouldn't be happening slap bang in the middle of the 'celebrations'

road_high

Threadhead wrote: »

I was quite young at the time of the Confederation celebrations but I can remember them quite well. It was a hell of a spectacle. I can remember there was jousting up in the Castle Park as part of it too.

Kilkenny 400 has gotten nowhere near that level of celebration. It's a right shambles. I mean, if they had any consideration for it, surely all the rebuilding that's going on in town wouldn't be happening slap bang in the middle of the 'celebrations'

I agree 100%. Kilkenny is just so badly run. It's like there is nobody in charge. I don't know wtf we are paying those 100s of staff in John Street to do. There's not even public toilets available in Kilkenny at the moment.
Another example of this alck of any coherent strategy for Kilkenny city is on the one hand they are spending millions on works on the Parade...yet leaving those truly awful 1940s ESB poles in place. I mean wtf

Then when an ALDI or two want to set up, they have to go through a mountain of idoitic planning buereacracy. These same stringent rules never seem to apply to public work projects/buildings.

PhilipMarlowe

I haven't seen it in a while but it seemed to me that the poles were just paved around and the area was temporarily filled in to make it safe but when the poles are taken away then the paving would be completed properly?

road_high

Licksy wrote: »

I haven't seen it in a while but it seemed to me that the poles were just paved around and the area was temporarily filled in to make it safe but when the poles are taken away then the paving would be completed properly?

I dunno, I hope you are right and those ugly, hideous poles will be removed. I won't be holding my breath though.
Kilkenny Borough Council +Semi-State body (ESB)+ Kilkenny = Disaster(usually)

road_high

As regards the Kilkenny 400, what a disaster in my view too. Completely agree with previous posters. But as I say myself, anything Kilkenny local authorities are involved in invariably ends in disaster :rolleyes:
Seems to be tagged on to other festivals that are happening already like Arts Week, Cats Laughs etc.

Threadhead

They'll probably claim that the local elections overshadowed the Kilkenny 400 celebrations. But that's not even slightly valid. Any amount of planning should have been done years in advance knowing this was on the cards. It's ridiculous.

I remember only a few years ago when Kilkenny was in the running for Ireland's Information Age town and the work done was spectacular, every kind of promotion was running, open air gigs, shows on the parade... no expense was spared in attracting a big money spinner to the city.

However when it comes to splashing out a bit of money on the city, it's a different matter. I know there's a recession on but that's not even valid. There was no research done, no in depth consultation with local arts groups, no attempts to get something going from a grass roots level. The general perception I've got from people who have been involved with it, is that they don't have a clue. They might as well as be celebrating Carlow for all they've done to get the best out of Kilkenny.

I'll finish my rant by reiterating, that anybody involved with this practical joke on our city should be deeply ashamed of themselves.

Thank god for the Rhythm and Roots Festival, Cat Laughs and Arts Festival. At least they take a bit of pride in the city they're showcasing.

englander

Now I'm not one to knock a new project or anything but those pavements are slippy already when they are wet .....and they are sloping.

There seems to be no forethouight on a lot that goes on in our city.

Lets see the uproar in Winter when OAPs are falling left right and centre when there is a bit of a frost and no-one has gritted the pavements.

(It'll be like the watershed all over again with slippy surfaces)

road_high

englander wrote: »

Now I'm not one to knock a new project or anything but those pavements are slippy already when they are wet .....and they are sloping.

There seems to be no forethouight on a lot that goes on in our city.

Lets see the uproar in Winter when OAPs are falling left right and centre when there is a bit of a frost and no-one has gritted the pavements.

(It'll be like the watershed all over again with slippy surfaces)

My dad was saying the same thing last week when we were walking on part of it. As I say, anything Kilkenny Local Authorities are involved with usually does not end well :rolleyes:

catblack

I am so disappointed with The Parade. After all that time and I suppose a load of money, it looks crap.
The metal poles are out of place and the litterbins look like robots or something. How come they don't do that sort of thing in Trinity College, for instance? How come they could keep their cobbles without worrying about so-called health and safety? Do all the tourists who go into the Book of Kells happily over TCD's cobbles, suddenly develop walking difficulties when they hit Kilkenny, so we have to put slabs over our cobbles at the castle entrance? It is depressing that this is the best we could come up with.

fabbydabby

+1 it sucks pole. Shiny, ultra modern, unsuitably designed and placed stainless steel pole.

FFS architects are supposed to be experts at making buildings gel with their surroundings and vice versa, aren't they? How can they possibly account for this travesty of design, other than by saying it was a piece of experimental art or a prime example of how not to enhance a large public space in front of a magnificent old castle.

The parade was better the way it was. A bloody carpark, a couple of phone boxes and a chipper. It really was. At least that fitted in.

Now, it is a atrocious, it totally detracts from the austere beauty of the castle with its bland, sparce open areas, R2D2 bins and bollards, minging square 'benches' and toilets that look like they were designed to withstand a direct hit from one of those bunker busting missiles you always see on the discovery channel.

I shudder to think what it cost.

brettmirl

The artists impression here: http://kilkennycity.kilkenny.ie/eng/Services/Special_Projects/ParadeAndCanal/ Of what it was supposed to turn out like doesn't exactly give a lot of detail.

So they really could have done anything based on that "impression".

ztoical

Anyone know if the farmers market is going move back to the parade?

