UCD track to close!!

Timmaay · 21-11-2011 1:29pm #1

Part of an email sent out today from the college president for students:

"The UCD running track has reached the end of its operational life and unfortunately has had to be closed due to health and safety concerns. Our advisors have reported that as the surface is badly worn and becomes slippy when wet, it should be closed to all users. Works to redress this situation have already commenced and we hope to be able to provide an alternative facility on campus in the future, subject to funding becoming available."

Slogger Jogger · 21-11-2011 8:49pm

Is it a temporary closure while the track is being remediated?

Timmaay · 21-11-2011 9:23pm

Closed for good is the news that I am hearing!

BeepBeep67 · 21-11-2011 9:26pm

Timmaay wrote: »

Closed for good is the news that I am hearing!

Hope it gets resurrected I ran my 5k PB on that track in 1984 :eek:

myflipflops · 21-11-2011 10:01pm

This has been on the cards for a long time. College authorities have wanted rid of it. There was a plan to build a new tack (maybe 6 lanes?) over by the sports centre but I am not sure if they are finalised or still going ahead.

It's a great pity. Clubs have offered to put up the money to refurbish the track and make it good enough for competitions again but UCD refused. I suspect it will be a car park soon enough.

Aimman · 21-11-2011 10:20pm

:mad: Sounds like an excuse to close it off and save a bit of money, that was a very handy track to train on, would be a big loss if they close it without developing an alternative.

Timmaay · 21-11-2011 10:25pm

myflipflops wrote: »

This has been on the cards for a long time. College authorities have wanted rid of it. There was a plan to build a new tack (maybe 6 lanes?) over by the sports centre but I am not sure if they are finalised or still going ahead.

Yep it certainly has been on the cards along time, since 2006, when UCD came out with the gateway project (http://www.ucd.ie/gatewayproject/index.htm) which has been totally shelved now! In terms of a future for a track in UCD, I really don't know, the College is fairly broke, like all other colleges in Ireland! Why they have closed the track we don't know yet!

Getonwithit · 21-11-2011 10:37pm

Surely an issue for Senator Coughlan to fight? He did set a 4x1 mile relay record there..

myflipflops · 21-11-2011 10:48pm

Timmaay wrote: »

Yep it certainly has been on the cards along time, since 2006, when UCD came out with the gateway project (http://www.ucd.ie/gatewayproject/index.htm) which has been totally shelved now! In terms of a future for a track in UCD, I really don't know, the College is fairly broke, like all other colleges in Ireland! Why they have closed the track we don't know yet!

Before that even. They stopped having competitions there in 2000 i believe. I was a 1st year in UCD in 2002 and there were already specific plans to get rid of it.

Irishtown eases the loss a bit but it is still a great shame. Noel Carroll would not have approved.

Pisco Sour · 22-11-2011 2:16am

Very saddened and disgusted to hear this news. It is more facilities that the sport needs in Ireland, not less! What a great way to discourage students in the biggest university in Ireland to take up, or continue with the sport. It never ceases to amaze me how poorly minority sports are treated in Ireland.

Cartman78 · 22-11-2011 10:13am

How long is the 'operational life' of a track?

And how much would it cost potentially to replace?

The track I use for intervals is also worn in places and I don't recall it ever being repaired or upgraded over the years

G-Money · 22-11-2011 11:29am

Not totally surprised to hear this. I've been told the track is so worn out it's like running on concrete.

A runner friend of mine told me it costs about €250,000 to get a track put down, so not an insignificant sum. Don't know if that's to lay a completely new track or whether the cost changes depending on whether a track is already there and needs to be refurbished.

T runner · 22-11-2011 11:41am

Timmaay wrote: »

Yep it certainly has been on the cards along time, since 2006, when UCD came out with the gateway project (http://www.ucd.ie/gatewayproject/index.htm) which has been totally shelved now! In terms of a future for a track in UCD, I really don't know, the College is fairly broke, like all other colleges in Ireland! Why they have closed the track we don't know yet!

If its dependant on funding then it wont be replaced. The capital budget of the 3rd levels is in focus now so anything that isnt contracted already wont happen. Its a shame. Education and sport dont seem to be a priority in boom or bust unfortunately.

Pisco Sour · 22-11-2011 11:44am

Why cant they just leave it there? How does the University benefit financially by tearing up the track?

And it's not like the track takes up a huge amount of space. It is a tiny drop in the ocean that is UCD. The campus is huge. If they want a car park so badly then why not build one where there is nothing.

