O'Connell Street renovations

dublinguy2004

Eh why is it taking so long to put down a few slabs and paint a bus lane or two? Ok I accept it's not as easy as this, but what the hell is going on on our national thouroughfare?
Some of it is finished and looks very well, but other parts are a sham. Work has been going on for years now! If my memory serves me correct, the spike was a millenium project. It is now twenty 05 and things still aren't complete. What are these ladz in Dublin City council doing all day? It makes me ashamed to be Irish.

Jonny Arson

The ripping down of those trees on O'Connell Street is a disgrace... they should hang their heads in shame.

Kevin_rc_ie

Yes, what exactly is happening in the South east Corner of O'connell street? Outside the pharmacy and donut kiosk?

Dyr

by and large what theyve done lookes awful, faceless, smooth, anonymous. repalcing mature trees with square shrubs and that monument to utter pointlessness that is the big pointy thing. Still the overtime is probably great and somones getting a brown envelope no doubt :mad:

Kevin_rc_ie

i really liked the old new oconnell street. pity.

dublinguy2004

Bambi wrote:

by and large what theyve done lookes awful, faceless, smooth, anonymous. repalcing mature trees with square shrubs and that monument to utter pointlessness that is the big pointy thing. Still the overtime is probably great and somones getting a brown envelope no doubt :mad:

Completely, 100% agree. I'm not too sure on the styling myself... And what's the point in styling at all when they can't even complete a simple project. It's a national disgrace.

Hey kevin_rc_ie, why am I banned from the Trinity College Dublin board?

Diss

It looks sexy and modern.

Well done.

dublinguy2004

Diss wrote:

It looks sexy and modern.

Well done.

Eh, it's not done.

ba

i agree with Diss.

o connell st. symobolises urban ireland, this restyling will improve irelands social and commercial prominence.

i'm sure all those trees will be replaced.

whats wrong with the spire? its smooth and reflective skin is a welcome contrast to the surrounding dreariness of the street of which it rises to majestic heights.

ZigBee

dublinguy2004 wrote:

Eh why is it taking so long to put down a few slabs and paint a bus lane or two? Ok I accept it's not as easy as this, but what the hell is going on on our national thouroughfare?
Some of it is finished and looks very well, but other parts are a sham. Work has been going on for years now! If my memory serves me correct, the spike was a millenium project. It is now twenty 05 and things still aren't complete. What are these ladz in Dublin City council doing all day? It makes me ashamed to be Irish.

I agree! Work has progressed somewhat over the last couple of weeks but they're still miles behind!

I read somewhere that the whole project is akin to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco in that by the time they've finished painting the bridge, it's time to start the painting all over again.

ZigBee

What's happened to all the lovely granite (proper granite mind you) slabs that were once on O'Connell Street?

I'd say there's plenty of builders with very nice patios about the place...

Flukey

ZigBee wrote:

I'd say there's plenty of builders with very nice patios about the place...

Yes, with loads of those black chewing gum spots all over them. I don't think that is the kind of patio they'd want. The biggest problem for the new O'Connell Street is the stupidity of having the pavements and roadways having the same colour scheme and pattern in front of the GPO. It is very dangerous.

grimloch

Flukey wrote:

Yes, with loads of those black chewing gum spots all over them. I don't think that is the kind of patio they'd want. The biggest problem for the new O'Connell Street is the stupidity of having the pavements and roadways having the same colour scheme and pattern in front of the GPO. It is very dangerous.

I didn't believe that when I heard it and thought it would be hard enough to mistake a road for a path but I went and nearly walked onto the road to get past a few tourists.

Flukey

Like I've said here before, it is madness. What's worse is that they have no plans to rectify it.

grimloch

Flukey wrote:

Like I've said here before, it is madness. What's worse is that they have no plans to rectify it.

It's more than just a lick of paint though I'll wager?

Even a railing or something.

