Chapter 6
Luas In College Green
Introduction
As discussed earlier the reasoning for the introduction of a pedestrian plaza stems from the decision to route both northbound and southbound LUAS Cross city routes through Grafton Street Lower in front of Trinity College. The presence of a pedestrian plaza in College Green will eliminate the time required for vehicular traffic to cross the Luas tracks in order to perform the east west/west east movements. This will allow the LUAS to travel through the area uninhibited by crossing traffic. Pedestrian movements across the LUAS can be timed to operate in between LUAS movements.
6.1- LUAS in College Green
LUAS cross-city opened in December 2017 and since then its operation has been monitored with particular attention being paid to the College Green part of the route. The first week saw major delays getting through College Green which was sorted in the following days by alterations to the signalling arrangements.
From various site visits to the area I have noted the northbound LUAS blocked by a Dublin bus on occasions mainly because of drivers encroaching on yellow boxes. I have also noted that in the peak the number of buses wishing to turn right from Grafton Street onto College Green towards Dame Street is greater than the length of the right turning lane of ??m, this has a knock-on effect for the buses wishing to travel south on Grafton Street towards Nassau Street. This also causes problems back on College Street as the yellow box at the Pearse Street Exit becomes blocked which stops the buses wishing to exit from Pearse Street to College St/Westmoreland St, the Pearse Street traffic can become impatient when they do not get out after multiple traffic light changes and edge out into the yellow box which means they then block the southbound LUAS coming from Hawkins Street.
As can be seen from the above the east west manoeuvre from Lower Grafton Street towards Dame Street is as predicted proving problematic. The introduction of the proposed plaza will eliminate this and hopefully reduce journey times for the LUAS. However the volumes of vehicular traffic in the area also need to be addressed, the plaza will reduce the number of buses in the area as those who usually travel through College Green will now be rerouted, the number of taxis using the north south axis also needs to be looked at. Pre-introduction of the plaza Dublin City Council have banned taxis from the area in the morning peak from Monday to Friday in the hope that more space will be afforded to the bus and LUAS.
6.2-Alternative Routes for LUAS
By visiting the site and seeing the delays to buses and trams around the College Green area caused by congestion and seeing the difficulties faced by cyclists in navigating the tracks one can’t help but ask if this was this the best route for LUAS in the first place.
With this in mind I have set about considering some theoretical alternatives to the current LUAS route through College Green.
6.2.1-Option 1 Underground.
I considered the alternative of providing an underground service from St Stephens Green to Broadstone Bus Depot.
The National Transport Authority in March 2018 announced plans to build a new metro from St Stephens Green to Swords with the City Centre portion from Charlemont in the south to DCU in the north to be under ground.
It seems that there is a terrible lack of foresight here, the LUAS which takes an identical route over ground from St Stephens Green to the top of O Connell Street should have been built underground to Broadstone Bus Depot with a spur being constructed at the top of O Connell Street to facilitate future construction of the Metro.
Courtesy of metrolink.ie
Advantages
• Unobstructed journey times. Reliable service.
• Surface Street traffic unaffected-Reliable bus Journey Times.
• Dry waiting areas for passengers.
Disadvantages
• Costly construction Costs.
• Cost Benefit analysis of building an underground for a city of Dublin’s Population not sustainable.
• Less stops along the route as underground stops require large area when building.
6.2.2-Option No 2 Westland Row/Pearse Street
I considered using the route shown below as opposed to College Green.
Advantages
• Avoids College Green bottle neck
• Links with DART station at Pearse Street forming a Bus/Luas/Dart hub
• Wider Streets for LUAS
Disadvantages
• Possible turning radius issues-Dawson St-South Leinster St
• Lengthy diversion route around city.
• Avoids some high demand areas for passengers.
Chapter 7
Implications of the Civic Plaza on Stake Holders
Private Car Owners-Route Alterations
The introduction of a pedestrian plaza at College Green will have limited effect on the private car during the hours 0700-1900 on Monday to Friday as they are currently banned from entering the area during these hours. South/westbound cars are forced to turn left onto Townsend Street from D’olier Street with Eastbound traffic warned back as far as Nicholas Street of the ban on private cars going through College Green, The last turn off the route is onto Trinity Street with a U-turn option available at College Green itself.
It is fair to say that extra traffic will be forced onto other routes in the form of taxis and buses which will have a knock on effect on the private car on those routes.
6.2 Traffic Diversions required following the Introduction of Plaza
Once the pedestrian plaza is in place the through route will be removed completely forcing private cars to divert at all times. There are various routes available to the private car but it is envisaged that diversions will take place well in advance of the College Green area.