Healium

I actually can't remember what the old Parade looked like. Its awful bland,alright. The skateboarders love it,but they'll surely put those metal bars at the ends of the rest of the benches. One good thing,I discovered I want to take up rollerblading As for Kilkenny 400,what celebrations? Busking,The Reptile Village crowd in the Parade Tower,an ice-cream van. Yay.

PhilipMarlowe

Ice-cream van? You were luckhy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo

Healium

You didn't get an ice-cream? I call SHENANIGANS

fabbydabby

Pete's Cones ftw!

Healium

Touché

road_high

Am I the only one that likes it ? Thought it looks well, far better than what went before. I would have preffered had they completely pedsetrianised it, though that would have been impractical I guess.

gunner11

guys, u dont realise how well kk looks as a city till u move away, was home at the weekend & was well impressed with how the new parade looks (skateboarders aside:P). much better than a car park! has the chip van been evicted btw??

road_high

gunner11 wrote: »

guys, u dont realise how well kk looks as a city till u move away, was home at the weekend & was well impressed with how the new parade looks (skateboarders aside:P). much better than a car park! has the chip van been evicted btw??

I agree. Compared to many of Kilkenny's peer towns and cities I think it is leagues ahead. With the new Motorway now we really need to tap into the Dublin tourism market i.e. get even more of those tour buses down here for the day/s. It's quite popular already for day trips from Dub, no reason as to why it could not become evn more so with the massive time savings in travel.

fabbydabby

Those stainless steel bollards are beyond the boundries of taste, they're like something out of a tacky, cheap, Argos decorated, chrome man-pad. They shouldn't be next nigh or near a lovely old castle. And the number of them!

What happened to the nice plain black ones they had before? With the old linking chain? Or even the more modern looking black ones they've got elsewhere in the town? And nice black iron flower pots. Far more sober, suitable and easy on the eye.

No doubt they'll introduce some uber futuristic hi-tek mirror finish flower pots to complete they effect. They might as well paint the castle top to toe in magnolia and furnish it entirely out of Ikea.

ergonomics

I think it's horrible.

A big, flat open space with nothing in it. A complete waste of money and time.

Firetrap

I'm scratching my head and wondering what it's all about. Granted, it looks a lot less scruffy than it was but it seems so...empty or something.

Loveless

fabbydabby wrote: »

No doubt they'll introduce some uber futuristic hi-tek mirror finish flower pots to complete they effect. They might as well paint the castle top to toe in magnolia and furnish it entirely out of Ikea.

I know a few guys with some luminous paint going cheap

Captain Havoc

fabbydabby wrote: »

Those stainless steel bollards are beyond the boundries of taste, they're like something out of a tacky, cheap, Argos decorated, chrome man-pad. They shouldn't be next nigh or near a lovely old castle. And the number of them!

Overall it's way better, I know they spent more time than should which built up our expectations a bit too much. Those bollards will look less sterile once a few cars bumb into them and there bent out of shape :pac:

wax

They really should've widened the road a bit. Its very tight up along there and too much unused space for pedestrians. As stated above, its only a matter of time before the bollards are hit.

JohnMc1

I just saw it today. My thoughts were: "That's it? All those months and that's what we got to show for it?"

contakt23

i first saw it and thought , yeah... is that it , then the next occasion I looked and said , **** dude thats deadly, its a brave person that fills a space with nothing, its a sea of calm, (though not on sat nite) a wonderful thoughtful space, enjoy our space .


my tupence

Dan Chipowski

The silver pole thingys look rotten.

I have nothing against leaving the space there, but can't understand why it took so long to basically chuck down a few paving slabs.

And as I've said before, outside the left bank the pavement is slippy and dangerous.

Healium

*Now knows where to go on a Saturday night* Knacker drinking in the public jacks,anyone? Only 20c

PhilipMarlowe

with free 'tunes' from a moron on a scooter

Healium

Sounds like a party

brettmirl

Am going to be down home tomorrow, so will pop over for a proper gawk at the Parade.

I think the reason it took so long was that they had to survey what they had dug up for archaeological purposes?

Healium

But its The Web Awards tomorrow night,Mike

brettmirl

I won't be there I'm afraid. Have to go see my new niece!

catbear

I'm glad that it's an open space, it's a civic space where previously we had either Dunnes car park or Parliament street. The castle park is great but it's impractical once the rain hits and that's often.

I agree with everyones view of the bollards, however I am against the old style black bollards, they can be a hazard as they can be hard to see when light is bad. I've seen enough cars wrapped around around the black bollards in the Black abbey carpark.

Interesting titbit regarding the cobbles that can be verified easily. I heard an archaeologist was upset about disturbing the cobbles, he believed that they were of archaeological importance and integral of the history of the castle. His professional concerns were allayed when he discovered that the cobbles were only put down in the 70s to replace the very bad tar job that had been done in the 50s.

zootroid

Any chance of a few pics for those who are away from home?

Captain Havoc

zootroid wrote: »

Any chance of a few pics for those who are away from home?

I'll take them on the to work in the morning (if I remember)

wipafo

EKRIUQ

Yep thats pretty much it. They could of easily made the road a bit wider as busses are constantly using that road.

As for the parade itself, big let down. Just boring and lifeless

Firetrap

They made the road needlessly narrow. Then again what would you expect. There's scarcely a wide stretch of road in Kilkenny :mad:

Stephen

Another part of their ongoing jihad against drivers then.