Tusky

The spike is bad but what makes it really really bad is the difference in color from the bottom part and top part. It looks awful. I also hate the new slabs & trees on O Connel street. The only thing that looks nice are the new traffic lights.

grimloch

Tusky wrote:

The spike is bad but what makes it really really bad is the difference in color from the bottom part and top part. It looks awful. I also hate the new slabs & trees on O Connel street. The only thing that looks nice are the new traffic lights.

Whats going on at the GPO? The work there working in conjunction with the same colour path/road nearly got me run over.

I think the street looks alllright actually, alot nicer than the top half.

ZigBee

grimloch wrote:

Whats going on at the GPO? The work there working in conjunction with the same colour path/road nearly got me run over.

I think the street looks alllright actually, alot nicer than the top half.

I'm thinking of the Golden Gate Bridge again...

stag39

i hope that they will finish it damn quick and that it won't go the same way as eyre square in galway!!!!

they should even try to do the work at night....it is a disgrace at the moment for all the tourists!!!!

morlan

grimloch wrote:

Whats going on at the GPO? The work there working in conjunction with the same colour path/road nearly got me run over.

I think the street looks alllright actually, alot nicer than the top half.

They're cleaning the façade.

spooydermot

pulling out the trees was a disgrace

the cleaning of the statues is a great improvement though....

Cantab.

I know I'm dragging this up again. But the O'Connell street revovations really are a disgrace. I thought they'd at least get the paving down before christmas. Is it really that much work or are the contractors dragging it out for as long as possible milking it for every cent it's worth?

Complete lack of leadership if you ask me. Who's in charge?

morlan

They're actually well ahead of schedule due to the unusually decent weather.

O'Connell Street overhaul due to be completed in May
Olivia Kelly




The redevelopment of O'Connell Street in Dublin, which has caused huge disruption to traffic and pedestrians for the last four years, is due to be completed next May, six months ahead of schedule.

The final phase of construction, at the northern end of the street, began on April 26th this year; it was estimated it would continue for 18 months. However, the city council said the work had been accelerated and was now scheduled for earlier completion.

The first phase of the regeneration of the capital's main street began in 2001 and was completed late last year. It involved the creation of a central plaza outside the GPO and the installation of the Spire.

This second phase comprises the area of Upper O'Connell Street from the junction of Henry Street-North Earl Street northwards to Parnell Street. It also includes the east side of Lower O'Connell Street from Abbey Street Lower southwards to Eden Quay.

Work on the section of Lower O'Connell Street will be "substantially completed" by Christmas, the council said yesterday, and Upper O'Connell Street, a larger and more complex area of redevelopment, should be finished in the early weeks of May.

The acceleration of the project was made possible in part because of good weather, Martin Kavanagh, executive manager of the council's development department, said. "It really makes a difference to schedules."

No major difficulties were encountered with underground services such as tele-

communication lines or water and waste service, which also helped to shorten the work.

The council now proposes to begin work on the Parnell Square improvement scheme. A public consultation project will start early in the new year. During the first phase of this project the road will be narrowed on Parnell Square North to two lanes, where a new gate to the Garden of Remembrance will be opened. Paving, lighting and tree-planting will also start.


http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ire...5OCONNELL.html
© The Irish Times

grimloch

Regardless of what the latest 'schedules' are, 4 years to do a bloody road is a joke.

Cantab.

Since when is weather such a huge factor in a 4 year+ project? Balance of probabilities and all that.

The spike (with renovations being an aside) was supposed to be a millenium project.

It is now almost twenty 06 for god's sake.

I really can't stand those monkeys in dublin city council. They sit up in their concrete jungle all day spouting rubbish when they should be concentrating on getting it up off the street.

Being in local government is a very powerful position to be in: It seems there's no accountability, big and inflated financial decisions for ridiculous projects are being made out of the public spotlight and those in power just hide behind the bureacracy when things go wrong.

Who's responsible for allocating funding to the project? Who's monitoring the project?

scorphonic

ok this may be a completely crazy point to make here but consider it..

