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8 new bridges for Cork

Jimmy Bottles

Saw this head line on the front of the Echo on Monday. Didn't read it and I haven't seen a thing on line about it.

Anyone know what the full story is ?

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aujopimur

More bridges are a bad idea, it's hard enough to keep the norries out of the southside.

AugustusMinimus

That bridge will cost at least 50m i'd say. Can't see it with an FG government any time soon.

namloc1980

Deedsie wrote: »

Any word on the Skew Bridge? Would be a great addition to the city.

It isn't funded in the current capital programme up to 2021. Gonna be at least the next decade or into the 2030s before this bridge gets the go ahead.

AugustusMinimus

Just to recap, I believe that in addition to this bridge, there are also plans for a further 2 tipping bridges from Horgans Quay across to Kennedy's quay. I would think both are one direction, with the West most going South only (carrying on from Water Street and the other nearer the city centre going the opposite direction.

flo8s967qjh0nd

Image of the new Merchant's Quay footbridge here:
http://www.eveningecho.ie/cork-news/new-e3m-footbridge-planned-cork-city/2540244/

It's very, very uninspiring.

whisky_galore

Hardly a dire necessity.
I don't see how it will 'open up' retail spaces in McCurtain st. very few retailers of anything there, mainly restaurants/take aways and pubs. A few second hand, I mean 'vintage' shops that's about it.

Tin Foil Hat

That bridge would save a maximum of four minutes walking. What an absolute waste of money that would be.

lisasimpson

Waste of money... silversprings to the marina should be the maim focus to get done.when the new development down by sextant is up and running traffic wil be mental

lisasimpson

Waste of money... silversprings to the marina should be the maim focus to get done.when the new development down by sextant is up and running traffic wil be mental

Herb Powell

I love bridges as much as the next man, but I'd prefer if money was put into fixing the roads. They're in absolute shhit. Potholes everywhere. Not good enough for a city, tbh.

KCAccidental

whisky_galore wrote: »

Hardly a dire necessity.
I don't see how it will 'open up' retail spaces in McCurtain st. very few retailers of anything there, mainly restaurants/take aways and pubs. A few second hand, I mean 'vintage' shops that's about it.

Isn't that the point though?

whisky_galore

KCAccidental wrote: »

Isn't that the point though?

I don't see how one lousy footbridge which saves maybe one or two mins walking is going to do all this at any rate.

KCAccidental

whisky_galore wrote: »

I don't see how one lousy footbridge which saves maybe one or two mins walking is going to do all this at any rate.

It opens out the end of Parnell place by the bus station. Much like the bridge at the end of corn market Street. Should create more footfall on PP and Patrick's quay etc. Some nice spots on pipes quay now by that bridge as a result.

whisky_galore

KCAccidental wrote: »

It opens out the end of Parnell place by the bus station. Much like the bridge at the end of corn market Street. Should create more footfall on PP and Patrick's quay etc. Some nice spots on pipes quay now by that bridge as a result.

There's a bit more of a walkaround distance for Pope's Quay to be fair.

Money could be better spent elsewhere than building this new bridge.

lostinsuperfunk

It's very, very uninspiring.

That's not the actual design, the tender includes design work.

Herb Powell

KCAccidental wrote: »

It opens out the end of Parnell place by the bus station. Much like the bridge at the end of corn market Street. Should create more footfall on PP and Patrick's quay etc. Some nice spots on pipes quay now by that bridge as a result.

??????

There's a bridge literally right beside the bus station.

I think this is a massive waste of money.

KCAccidental

whisky_galore wrote: »

There's a bit more of a walkaround distance for Pope's Quay to be fair.

Money could be better spent elsewhere than building this new bridge.

I agree with that. The bridge isn't vital, but it would revitialize that part of the city. I work on Maccurtain street myself and it's definitely a lot busier and safer than it has been in the last 10 years or so. The bridge would just give it a final push. Patrick's Quay would get a nice boost as well.

KCAccidental

Herb Powell wrote: »

??????

There's a bridge literally right beside the bus station.

I think this is a massive waste of money.

There is, but this bridge is more about creating another route for shoppers etc. making another loop will bring more footfall to Parnell Place and Maccurtain street as there will somewhere else to go conveniently instead of along that dump on Merchant's quay.

pwurple

I don't get the position of that bridge at all.

Sure there's nothing on merchant's quay except a redbrick wall, and a side entrance to dunnes is it? Any shoppers on foot wouod be coming from patrick street, and there is patrick's bridge right there.

