Major Oil Find Off Dalkey!!!!!

ted1 wrote: »

i'm killiney actually but dalkey is my local village your right i can't stand outside companies i dispise the uniformcation of all the shopping centres and main shopping streets. You could be on grafton street, leeds, manchester, london etc they've all the same bloody shops.

There are a couple of things wrong with this observation. It is similar to those made by 'dalkeyresident' on The Patton Flyer thread which I created: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055730592. It's a xenophobic and racist comment. As a person who has been living in Dalkey my whole life, I think Dalkey is loosing business as a result of the fact that it hasn't evolved at all over the last two or three decades. In other words, the area in general hasn't embraced that much change with the exception of building interiors being modernized. While I can understand that the village part should remain untouched by commercialization due to it's delicate character and those further east, I do think the area needs massive commercial expansion to re-establish itself as a coastal hub. Otherwise, people will just get bored of it. At present, the dark reality is that Dalkey isn't attracting large numbers of people in the sense that Blackrock or Dun Laoghaire is. It is no longer a commuting town because there isn't any catalyst which would generate larger traffic flows. At present, it is becoming a dead end for commercial traffic and indeed commuter traffic which is probably the reason why the general bus routes in the area take on very few people.

ted1 wrote: »

I prefer the sole traders who take pride on their work and offer alternatives to the mass products being forced down out throat. and anybody who drinks coffee wil tell you that starbucks i smuck compared to a decent locla coffee shop.

That is all very well and good and I'm not suggesting for a second that you think otherwise. I do appreciate your sentimental values. However, that is not to say that Dalkey should remain confined to local establishments. After all, Eurospar is a multinational company in Dalkey which takes it's roots in Amsterdam. Currently, Dalkey has a very good variety of pubs, restaurants and cafés, some of which are traditional and others which are exotic. However, these services are only a small part of the much larger spectrum of commercial activity. For instance, nobody would spend a day in Dalkey doing their shopping. Yes, the area has a lot of nature trails and minor tourist spots. Nevertheless, these aren't methods of attracting large crowds. Before you jump to conclusions, I amn't saying for one second that these nature areas be rezoned for commercial purposes as I would also object strongly to that. What I am saying is that there will need to be a big change in other areas which aren't valued for their aestheticity. Examples of such areas include St. Begnets Villa's, parts of Bullock Harbour and Hillside. Collectively, these areas are large enough to accomodate developments which would facilitate enormous expansion of commercial activity within the Dalkey area whilst keeping the village and other pretty parts untouched.

As for the infrastructure to these new establishments. If a second level* were to be built on top of the railway line between Dalkey Avenue and Ardeevin Road, this would allow Dalkey Avenue and Cunningham Road to be turned into one way roads which would cater for north and southbound traffic respectively. For Barnhill road, a new road could be constructed behind the houses along the northern half of the road so that Barnhill Road would essentially be split into two one-way roads: Barnhill Road West and Barnhill Road East for outbound and inbound traffic respectively. From it's junction with Cunningham Road to it's junction with Rock Lodge, Dalkey Avenue/Killiney Hill Road could easily be widened as the this section of roadway isn't hemmed in by houses. In fact, there is a huge amount of space between the houses themselves and the road. From here, it would turn right off Killiney Hill Road where it would bisect Killiney Golf Club and merge with Churchview Road. If you look at Google Earth, you will see what I mean. As a result of the aforementioned measures, Dalkey would be certain to become a very busy hub.

*If you consider that the railway line in between the aforementioned roads is a half pipe, the idea which I am proposing would enclose the pipe. Also, if you consider the width of the air space above the railway, it is more than wide enough to accomodate four lanes of traffic, a fifth filter lane and the remaining width to carry pedestrian paths. Again, check out Google Earth if you don't believe me.