They're Digging Up Grafton Street

the groutch

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/council-to-start-digging-up-grafton-street-by-the-end-of-the-month-1.1382250

The €2.5 million repaving of Dublin’s Grafton Street, which will see the removal of the red brick surface and its replacement with pink and grey granite, will begin on May 27th.
Dublin City Council will start by digging up the section of Ireland’s leading shopping street nearest St Stephen’s Green and will close the area to delivery vehicles for three months.
The repaving work is to take a year and a half and is not scheduled for completion until November 2014. The work will, however, be suspended to facilitate the Christmas and new year shopping periods.
The first phase of works is to be carried out from Chatham Street to South King Street. This section of Grafton Street will be closed to traffic until August 2013. Delivery vehicles coming from the northern end of the street will have to exit Grafton Street using Chatham Street. Access to South King Street will be from St Stephen’s Green North.
Pedestrian and emergency access will be maintained to all shops and other businesses on Grafton Street during the works, the council said.
As a result of the works there will be 20 per cent less overall space on Grafton Street for delivery vehicles and the council is asking businesses to encourage their suppliers to park elsewhere or spend as little time as possible on Grafton Street.

so instead of spending the property tax money on actual local services, it's all being wasted on a few fancy stones?
the local elections can't come soon enough to get rid of the eejits who decided this.

strandroad

Finally. You could lose your teeth on these loose wobbly bricks!

Clandestine

Pink and grey? Could they have picked a worse mix of colours?

donvito99

About bloody time, the white tiles to the sides are deathtraps

Praetorian Saighdiuir

Won't somebody please think of the buskers!

Mint Sauce

Where does it say the property tax is paying for it?

Will the work be carried out by the council or sub-contracted out? Hope the work is subbed out, a job for a few unemployed construction workers. Spread the wealth an all that.

Wild_Dogger

what a waste ..... honestly

Banjo String

irish-stew wrote: »

Where does it say the property tax is paying for it?

Local property tax money will fund local councils and services***. (It all goes into a central fund)

***allegedly

Rosy Posy

So they'll dig up Grafton Street to replace the stones but they wouldn't connect the two Luas lines... :rolleyes:

donvito99

Rosy Posy wrote: »

So they'll dig up Grafton Street to replace the stones but they wouldn't connect the two Luas lines... :rolleyes:

Construction starts this year... have you not noticed the big new bridge?

racso1975

SH!T!!!!! Time to move them bodies

DEFTLEFTHAND

I wonder what they'll find? Maybe that's where Shergar is.

My name is URL

Clandestine wrote: »

Pink and grey? Could they have picked a worse mix of colours?

By pink and grey I assume they mean this, which is pretty typical.

Dave!

wtf? They'd be better off fixing the slabs at the bus stops around College St/Pearse St, they're a f*cking death trap.

Chucken

They dug up the road near my house a few weeks ago but I forgot to post about it.

Grayson

My name is URL wrote: »

By pink and grey I assume they mean this, which is pretty typical.

Or maybe this.

That'll make people puke on a friday night

oppenheimer1

the groutch wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/council-to-start-digging-up-grafton-street-by-the-end-of-the-month-1.1382250



so instead of spending the property tax money on actual local services, it's all being wasted on a few fancy stones?
the local elections can't come soon enough to get rid of the eejits who decided this.

Oh for god sake, this is what the councils are meant to do and you're complaining about it??

Have you actually seen the state of the paving on Grafton St? Its not fit for purpose and needs to be changed - its over 20 (possibly 30?) years since it was last done.

The only eejit here is you.

SoWatchaWant

OP, Grafton Street is a main centre of commerce in Ireland. Tourists and Irish alike spend alot of money here. Replacing the dated stonework would boost sales and business. It's not a waste of money, it's an investment.

bnt

Praetorian Saighdiuir wrote: »

Won't somebody please think of the buskers!

OK, thought about them, after having to walk past them most nights in the last year, and have come to a conclusion: they should all just shut up and go away. I've never heard one that was worth the noise pollution they cause. Silence would be preferable.

I hope the new paving is tougher than the current paving. It's being torn up by the trucks that drive down the street every morning to restock the shops. It looks horrible, but tourist season is already kicking off, so the timing is impeccable, as always. :rolleyes:

oppenheimer1

bnt wrote: »

OK, thought about them, after having to walk past them most nights in the last year, and have come to a conclusion: they should all go shut up and go away. I've never heard one that was worth the noise pollution they cause. Silence would be preferable.