I get the use for it on the other side maybe it would be handy for there, but bridges are most useful when they connect TWO places on either side. But connecting a brick wall to a delapidated street... why?

And as for opening up the bus station or parnell place. The bloody bus station is in the wrong spot in the city entirely. The bus station should be beside the train station (or the trains brought down to the buses). what other country does this kind of weird planning, where there is no connection between rail and bus? It's so weird.

And in nearly every city I've been in, the bus and rail stations are notoriously dodgey. Favourite Hangouts for junkies and prostitutes. It's the same here, so sticking a footbridge in front of it is just going to be an escape route / pickup zone.

KCAccidental

pwurple wrote: »

I don't get the position of that bridge at all.

Sure there's nothing on merchant's quay except a redbrick wall, and a side entrance to dunnes is it? Any shoppers on foot wouod be coming from patrick street, and there is patrick's bridge right there.

I get the use for it on the other side maybe it would be handy for there, but bridges are most useful when they connect TWO places on either side. But connecting a brick wall to a delapidated street... why?

It's Parnell Place that will be opened up. As it is, the only reason you are walking at that end of Parnell Place is to go to the bus station. Creating another walking route at that junction gives people more reason to use Parnell Place. (take my popes quay example earlier)

Pedestrians will save a lot of time using a Patricks St-Maylor st-Parnell Place-Maccurtain st route. It will also enable shoppers to loop around and back to Patrick st (apparently shoppers hate back tracking on themselves). This sort of pedestrian routing has been a major element of Urbanism for many years now.

And as for opening up the bus station or parnell place. The bloody bus station is in the wrong spot in the city entirely. The bus station should be beside the train station (or the trains brought down to the buses). what other country does this kind of weird planning, where there is no connection between rail and bus? It's so weird.

And in nearly every city I've been in, the bus and rail stations are notoriously dodgey. Favourite Hangouts for junkies and prostitutes. It's the same here, so sticking a footbridge in front of it is just going to be an escape route / pickup zone.

no argument with you there. In many ways the Bus Station is quite isolated from the rest of town, with very few shopfronts or businesses on Parnell Place and Merchant's Quay. This definitely enables the more anti-social parts of society to congegrate. The way Merchant's quay was designed killed Parnell Place. Instead of busy shopfronts it was left with a dark car park entrance and two goods yards. Just asking for trouble with that.

Increasing footfall from just bus passengers and junkies should help clean the place up a bit.

whisky_galore

KCAccidental wrote: »

I agree with that. The bridge isn't vital, but it would revitialize that part of the city. I work on Maccurtain street myself and it's definitely a lot busier and safer than it has been in the last 10 years or so. The bridge would just give it a final push. Patrick's Quay would get a nice boost as well.

When I see people sleeping in doorways I would prefer if something could go towards rectifying this, but I'm sure someone is going to pipe up that the money has to be allocated to bridges and no other purpose or some such.

mire

I think some people are mixing things up. The pedestrian bridge is not supposed to be a 'shortcut' or a time saving device. Pedestrian bridges like this are intended to connect places, open up city districts to one another, improve places that are badly connected, under-patronized and generally encourage more pedestrian activity. Part of the reason that Patrick's and Merchant's quay perform quite poorly in commercial terms is precisely because they are poorly connected.

A pedestrian-friendly, easy to navigate city is often a successful and attractive one. Cork, being sited on two channels of a river has certain constraints when trying encourage people to move through the city centre. Pedestrian connections like this can often have a considerable effect, and they can alter the quality, perception and overall performance of these places. Also, this bridge is not just about linking the two quays to one another; it will have a much broader purpose - improving connections between the MacCurtain St area with the city centre generally. In other words, the effect should be strategic, not localised.

They do need to get the precise location right though. I am not sure that dog-legging it as presented in the graphic is advisable.

the beer revolu

I'm in two minds about this bridge.

On the one hand, it is only 315 meters between St. Patrick's Bridge and Brian Boru Bridge.
On the other hand people from the South side of Cork have a really weird perception of Mc Curtain Street. It is deemed as being "out of town" or at least "out of the way". People see it as rough and don't seem to go there much. Maybe this bridge might just help people to get over their notions about Mc Curtain Street. It really has plenty to offer : 2 hotels, a hostel, heaps of good casual dining options, a few more upmarket dining options, takeaways, there's a new bridal shop, a posh furniture shop, the wonderful Stoke's Clocks, a posh tea shop, cafes, hairdressers/barbers, a flower shop, a church, a large theatre, several pubs and almost no dereliction.