Ideally the private car will divert as early as the M50, however this will not always be possible and other alternatives are required. The existing orbital routes are seen as a method of rerouting traffic around the city centre as opposed to travelling through the centre. The only traffic that should be in the city centre is traffic accessing car parks and loading and deliveries. The existing orbital route signage is currently being investigated as to its effectiveness and new possibilities being examined.
INSERT ORBITAL ROUTE MAP HERE
Any private car that finds itself on Dame Street intending to travel north bound will have the option of traveling northbound on Anglesea Street and Bedford Row where they can turn left on the South Quays to Father Mathew Bridge where the can turn right and then right again on to the north Quays where they will be able to travel eastwards to O Connell Bridge and left up O Connell Street. However it is envisaged the private cars will divert before the plaza as shown below.
Also any private car that finds itself on College Street wishing to access the south of the city can travel onto Westmoreland Street, left onto Aston Quay down as far as Merchants Quay where they can turn left onto Bridge Street Lower where the will have access to Christchurch and beyond.
Private cars can also use Fishamble Street where they could previously only turn left onto Lord Edward Street, however the city council in March 2018 reintroduced the right turn from Fishamble Street onto Christchurch place shortening the diversion route to cars accessing Christchurch.
Traffic Management Proposals to alleviate Private Car congestion
Orbital Junction upgrades
In anticipation of this extra private car traffic exiting the Quays to find an alternative route the city council are progressing junction designs on the outer orbital routes to increase capacity through the junctions. Some examples of this are
North King St-Church Street Junction.
The focus of this redesign was to increase the length of the right turning lane from Church Street onto North King Street as it is anticipated that traffic will exit the quays at Church Street to access the orbital route at of North King Street.
INSERT SNAP SHOT OF REDESIGN.
Kevin Street-Bride Street junction
The focus of this redesign was to increase the capacity through the junction by increasing the number of lanes through the junction to two.
INSERT SNAP SHOT OF Junction here.
Orbital Signage
In 2015 the Dublin City Centre Transport Study also proposed to upgrade the existing signage on the orbital routes around the city. The orbital routes consisting of the inner and outer orbital routes are designated routes which divert traffic around the city as opposed to through the city. As expected the increased journey times on the quays due to the additional bus lanes more traffic is diverting on to the orbital routes and choosing to travel around the city as opposed to through it. Upgrading the signage on the orbital routes is therefore vital to ensure that traffic finds its way around the city with ease.
As College Green is currently public transport only Monday to Friday 0700-1900 general traffic does not travel through here anyway, however once it becomes a plaza the buses will no longer be traveling through here either and will therefore need to use alternative routes, it is vital the alternative routes proposed for the buses are not clogged with general traffic so all traffic that does not need to use the city centre should be encouraged to avoid it as early as possible whether that be at the M50 or the orbital routes.
INSERT ORBITAL ROUTES MAP HERE
Implications On Businesses in the area
Car Park Owners-Access and Egress
With the introduction of the College Green Plaza it is envisaged that access will be maintained to all car parks, the routes to some of the car parks will be altered.
Car parks cater for the private car and as College Green is currently a public transport corridor on Monday to Friday 0700-1900 it is only outside these times that will be affected car parks wise.
Fleet Street car park currently has access from Parliament Row in Temple Bar which is accessed from the south via Fleet St, Westmoreland Street, and College Street 24 hours a day and via College Green outside the hours of public transport corridor. Parliament Row is accessed from the north via Aston Place and Aston Quay, this access will be unaffected by the proposals for College Green.
Once College Green is closed, cars wishing to reach Fleet Street will divert at Christchurch down Winetavern Street, across the Liffey and right onto the north quays where they will have to continue east to Eden Quay where they will need to divert around Beresford Place and back across the Liffey and right onto Burgh Quay and access Fleet street from Aston Quay. This is a very long and heavily trafficked route which is likely to discourage people using Fleet Street carpark if they are coming from the south west of the city, however access is being maintained and as this car park is in the centre of the city, its convenience to entertainment venues will still be a major draw and may over arch the added journey to get to it.
Alternative Access Route to Fleet Street Car park
I studied the access routes to and from Fleet Street Car park and the flow of traffic in the area and I have come up with the following alternative access and egress route into the car park. In order for this new arrangement to work some alterations would also be required within the car park itself-the flow would need to be reversed with the entrance becoming the exit and vice versa.
Existing Access and Egress Routes to Fleet Street Carpark
INSERT
Possible Alternative Access and Egress Routes to Fleet Street Carpark
INSERT
Advantages
• Car park maintains greater accessibility from all sides of the city.