RayCun · 22-11-2011 11:47am

04072511 wrote: »

Why cant they just leave it there? How does the University benefit financially by tearing up the track?

They don't get sued if someone slips and falls.

TheRoadRunner · 22-11-2011 12:01pm

T runner wrote: »

If its dependant on funding then it wont be replaced. The capital budget of the 3rd levels is in focus now so anything that isnt contracted already wont happen.

About 3-4 years ago they supposedly had the cash for it. Nothing was finalised but the consensus was they were going to build a 6 lane track and it was going to be closer to the other sports developments. I knew at the time that this was never going to happen no matter how hard the administration said it would.

04072511 wrote: »

Why cant they just leave it there? How does the University benefit financially by tearing up the track?

And it's not like the track takes up a huge amount of space. It is a tiny drop in the ocean that is UCD. The campus is huge. If they want a car park so badly then why not build one where there is nothing.

Have you been in UCD lately? They have built it up massively in recent years, between new departmental buildings, student accommodation and car parks there is very little green space left compared to 10 years ago. Having said that they do have a nice walk way around certain parts of the campus that is nice to run on. It's definitely going to be turned into a cra park in my opinion.

On the cost of relaying the track, not 100% but 150k-200k sounds right. They'll never spend that money as they won't be able to recoup the cash in any way. Sure the 50 metre swimming pool is going to suck up a lot of their disposable sports budget. I find it hard to believe they will be able to run that on a cost neutral basis.

RayCun · 22-11-2011 12:08pm

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Nothing was finalised but the consensus was they were going to build a 6 lane track and it was going to be closer to the other sports developments.

Yeah, even assuming they had the money for relaying a track, they wouldn't put it over there.

Timmaay · 22-11-2011 1:14pm

Ok I'm still fairly shocked at this whole issue, with less then 24hours notice to us of the track closing, there are diggers in ripping it up!!

This is a total disgrace from UCD towards UCD athletics, clearly now the health and safety excuse was just total bullsh*t, and they obviously left it late as possible to tell us so as there would be nothing we could do!

The track was not in great condition, and a new track would certainly have been nice, but certainly it was better then what we are faced with now, trying to get some sort of 1/2 decent timeslot in the already packed out Irishtown, which is a bit of a nightmare trek for students to get out to during rushhour. As someone else said in this thread, this will only discourage students to bother with athletics.

RoyMcC · 22-11-2011 2:57pm

Timmaay wrote: »

but certainly it was better then what we are faced with now, trying to get some sort of 1/2 decent timeslot in the already packed out Irishtown, which is a bit of a nightmare trek for students to get out to during rushhour. As someone else said in this thread, this will only discourage students to bother with athletics.

Couldn't agree more with the sentiments. When I came to live and work in Ireland I couldn't believe the paucity of facilities. The athletics community must have missed a few tricks in the days where there was plenty of money around. As there's little income in providing athletics facilities there's little hope for them right now.

Health & Safety is a flimsy excuse for ripping up the UCD track. A simple 'use at own risk' sign would have done if that was the worry :mad:

Irishtown however is only busy on Tuesday & Thursday evenings and Sat/Sun mornings afaik. Agreed that Pearse Street can be sometimes be at a standstill at rush hour which is why I used to have a nice walk down the quays instead

robinph · 22-11-2011 3:42pm

Never saw the track, but I doubt it was as bad as the majority of footpaths around the city and they are hardly going and ripping them up at a moments notice because of the risk of people who don't know how to put one foot in front of the other tripping up.

Clearly just a plan to dig it up asap, leave it derelict for a year, build a car park next summer because of the "eyesore" they are in the process of creating today..

ThisRegard · 22-11-2011 3:44pm

Timmaay wrote: »

and they obviously left it late as possible to tell us so as there would be nothing we could do!

Go out and chain yourself to the digger !!!

The speed of which they moved is pretty impressive alright. Is UCD still state run, would they have needed to put to tender that bit of work or is there some limit which allows them go with whoever/do it in house ? If so I can't imagine they'd get it done so fast, unless of course it was planned long ago and like you say left it to the day before the contractor moved in to tell the users.