St. Patrick's quay could do with a bit more footfall, alright. It's a little sad.

pwurple wrote: »

I don't get the position of that bridge at all.
But connecting a brick wall to a delapidated street... why?

Favourite Hangouts for junkies and prostitutes. It's the same here, so sticking a footbridge in front of it is just going to be an escape route / pickup zone.

Junkies? Prostitutes? Delapidated? (sic)
Seriously?

Please answer honestly. When was the last time you walked the length of Mc Curtain Street (or even half of it)? You certainly don't describe the area as I know it.

deRanged

will there be a pedestrian crossing to carry you over to Harley st I wonder? I think it needs it, especially with the traffic to and from the Aircoach.

McCurtain street looks very vibrant, it's really come along in the last few years.

pwurple

the beer revolu wrote: »

I'm in two minds about this bridge.

On the one hand, it is only 315 meters between St. Patrick's Bridge and Brian Boru Bridge.
On the other hand people from the South side of Cork have a really weird perception of Mc Curtain Street. It is deemed as being "out of town" or at least "out of the way". People see it as rough and don't seem to go there much. Maybe this bridge might just help people to get over their notions about Mc Curtain Street. It really has plenty to offer : 2 hotels, a hostel, heaps of good casual dining options, a few more upmarket dining options, takeaways, there's a new bridal shop, a posh furniture shop, the wonderful Stoke's Clocks, a posh tea shop, cafes, hairdressers/barbers, a flower shop, a church, a large theatre, several pubs and almost no dereliction.

St. Patrick's quay could do with a bit more footfall, alright. It's a little sad.

Junkies? Prostitutes? Delapidated? (sic)
Seriously?

Please answer honestly. When was the last time you walked the length of Mc Curtain Street (or even half of it)? You certainly don't describe the area as I know it.

You have misread. The junkies and prostitutes are on parnell place. And I love mccurtain street, I have recommended the fish wife, gallaghers and sakura repeatedly on the restaurant thread, it's a great part of town. I walk up bridge street to get to it, not in any way inaccessible.

Unfortunetly the bridge doesn't fly over patricks quay and land on mccurtain street. You would have to walk to walk up Hartleys street from the quay to get there, which is fairly grim. Here's a photo of it. That's the crappy part. Not mccurtain street.

TrustedApple

I used to live on Patricks hill so would be on mccurtain street daily to go to work and being honest i found it a great area to live if it had a big lidl or aldi it would be the perfect st to live on or near. Petty that apartment was so damp you could not live in it.

whisky_galore

deRanged wrote: »

McCurtain street looks very vibrant, it's really come along in the last few years.

And all this without the presence of a footbridge...

I don't believe that people with come running to open up businesses just because of a superfluous piece of infrastructure that only caters for push bikes and pedestrians.

mire

whisky_galore wrote: »

And all this without the presence of a footbridge...

I don't believe that people with come running to open up businesses just because of a superfluous piece of infrastructure that only caters for push bikes and pedestrians.

You are wrong.

When new connections like pedestrian bridges are placed thoughtfully and carefully, connecting two parts of a city that had previously been isolated from one another, it can have a significant positive effect.

It is a well-established urban design concept - connecting places and promoting pedestrian activity. Two local examples include;

1 The Millennium Bridge Dublin - "Forging a new route between Temple Bar and the busy Jervis and Henry Street area on the northside'' - see the impact on Ormonde Quay, the entire Bloom Quarter.

2 The Millennium Bridge, at top of Cornmarket Street has enlivened the northern end of Cornmarket Street to a significant degree. It has not, admittedly, transformed the northern side, but there are signs.

This is not really a novel or controversial concept. It's a good way to improve the city.

j8wk2feszrnpao

mire wrote: »

When new connections like pedestrian bridges are placed thoughtfully and carefully, connecting two parts of a city that had previously been isolated from one another, it can have a significant positive effect.

This doesn't seem very well thought out though.
€3m on a bridge, between two nearby bridges (to an area that is not isolated), seems a waste.
Is there going to be another sets of lights that will also be required at that point? That's be three sets of lights in a very short distance.

pwurple

mire wrote: »

When new connections like pedestrian bridges are placed thoughtfully and carefully, connecting two parts of a city that had previously been isolated from one another, it can have a significant positive effect.

Sure. Thoughtfully and carefully planned. Now explain to me why Hartley's street (kip pictured above) connected to Merchant's Quay (the large brick wall visible in the same pic) is a good idea.
Millennium bridge connected two populated streets with retail units on them. not the back of an apartment block to the side wall of a shopping center.

Kip <-> footbridge <-> Brick wall.

I see no benefit.