• Reduces the number of cars crossing the busy pedestrian footpath on Westmoreland Street.
Disadvantages
• Additional traffic on Anglesea Street.
• Fleet Street carriageway is 5m wide,2 way traffic is required for part of its length under this proposal. While DMURS considers this acceptable as shown below I propose that it may be narrow considering the number of pedestrians in the area.
• Additional turning movements introduced at the junction of Anglesea St and Fleet Street.
Extract From DMURS
Shops-Loading
In order to operate in an effective manner businesses need to be able to get there produce to their premises, College Green Businesses are going to be faced with major changes as to how they receive deliveries once a Civic Plaza is in place. Currently deliveries are possible from the College Green area via delivery vans pulling up on double yellow lines, this practice is legal once loading is actively taking place and last less than 30 mins. Some delivery drivers also stop on bus stops and quickly make deliveries illegally. Once the plaza is in place these options will no longer available.
Current proposals for the plaza indicate that there will be no deliveries allowed into the plaza at any time, this means that deliveries will have to use existing and proposed loading bays in the area as shown below.
Inert drawing here
As part of the project additional loading bays are to be provided on Dame Street, Trinity Street and Church Lane with existing loading bays on Andrews Street and Suffolk Street remaining. This relocation of loading areas for the businesses will mean an increase in distance from where deliveries can be received. The closest loading bay will be on Church Lane which is maximum 85m from any of the business on the south side of College Green.
As an alternative I would suggest allowing loading to take place in a similar manner to what currently occurs on Grafton Street and Henry Street that is to allow loading in the area on Monday to Friday 0500-1000.
Access and Egress
Currently the only premise that has an access and egress onto College Green is the Bank of Ireland which has space for some 8 cars to park in front of their bank. This area is also an area where security vans access the bank to collect/drop off money.
Current proposals are to allow this access and egress to remain albeit at a reduced time window. Currently 24 hour access is available if the banks required but if the plaza is in place this will need to be reduced to 0900-1200 if agreeable with Bank of Ireland.
Personally I think this is a mistake, this cannot be a true pedestrian plaza if access remains for a single business. It is however very difficult to suddenly ban access to premises that has had that access for many years. The allowing of access also presents an added security risk with hostile vehicles able to enter the plaza unhindered.
Taxis
Taxis are currently allowed use College Green 24 hours a day but with the introduction of the plaza this route will be cut off meaning lengthy diversions depending on the destination. This rerouting may mean increased fares for passengers as well as higher fuel costs for Taxi drivers. However it is envisaged that the inconvenience the taxis will be faced with will be greatly alleviated by the introduction of additional traffic management measures in and around the city centre as part of the City Centre Transport Study. In particular the introduction of the additional bus lane on the North and South Quays which taxis can use has greatly reduced journey times along this corridor; this is seen as one of the routes taxis will use as opposed to College Green. A right turn ban was introduced for general traffic turning from Bachelors Walk on to O Connell Bridge towards Dolier Street reducing the volumes on these streets which in turn made more road space available to Taxis who are allowed turn right there.
Taxis are also losing ??? spaces in Foster Place and a well utilised/known east facing taxi rank in the central island of College Green in the creation of a plaza.
However an alternative 24 hour taxi rank consisting of ?? spaces is being proposed on Dame Street facing west wards towards South Great Georges Street as well as another rank facing east outside the Trinity Arch Hotel consisting of 3 spaces. Also additional evening time taxi ranks are being created on Trinity Street, Andrews Street ,College Lane and Dame Street.
An evening taxi rank generally operates Monday to Sunday 2000-0600 and the bay usually is a loading bay Monday to Saturday 0700-1900. This arrangement makes use of the fact that loading bays are generally underutilised outside their operational hours, often being used as free parking. The evening time taxi rank on the south side of Dame Street is located at the back of the 24 hoor taxi rank which effectively extends the rank to ?? m rank at night time.
To be critical of the proposed arrangement of taxi ranks on Dame Street I would suggest that there should not be two taxi ranks placed opposite each other on the street. I feel that this could lead to que skipping by taxis and possible dangerous jay walking of pedestrians across the road from rank to rank depending on the occupancy of the ranks.
The rank on the north side of Dame Street is also located outside a busy pub that have a precedent of being granted outdoor seating on the public footpath. The addition of people queuing for taxis at this location will make an already congested footpath worse.
