Colbert Station Redevelopment 2014

Poxyshamrock · 06-02-2014 6:16pm #1

Looks like the plans to redevelop Limerick's train and bus station are being resurrected again. The station was originally supposed to be renovated in the mid 00s. The latest planning application, which was lodged in January, has the same development description as it did in 2006.

Demolition of existing single storey ancillary structures, removal of redundant rail tracks and public car parking to the north of the site, removal of public parking to the west of the site, removal of bus stands, parking and staff parking to the south of the site and the provision of a new 2 storey Bus Station comprising ticket offices, waiting areas, staff accommodation and public toilets, a direct step free link to the rail station concourse, covered access to 16 no. bus stands, staff parking and new bus entrance at Roxboro Road all to the north site a reconfigured and landscaped forecourt with revised vehicular access/egress, 4 no. bus stops/shelters to the west of the site and 329 no public car parking spaces to the south of the site together with ancillary site works. This is a protected structure.

Hopefully, it'll happen this time. It's badly needed.

highlydebased · 06-02-2014 6:24pm

Pity they cant move the train station altogether!

06-02-2014 7:19pm

Move it where, exactly? The city centre is by far the best location for any central train and bus station in any city I've ever been to, and Limerick city centre isn't exactly huge.

Possibly they could have made more of an effort to move the bus station to the old Guinness depot when the opportunity was there some years back. But as for the train station the only possible move would obviously have to follow the existing tracks which come to a full stop at the present location. And I don't see anywhere else along the track that's more suitable for the construction of a proper railway station until you're so far away from the city that it's either not convenient for passengers or simply too far to even justify being called "Limerick" at all anymore.

Vanquished · 06-02-2014 7:31pm

Yeah it's an application for an extension to the permission they received back in early 2009. Permission expires 5 years after the initial grant.

Limerick City Council turned down the initial application but this was overturned by An Bord Pleanala.

Looking at the renders the front elevation of the proposed bus station does seem particularly cheap and nasty next to the protected limestone structure Colbert station!

highlydebased · 06-02-2014 8:56pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Move it where, exactly? The city centre is by far the best location for any central train and bus station in any city I've ever been to, and Limerick city centre is exactly huge.
.

Put it somewhere else in the city centre i.e not parnell street

Brennans Row · 06-02-2014 9:06pm

@ Vanguished

Where the hell did you dig up these renders? :cool:

The bus bays need better protection from bad weather.

Queueing up in the rain for a bus sucks!

source · 06-02-2014 9:17pm

highlydebased wrote: »

Put it somewhere else in the city centre i.e not parnell street

Where could you do that without demolishing and rebuilding half the city?

highlydebased · 06-02-2014 10:10pm

source wrote: »

Where could you do that without demolishing and rebuilding half the city?

I'm not seriously suggesting it get relocated!

It's just a pity it is where it is

06-02-2014 10:23pm

highlydebased wrote: »

I'm not seriously suggesting it get relocated! It's just a pity it is where it is

Are you really saying it's a pity the station is on Parnell Street? Or is what you really mean to say is that it's a pity Parnell Street is bit of a dump? 'Cos that would be a whole other matter and nothing to do with CIE or the station itself tbh.

wotswattage · 07-02-2014 5:49pm

One thing I'd love to see would be a city bus service which serves the train and bus station. It's a disgrace that none of the city services link up with the main bus/train terminus for Limerick...

Manys a time I had to drag a load of luggage in the rain down to William Street after getting off the bus to Limerick!

sleepyman · 07-02-2014 6:02pm

wotswattage wrote: »

One thing I'd love to see would be a city bus service which serves the train and bus station. It's a disgrace that none of the city services link up with the main bus/train terminus for Limerick...

Manys a time I had to drag a load of luggage in the rain down to William Street after getting off the bus to Limerick!