RayCun · 22-11-2011 3:59pm

UCD admin appears to be its own little kingdom, doing as it sees fit :rolleyes:
They have diggers etc on campus pretty much all the time, just a matter of telling someone to go **** up that running track, to make sure no-one can run on it

Fazz · 22-11-2011 4:03pm

Jus a quick question-

With the new pool due for completion in April or so, I had heard some Olympic squads may be coming to train closer to London.
I assumed this would include Runners but I guess not now then?

Surely there is a replacement planned if yet want Olympic teams over to train?

Or is that purely for swimming?

Seres · 22-11-2011 4:16pm

What exactly were the health and safety issues ? What sort of condition was the track in ?! must a been pretty bad!

Fazz · 22-11-2011 4:22pm

Seres wrote: »

What exactly were the health and safety issues ? What sort of condition was the track in ?! must a been pretty bad!

I ran on it last Tuesday, in pouring rain and darkness with only lights from nearby paths/road lights.

The only issues were a lack of light and some areas of track gathering water more than others.

Not a problem really, especially of disclaimer notices put up.
Use at own risk, end of.

In daylight and dry I thought it was grand and in good condition.

electrictrad · 22-11-2011 4:24pm

Seres wrote: »

What exactly were the health and safety issues ? What sort of condition was the track in ?! must a been pretty bad!

Thats the thing. . .it actually wasn't that bad. . .the email said "Our advisors have reported that as the surface is badly worn and becomes slippy when wet, it should be closed to all users." , but most things become slippy when wet, and the surface is better than some other tracks. . .

Brianderunner · 22-11-2011 4:24pm

I've done a few sessions in racing flats on this track and I must admit the turns were a little dodgy when the track was wet. As a previous poster said a simple disclaimer sign would have solved the problem. It was perfect for training when it was dry as Fazz says.

Still its an awful shame this track is going because its quite obvious there is no replacement lined up. Something sinister going on behind the scenes no doubt about it. The 2 tracks i trained on the most when i lived in Dublin are now both gone, the gravel track in Clontarf being the other.

Timmaay · 22-11-2011 4:35pm

Ah here, they are really taking the piss now, heres the offical stand from UCD

1. The track was closed following a safety report which was commissioned by the University.

2. Due to health and safety reasons, the track cannot continue to operate and poses both a safety and liability risk. The report states that a running track must meet certain criteria and they are not being met by the current track. The SU have requested a copy of this report but it is not yet forthcoming.

3. The builders currently on the track are not building any new road / building / parking facility. They are: a) assessing what works would be involved in digging up the track, and b) ensuring that the track is no longer usable and thus stopping students from endangering themselves. There are no immediate plans for any building works on the sight of the running track.

4. It will not be possible to have the track reopened in its current location. There are long-term plans for a new track near the Richview building.

So they go ahead and dig up a metre wide strip across the whole 8lanes so as we cannot use it. Something like putting a barrier across it would have made some sense if they were under that much pressure from insurance etc to ensure it was not used, at least then there could be some chance of saving it.

robinph · 22-11-2011 4:43pm

Well you can go along and do 300m efforts with a recovery around the digger I suppose.

ThisRegard · 22-11-2011 4:51pm

Fill it with water, stick a barrier in front and you can practise steeple chase. They've done you a favour.

meijin · 22-11-2011 4:51pm

more details at http://www.ucd.ie/sport/facilities/athleticsfacilities/

Brian Mullins, Director of Sport is working to provide access to an alternative facility. If you have any queries on this matter please contact Brian Mullins (brian.mullins@ucd.ie).

RoyMcC · 22-11-2011 4:52pm

Just a cop out. A track needs certain minimum standards if it is to host an official meeting. There are no minimum standards for people doing casual laps or sessions. It's far safer than grass running or, as said previously, forcing people to run on uneven pavements.

meijin · 22-11-2011 4:57pm

b) ensuring that the track is no longer usable and thus stopping students from endangering themselves.

well, unless they dig up the whole track, it's still quite usable and actually more dangerous :P

smunchkins · 22-11-2011 5:20pm

I wonder if they needed planning permission to do that the to the track?

gerard65 · 22-11-2011 5:58pm

Are they going to bad all running on the campus in case someone falls over and cuts their knees.
And where is the student council, in my day we would have organised a riot.:pac:

gerard65 · 22-11-2011 6:01pm

smunchkins wrote: »

I wonder if they needed planning permission to do that the to the track?