How come it takes the Irish such a long time to complete anything...such as O Connell street (which I would consider a small job) ....when the German people can build their WHOLE country in 60 years. O and the Americans can build a sky scraper in less than two weeks.

Funny eh?

Milking the system is apparently the case here...and what are we doing about it? NOT ENOUGH, thats for sure.

I must say I like the new O Connell street...its nice to arrive into Dublin city in the morning and be faced with CLEAN streets in an otherwise dirty city.

[Jackass]

I still can't believe our answer to the Eifel tower, Chanse elise (sp), Big Ben, tower of London, statue of liberty, arc de triomph, leaning tower of pisa, empire state building, golden gate bridge.... is the spire!

What do all of those have in common? Historical significane, commemerating the past, celebrating national glorys, make a statment of national identity....

We came up with a giant syringe beside the slums of the city center which is an eye-sore! It's plane, bland, nothing remotely spectacular or significant about it, it's meaningless and unatractive! Even a twisting giant Arch or something across O'connell street, collins arch or something, to commemerate the rising or our independance or some crap...6 years on and the place is still a mess...typical...why can't we get anything right?

Sarsfield

I really like the Spire. I believe it's very well liked. And it's deliberately non-political. You can't have Collins or Dev as both represent the historical enemy of half the nation!

The leaning tower is a construction fcuk-up that just got famous, so I don't know why you included it. And the French supplied Liberty to the Americans (something most Americans don't know, or don't want to know!)

I've no idea why it's taken so long, but I do like the new O'Connell St.

Cantab.

I can't believe the gimps at Dublin City Council are still standing over this project. It's certainly something they should be ashamed of, the length of time this is taking.

I wonder will they have it finished for Paddy's Day 2007?

Or will we get more of the same "Not done yet, but we're getting there" baloney?

And so it seems nobody is responsible and nobody's held accountable for this disgrace of a project that's taking years.

Given projects like O'Connell Street and Eyre Square in Galway, are local authorities competent to oversee such projects in future?

monument

They'll may be digging a lot of it up again for the Metro station on the top of the street, and the Luas extension.

Texas

What the story with the rabbit/hare statues down the centre on O'Connell St.... thought I was seeing things

elekid

Texas wrote:

What the story with the rabbit/hare statues down the centre on O'Connell St.... thought I was seeing things

Yeah I noticed them this morning too and I think they're really bizarre and ugly. I don't know what they were thinking putting those there. It seems such an odd choice, unless the statues have some kind of significance that I'm missing..?

fly_agaric

Cantab. wrote:

I can't believe the gimps at Dublin City Council are still standing over this project. It's certainly something they should be ashamed of, the length of time this is taking.

I wonder will they have it finished for Paddy's Day 2007?

Or will we get more of the same "Not done yet, but we're getting there" baloney?

And so it seems nobody is responsible and nobody's held accountable for this disgrace of a project that's taking years.

Given projects like O'Connell Street and Eyre Square in Galway, are local authorities competent to oversee such projects in future?

I'm only guessing here but I'd say money (or the lack thereof) has had more of an effect on the rate of the O'Connell St. "improvements":) than incompetence.

If you want to blame anybody, blame the govt. (who else:eek: ) for not giving the council more money or the powers necessary to raise more money.

Cantab.

fly_agaric wrote:

I'm only guessing here but I'd say money (or the lack thereof) has had more of an effect on the rate of the O'Connell St. "improvements":) than incompetence.

If you want to blame anybody, blame the govt. (who else:eek: ) for not giving the council more money or the powers necessary to raise more money.

That excuse is a load of codswollop.

The council have more money than they've ever had.

BendiBus

elekid wrote:

Yeah I noticed them this morning too and I think they're really bizarre and ugly. I don't know what they were thinking putting those there. It seems such an odd choice, unless the statues have some kind of significance that I'm missing..?

I think it's the recently re-opened Hugh Lane Gallery doing the public art thing. A temporary erection I believe.