Totally agree-but then this is Ireland.Often obvious solutions to problems are neglected.Personally I think the bus service is rubbish-it was actually better when I was a kid.You can't get a bus into town if you live on a good chunk of the northside-NCR, Kyleglass, Bracken/Ashbrook.I think the Coonagh bus is gone.The caherdavin bus used to go past Centra on the Ennis Road near the Gaelic Grounds but it doesn't go that route anymore.
I do think the Bus/Rail station could do with this redevelopment though as it's a bit grubby.
At least they cleaned up the bus bays recently though

Poxyshamrock · 07-02-2014 7:17pm

The 301 serves the station.

varberg · 08-02-2014 1:51am

sleepyman wrote: »

Totally agree-but then this is Ireland.Often obvious solutions to problems are neglected.Personally I think the bus service is rubbish-it was actually better when I was a kid.You can't get a bus into town if you live on a good chunk of the northside-NCR, Kyleglass, Bracken/Ashbrook.I think the Coonagh bus is gone.The caherdavin bus used to go past Centra on the Ennis Road near the Gaelic Grounds but it doesn't go that route anymore.
I do think the Bus/Rail station could do with this redevelopment though as it's a bit grubby.
At least they cleaned up the bus bays recently though

Your right. It makes no sense at all. Limerick seems to have suffered a brain drain year on year considering the decisions made at different levels by people in power in the city. Everytime i go to Limerick i feel in some way like im back in the 1980s.

Cookiemunster · 08-02-2014 11:42am

varberg wrote: »

Your right. It makes no sense at all. Limerick seems to have suffered a brain drain year on year considering the decisions made at different levels by people in power in the city. Everytime i go to Limerick i feel in some way like im back in the 1980s.

Bus Eireann make the decisions on the bus routes not the council. You can blame them for a lot, but not for the bus routes.

BlutendeRabe · 09-02-2014 1:26am

I'd use the station a few times per month and all I can say is about bloody time. The only good thing to happen to that station is when AMT coffee opened in 2009.

wotswattage · 09-02-2014 9:45pm

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

The 301 serves the station.

Didn't know that, though I haven't gotten a city bus in quite a while..

It would be great to see a proper transport hub with all the city buses going through Colbert.

squonk · 11-02-2014 4:14pm

Not trying to derail the thread but I've started working on the Roxboro road lately and when I'm getting on the bus outside Aldi, the taimetable shows a great service during the day, roughly buses every 6 minutes! In actual fact the real timetable is every 30 minutes. What's with this fantastic 6 minute timetable? Was it a trial that ended? I thought BE revamped all the bus services a few years ago. I used to live in Galway and the average time up there used to be a bus every 30 miunutes but after the revamp this was upgraded to every 20 minutes. What's the story with Limerick and why is the bus service generally so bad?

sleepyman · 01-05-2014 11:34am

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/business/business-news/limerick-s-colbert-station-to-receive-multi-million-euro-facelift-1-6032264

Looks like there's a little bit of movement on this-eight to ten years though for all of the works to be completed.A bit much!!

vkid · 01-05-2014 11:46am

sleepyman wrote: »

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/business/business-news/limerick-s-colbert-station-to-receive-multi-million-euro-facelift-1-6032264

Looks like there's a little bit of movement on this-eight to ten years though for all of the works to be completed.A bit much!!

Believe it when I see it. Remember its election time so there is all sorts of promises going out everywhere. Massive broadband plan, motorway between gort and Tuam, this..a lot of these have been announced in various guises previously,.

Vanquished · 01-05-2014 1:39pm

While the plans themselves are welcome and not before time. Stringing a relatively modest project out over an unspecified number of years is unnecessary and disappointing.

I'm always suspicious of this approach. All too often elements of the original plan get quietly dropped over time. I would much prefer if it was completed as a single project.

source · 01-05-2014 2:16pm

Vanquished wrote: »

While the plans themselves are welcome and not before time. Stringing a relatively modest project out over an unspecified number of years is unnecessary and disappointing.

I'm always suspicious of this approach. All too often elements of the original plan get quietly dropped over time. I would much prefer if it was completed as a single project.

The problem with that is it's a complete redesign of a currently operational train and bus station. If they could shut up shop for 2 years they'd get a lot done, but the station has to remain open.

That means completing one section, then moving that service in to its new home in order to vacate the space required to complete the next section.

This means the job gets spread out over a longer period.

For example, in order to do the plaza, they have to have the new car park ready. To get the new car park ready they have to have the new bus terminal completed and operational, and so on until the job is complete.

Vanquished · 01-05-2014 2:56pm

I don't feel it's as complex or problematic an overhaul as you make it out to be. A new bus station is to be built at the entrance to the existing car park. The existing bus facility will remain in place until this is completed.