Not at this stage. If they want to change usage/build on, then they'd have to apply for planning.

ecoli · 22-11-2011 6:16pm

gerard65 wrote: »

Are they going to bad all running on the campus in case someone falls over and cuts their knees.
And where is the student council, in my day we would have organised a riot.:pac:

trench dug within 20 hours of notice given. there was a meeting today regarding it but damage was done by then

robinph · 22-11-2011 6:26pm

ecoli wrote: »

trench dug within 20 hours of notice given. there was a meeting today regarding it but damage was done by then

Should be able to force them to repair the track on that section at least for not having given an appropriate amount of notice of the action. Then they can still go along and get rid of the track at a later date, but there must be something about them "having" to give more notice that they can be forced to now repair what they did.

rainbow kirby · 22-11-2011 6:45pm

Brianderunner wrote: »

Something sinister going on behind the scenes no doubt about it.

Nothing new there from UCD admin - never an organisation I was particularly fond of. Disgraceful how they've handled this, but sadly not surprising given some of their previous form.

Seres · 22-11-2011 7:01pm

We'd take even that beat up track no question over in roscommon !

Regards the footpaths , The Council seem to be immune from been sued , i'm familiar with a few strong cases gone to courts , taken against the council and they get off no bother !

BeepBeep67 · 22-11-2011 7:14pm

Timmaay wrote: »

and they obviously left it late as possible to tell us so as there would be nothing we could do!

ThisRegard wrote: »

Go out and chain yourself to the digger !!!

Totally agree you should stage a protest until at least after the Senior XC

downthemiddle · 22-11-2011 7:38pm

This decision has Brian Mullins' grubby paws all over it. The GAA pitch in the college can, apparently, be quite slippy when it is wet. Perhaps, in the interest of health and safety, they should dig it up.

VR46 · 22-11-2011 7:53pm

http://www.goal.ie/GOAL_Mile/146

UCD GOAL Mile alone attracts an attendance in excess of 4,000 each year.

Looks like GOAL will be taking a big hit this year. I wonder if UCD even bothered to contact them.

firemouth · 22-11-2011 8:11pm

absolutely astonished by this!the fact that it was allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair without a replacement track being planned shows either complete incompetence or complete contempt for sports at ucd both of which should be unacceptable.In fairness Brian Mullins is probably not to blame here but he definitly would have known what was going on and if he had any balls he would stood up,voiced his disapproval and let others know what was going on.

SharkTale · 22-11-2011 8:24pm

Sad to hear this news, track had got bad over the last few years. But it was more the scum/moss on the track which made it deadly slippy.
Sure this could have been hosed or cleaned off.

myflipflops · 22-11-2011 10:06pm

downthemiddle wrote: »

This decision has Brian Mullins' grubby paws all over it. The GAA pitch in the college can, apparently, be quite slippy when it is wet. Perhaps, in the interest of health and safety, they should dig it up.

Yep, Mr Mullins. Another former 'legendary' sports star who is allowed to be an incredibly inept sporting administrator in an important position.

I look forward to reproducing that picture when the bandwagon media and public start complaining about us not winning 5 gold medals in London. 9 months out from an Olympics on our doorstep and we are digging up tracks!! Can you imagine any other country doing this? It would be funny if it wasn't so lamentable.

Pisco Sour · 22-11-2011 10:32pm

myflipflops wrote: »

I look forward to reproducing that picture when the bandwagon media and public start complaining about us not winning 5 gold medals in London. 9 months out from an Olympics on our doorstep and we are digging up tracks!! Can you imagine any other country doing this? It would be funny if it wasn't so lamentable.

THIS THIS THIS!!!!!

BeepBeep67 · 22-11-2011 11:10pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dux8FTN8IwY

gerard65 · 22-11-2011 11:33pm

Did I hear correctly that Ringsend/Irishtown is 10-12 miles from Belfield:eek:. It was mentioned twice. 10-12 minutes would be more like it (in off-peak traffic).

G-Money · 23-11-2011 12:04am

On Twitter now too @SaveUCDTrack

electrictrad · 23-11-2011 2:17am

If anyone want to support the push for a new track, the campaign is kicking off right about now. . .any support, no matter how small, will be appreciated. . .

Petitions will be available to sign tomorrow across campus calling for a new track, and hopefully online soon. . .

On Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/UCD-SAVE-OUR-TRACK/253464394710434?sk=wall

On Twitter:

via #saveourtrack

This isn't just for the athletes, this is for joggers, walkers, and other sportspeople. . . they probably won't listen, but it won't be from lack of shouting. . .thank you. . .

UCD track to close!!

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