The Hugh Lane is looking lovely though. Although that Francis Bacon guy was a bit of a mad fecker!

Further edit: www.hughlane.ie Current exhibitions include Barry Flanagan in Dublins O'Connell St. 27 June - October 2006. Started a bit early or something entirely different. I dunno.

Hermione*

Cantab. wrote:

That excuse is a load of codswollop.

The council have more money than they've ever had.

Well given that we don't have rates, the council get most of their money from central government.

Also, the council is government. Local government.

speedy21

I also have to question the lack of cycle lanes on O'Connell street - It's the worst place in the city to try cycle down - especially with buses pulling in to let people on. With such big footpaths and centre sections you'd think they'd have put in a bike lane

TapouT

speedy21 wrote:

I also have to question the lack of cycle lanes on O'Connell street - It's the worst place in the city to try cycle down - especially with buses pulling in to let people on. With such big footpaths and centre sections you'd think they'd have put in a bike lane

When cyclists start paying road tax, lets start to worry about more cycle lanes.

Cantab.

Hermione* wrote:

Well given that we don't have rates, the council get most of their money from central government.

Also, the council is government. Local government.

Sorry don't buy it. Where the council gets their money is irrelevant - the project has been going on for years and afaik, it's due to incompetence by those in charge and certainly not a shortage money. If money was that scarce, there'd be no money to erect a spike that's for sure.

Do you have any evidence to suggest that the city council is short of money?

Hermione*

Cantab. wrote:

Sorry don't buy it. Where the council gets their money is irrelevant - the project has been going on for years and afaik, it's due to incompetence by those in charge and certainly not a shortage money. If money was that scarce, there'd be no money to erect a spike that's for sure.

Do you have any evidence to suggest that the city council is short of money?

I didn't propose an argument either way. I merely pointed out that historians are agreed that the abolition of rates after the 1977 general election has severly handicapped local government throughout Ireland. I'm not commenting on the immediate circumstances in City Hall.

Goodshape

Texas wrote:

What the story with the rabbit/hare statues down the centre on O'Connell St.... thought I was seeing things

They're sculptures by Barry Flanagan, part of the Hugh Lane exhibition as BendiBus said.

Dublincity.ie article

dublincity.ie wrote:

Barry Flanagan on Dublin’s O’Connell Street will be a world-class exhibition featuring ten pieces - eight Hares, a playful elephant and a pair of cougars.

The complete exhibition, which is being installed as part of the celebration surrounding the reopening of the Gallery and the refurbishment of O’Connell Street, will be in situ by 27th June, when the last piece will be unveiled by the artist himself. The exhibition is being organised in collaboration with IMMA.

fly_agaric

Cantab. wrote:

Sorry don't buy it. Where the council gets their money is irrelevant

I wish I lived in that world where extra money just appeared when needed!

Cantab. wrote:

- the project has been going on for years and afaik, it's due to incompetence by those in charge and certainly not a shortage money. If money was that scarce, there'd be no money to erect a spike that's for sure.

Do you have any evidence to suggest that the city council is short of money?

Somewhat dated, but if you look at pg. 12 (pdf) of

http://www.dublincity.ie/Images/Adopted_Budget_2004_tcm35-12929.pdf

Notice how the expenditure is expected to go up 5-10% for the year of 2004 but income is pretty much static relative to 2003.

It seems the council depends on increases in money it gets from govt. just to cope with general inflation cost increases.
Unless a massive extra amount of govt. money is forthcoming how can it blow lots on vanity projects like new paving for O'Connell St.? Of course, I don't know and am just guessing (bs'ing like most people on the internet), but I'd say money (staying within budget each year) is a constraint on the speed of the work.
p 59 of the pdf also seems to suggest that the work was deliberately phased (listing "phase I" of the O'Connell St. Redevelopment a project for that year).

Was the Spire not paid for by central govt. anyways? I thought it was a "millennium" project which was finished a bit late.:)