I hope the new paving is tougher than the current paving. It's being torn up by the trucks that drive down the street every morning to restock the shops. It looks horrible, but tourist season is already kicking off, so the timing is impeccable, as always. :rolleyes:

So do it during the Winter - with the Christmas shopping in full swing? There is never a great time to do jobs like these, just have to suck it up until its done.

I'd advocate some sort of rates reduction or holiday for the businesses affected though.

The Barefoot Pizza Thief

Was a time you could drive down it:

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

YellowFeather

Ah - really? Is this this time to do this? I work beside Grafton Street and spent a lot of time pounding its pavements and never thought to myself this needs to be replaced! I'm sure the new look will be clean and modernish, but what's wrong with a bit of character?

Aside from the fact that it's ludicrous to be prioritising this kind of work at the moment, I really don't see the necessity in covering Grafton Street in a whole pile of bland slabs that will be outdated again in another decade or so.

Is there an actual reason for this renovation, or is it a keep up with the Joneses exercise?

People don't come over to Ireland for the shopping experience. I don't see how commercialising the pavement of Grafton Street can do anything for us (although, at least the colours would match our beloved Spire).

Dyr

Will it be that poxy smooth granite that the corpo seem to think is so suitable for a country where it rains every day?

bnt

I just read the article - should have done so earlier. The works are expected to take 18 months, including two summers and the whole Christmas season this year.

O RLY?

oppenheimer1

For anyone thats interested, this is what DCC have planned for the area:
http://www.dcba.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Part-8-Explanatory-Booklet-Reduced.pdf

There are mock-ups of what the repaved street will look like at the end.

YellowFeather wrote: »

Ah - really? Is this this time to do this? I work beside Grafton Street and spent a lot of time pounding its pavements and never thought to myself this needs to be replaced! I'm sure the new look will be clean and modernish, but what's wrong with a bit of character?

Aside from the fact that it's ludicrous to be prioritising this kind of work at the moment, I really don't see the necessity in covering Grafton Street in a whole pile of bland slabs that will be outdated again in another decade or so.

Is there an actual reason for this renovation, or is it a keep up with the Joneses exercise?

People don't come over to Ireland for the shopping experience. I don't see how commercialising the pavement of Grafton Street can do anything for us (although, at least the colours would match our beloved Spire).

For someone who walks up the street regularly, you mustn't look around much. The bricks are loose and DCC says they require maintenance on an almost daily basis. many of the tiles are cracked and are trip hazards. indeed some tiles and bricks are missing and have been filled in with loose tarmac.

The whole street currently looks shoddy and the work is both essential and over due.

Corruptedmorals

Great, long overdue. The way it is now there's always loose, cracked bricks, bits fenced off for fixing and the white bits on the sides are deathtraps in the rain. I always thought the contrast of really extravagant looking Christmas lights on a dangerous and crappy looking street like that was very odd.

IngazZagni

In recent times Grafton Street has got really bad. Patch job after patch job has left it looking really tacky. There are lots of loose bricks and the surface is uneven. This is badly needed. I question the length of time they say this will take. It seems a huge amount of time. Oh well it will be nice when complete I'm sure.

pebbles21

Did'nt the mighty Mick Wallace and his army do this many moons ago?

Think He will get the contract this time?......Maybe not!

belcampprisoner

I hope the landlords are paying for it,they should have waited until the tourist season was over in ameica it would take 2 weeks
it will take over 2 years,if Dublin council does it 3 years

stefan idiot jones

Bambi wrote: »

Will it be that poxy smooth granite that the corpo seem to think is so suitable for a country where it rains every day?

What I like about Irish Cities and Towns is the bright colours they use. Whereas cities like Edinburgh and Prague can get away with being predominantly grey due to the stunning architecture, I'm afraid that Dublin cannot and would benefit with a splash of colour.

starviewadams

Can't have Dublin spending money they generated on improving the city and increasing tourism,that's for bogger TD's to decide.

Athlone could use an international airport!

marwelie

Badly needed, tiles broken, loose stones, half of the street subsided, and it stinks in places where people have thrown up. As a wheelchair user, the smoother the ride the better. Now if they would only consider removing the cobbles from outside Trinity College my lifes work would be done

LaVail

theres a few potholes down this way....can ye fix em like?