The number of spaces to the front of the station is limited enough anyhow and their loss could be absorbed by the existing larger car park to the rear of the station and possibly by utilising the site of the former petrol station. Access to this car park can be maintained whilst the bus station is being constructed while at the same time work can also take place on the new car parking facility on the opposite side of the station. There is ample room surrounding the station to play around with to offset the impact of the works.

There are only to be cosmetic changes to the train station concourse. A refurbishment and internal reorganisation.

Itsdacraic · 01-05-2014 5:09pm

Vanquished wrote: »

I don't feel it's as complex or problematic an overhaul as you make it out to be. A new bus station is to be built at the entrance to the existing car park. The existing bus facility will remain in place until this is completed.

The number of spaces to the front of the station is limited enough anyhow and their loss could be absorbed by the existing larger car park to the rear of the station and possibly by utilising the site of the former petrol station. Access to this car park can be maintained whilst the bus station is being constructed while at the same time work can also take place on the new car parking facility on the opposite side of the station. There is ample room surrounding the station to play around with to offset the impact of the works.

There are only to be cosmetic changes to the train station concourse. A refurbishment and internal reorganisation.

The further back the current car park you go the higher the chance you'll come back to smashed window.

Poxyshamrock · 01-05-2014 6:37pm

I wonder are there still plans to send the buses in and out of the Roxboro Road instead of Carey's Road?

Vanquished · 02-05-2014 1:44pm

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

I wonder are there still plans to send the buses in and out of the Roxboro Road instead of Carey's Road?

Bus Eireann stated at the oral hearing that the majority of services would access the station from Roxborough Road. Interestingly they also proposed that some city services would utilise the new forecourt/plaza area entering from Parnell Street and exiting on to Hyde Road.

They also have plans to open up an entrance to the new car park from Carey's Road where the direct curve from the old Cork rail line used to run. But apparently this would require a separate planning application.

Brennans Row · 02-05-2014 2:39pm

€3.5 million Pedestrian Plaza (Irish Times)

The plaza, which will form phase one of the development will be completed within three to four years.

I wonder will they do Davis Street as well in order to link up with Baker’s Place / Tait’s Clock?

source · 02-05-2014 3:52pm

Vanquished wrote: »

I don't feel it's as complex or problematic an overhaul as you make it out to be. A new bus station is to be built at the entrance to the existing car park. The existing bus facility will remain in place until this is completed.

The number of spaces to the front of the station is limited enough anyhow and their loss could be absorbed by the existing larger car park to the rear of the station and possibly by utilising the site of the former petrol station. Access to this car park can be maintained whilst the bus station is being constructed while at the same time work can also take place on the new car parking facility on the opposite side of the station. There is ample room surrounding the station to play around with to offset the impact of the works.

There are only to be cosmetic changes to the train station concourse. A refurbishment and internal reorganisation.

I don't think it's as simple as your making it out to be, especially when you take into consideration the high numbers of public that use the station daily. Their safety has to be paramount in any works completed. Trying to do everything at once would be a health and safety nightmare.

Also take into consideration that there's no way the funds would be available to do the entire project in one go.

Cookiemunster · 04-05-2014 8:03pm

PDF of the plans is available here

Poxyshamrock · 04-05-2014 8:32pm

Thanks for that Cookiemunster!

panda100 · 05-05-2014 9:56am

Itsdacraic wrote: »

The further back the current car park you go the higher the chance you'll come back to smashed window.

I park my car there ever Thursday evening through to Saturday morning, and my car has never been touched. Everyone kept telling me not to park my car at the station, but there has been no bother for the last year. I think we have to stop talking down that area.

Vanquished · 06-05-2014 1:37pm

source wrote: »

I don't think it's as simple as your making it out to be, especially when you take into consideration the high numbers of public that use the station daily. Their safety has to be paramount in any works completed. Trying to do everything at once would be a health and safety nightmare.

Also take into consideration that there's no way the funds would be available to do the entire project in one go.

Of course health and safety is always a priority but there is ample space surrounding the station to facilitate this development without significantly impacting on services. If the largest and busiest train station in the country (Connolly) can be entirely remodelled, extended and partially rebuilt whilst remaining in operation then the same can be achieved with a smaller project here.

The real reason as to why it is to be progressed in a piecemeal fashion is clearly down to an apparent unwillingness to release a relatively modest amount of money over a shorter time-frame.

Colbert Station Redevelopment 2014

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