IM0

bodies is it?

MadsL

starviewadams wrote: »

Can't have Dublin spending money they generated on improving the city and increasing tourism,that's for bogger TD's to decide.

Athlone could use an international airport!

For the Chinese Trade Centre?

AnarchistKen

Doesn't matter what kind of paving they put down the paviours when put down will be covered in scummers chewing gum within a month

smash

bnt wrote: »

I just read the article - should have done so earlier. The works are expected to take 18 months, including two summers and the whole Christmas season this year.

O RLY?

Eh... This summer, then Christmas, then next summer. That's all within 18 months!

Ruudi_Mentari

AnarchistKen wrote: »

Doesn't matter what kind of paving they put down the paviours when put down will be covered in scummers chewing gum within a month

Wouldn't surprise me if this campaign didn't just fail,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKmUFYQIG2I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eajf1xBPIEc

but have the reverse effect.

Chuck Stone

Any man who fixes the road gets my vote.

Bogota

Sorry but I've walked down Grafton on a rainy day and its a ****in death trap.

Secondly, did someone just say this would take 18 months? Throw out whatever Irish cowboys got that contract and employ some Eastern European and Russian workers. They'll do it for half the price in a quarter of the time.

Chinasea

Many of the pavements around the city centre, board walk are absolutely manky. They should be routinely power hosed.

Wibbs

Bogota wrote: »

Secondly, did someone just say this would take 18 months? Throw out whatever Irish cowboys got that contract and employ some Eastern European and Russian workers. They'll do it for half the price in a quarter of the time.

+1. Eighteen months?? W.T.F. Bear in mind this is a public works so you can be sure to add to that and whatever budget they're suggesting. And don't be too shocked when it's all finished that another agency will need to dig a section of it up. We've got serious previous regarding all of the above. Shít look at farce that was the Luas. The Aussies built a three thousand kilometer railway with scores of bridges and millions of sleepers through one of the harshest environments on the planet for the same price and did so ahead of schedule. Enough said. We're a country run and organised by utter gobshítes and we all suffer for it.

Eighteen months is a ridiculously long timeframe to repave a street FFS. Eighteen months to watch workers breastfeeding shovels while gazing blankly into a hole no doubt. How can the Japanese rebuild whole motorways and infrastructure within months after a bloody tsunami and we take daft amounts of time to finish far less daunting tasks(and overspend while we're at it)?

StupidLikeAFox

Pavements are a lot like life partners - lay them right the first time and you can walk all over them for years

slavetothegrind

18 months my hole, why not work round the clock in shifts?

dont think anyone lives on grafton street?

Oh and FFS ban chewing gum altogether or only allow rapidly disintegrating constituents.

And we need cigarette police, 100 euro onthe spot for dirty filthy cigarette dropping morons, that must be 60% of smokers.

Amalgam

I can't remember where I read it, but I think there were concerns about the new stone choice. The surface might be a liability to the Council when it is raining. Slipping etc.

Unless the new surface is maintained, it'll look like ****, soon enough. Pink.. on that street, yeah..

Nothing new here, remember when the city got brushed metal traffic light poles that highlighted dirt and wear very quickly, or the fact that, in turning O'Connell Street (Dublin) into a brazzer's mantlepiece, no one had bothered to budget for sight impaired accessible pedestrian crossings.

drdeadlift

I would have cemented the whole road and imprinted a brick pattern above it,they will make a hames of this project just wait and see.

hfallada

It is the main shopping street for Dublin despite what people say. The council collects ridiculous amounts of rates on the street and gives the retailers nothing back. It looks pretty ****ty to tourist particularity when its raining and to have to avoid all the large pools of water on the streets as it doesnt drain.

studiorat

They should take up all them horrible cobbles around the Temple Bar while they are at it.

As for Grafton St, they should get Paddy Dotherty in for the weekend and tarmac it from top to bottom. Money saved everyone happy!

markpb

I guess the reason for the 18 month schedule is because all the shops must be accessible all the time, emergency service vehicles must always be able to use the street, some space must be left for delivery trucks and a few shoppers must be able to, you know, shop otherwise the street will be pretty but the shops will have gone out of business (Red Luas line construction?). It's not the widest street in the world - anyone who claims it could be done in a few weeks while achieving all that is talking through their ass.

SEPT 23 1989

A rate reduction would be more helpful to the Dublin city economy rather than bullsh1t vanity projects like this