In recent periods in the city it has been noted that the Taxi Rank in general has become less important to the Taxi drivers themselves. Taxi drivers have become more IT savvy and make use of new apps on the market like My Taxi to get fares as opposed to waiting at Taxi Ranks. Also since the de-regularisation of the Taxi industry more taxis are on the streets meaning that people are more likely to flag down a taxi outside their origin as opposed to walking to a rank to que.
SHOW TAXI RANK RELOCATION MAPS
Since March 12th 2018 as a direct result of congestion in and around the College Green area taxis have been banned in the morning peak (0700-1000) Monday to Friday from travelling southbound from College Street past Trinity on to Grafton Street Lower. This change is being introduced by Dublin City Council with the full support of the National Transport Authority. It was notable that the number of taxis in the area together with the buses was causing major congestion and slowing the LUAS through the area.
In order to help Taxis operate in the area during the busy night time hours (1200-0600) the city council also from March 12th 2018 allowed taxis to travel south on Dawson Street and turn left along the LUAS tracks on Nassau Street where they will have access to the high night time footfall areas of Grafton Street.
Taxi rank Relocation/loss.
Pedestrians.
Safety / Accident reductions
Accident data for the College Green area Show that there have been ??? accidents involving Pedestrians in the period – to -. The elimination of vehicle traffic and crossing points will greatly reduce the risks to Pedestrians in College Green
Amenity
Currently the footpaths along College Green are congested on both sides of the street due to a combination of the following
• Numerous bus stops which add to the congestion with people waiting.
• Many large department stores.
• Trinity College Main Gates-home to some 17000 students and staff.
• City Centre location-Employees and tourists.
• Physical width of the footpaths themselves with street furniture like bollards reducing the effective width (Widths vary between ????)
The Plaza itself will remove the problem of people waiting for buses as routes will be re-routed away from the area as it will no longer be a through-route. The problem of narrow footpaths will be eliminated as pedestrians will be able to avail of the entire area.
The plaza itself will inevitably lend itself to a friendlier environment for pedestrians where they can enjoy a coffee on outdoor seating and perhaps take in some street performers. As part of the architectural design of the plaza there are some fountains planed which will be a spectacular feature for the area.
Air Quality
It is inevitable that with the removal of East-West through traffic from College Green there will be a major improvement in the air quality in the area. Air quality is currently been monitored in the area and is considered to be ????????
However the bus routes and traffic rerouting may bring air and noise pollution to other areas, one street of particular interest is Parliament Street. The proposals to reroute some of the bus routes on to this street may tip this already high traffic route over the edge as regards air quality and indeed noise. Noise and air quality analysis have been carried out as part of the EIA. They show that ?????????????????
Civic Space.
College Green in the past has played host to many civic events, some of which include the welcoming to Ireland of US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, not to mention the welcoming home celebrations for the Irish Soccer Team in 1990 when they progressed to the quarter finals of the world cup. This area has always been an ideal location for such events and with a pedestrian plaza in place we could see these events take place more often while still maintaining transport facilities in the city as the rerouting that will be in place as part of the plazas introduction will allow public transport to operate during civic events.
Disabled Parking Bays
Currently there are two disabled parking bays in Fosters place. As part of the plaza it is proposed to allow these bays to remain. I think this is a mistake by the designers, this will result in cars entering the plaza in order to access the spaces and preforming 3 point turns to vacate the spaces. Alternative spaces should be found elsewhere
External seating
Trees
Concert Presentation space.
Healthere air
Implication of College Green Plaza on Cyclists
The proposed design for the Plaza caters for cyclists through the area by virtue of a two way cycle track which connects with an existing two way cycle track on Westmoreland Street . The proposed cycle track through the plaza traverses three sides of the plaza.
During the design process for the plaza much debate took place as to whether cyclists should be banned from the area and have the area as a purely pedestrian zone. The Architect’s felt cyclists should be removed while city council and NTA engineers and planners requested a route through the area in line with the requirements of the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan which shows Primary Route 7 passing through College Green. Failure to provide for cyclists through the area would not be in line with NTA proposals for the area and would also contravene the Development Plan which indicates that cycle facilities should be provide along this central spine.
The drawing below shows a plan of the proposed plaza together with the route of the cycle track through it.
INSERT PIC HERE
As can be seen from the drawing cyclists have to travel around 3 sides of the pedestrian area in order to get to the two way cycle track at the north east side of the plaza. The thinking behind having the cyclist using the south side of the plaza as opposed to the north side is as follows
• This is the side that is in the shade of the buildings for most of the day as opposed to the north side in front of Bank Of Ireland which gets sun throughout the day making the north side more suitable for holding events.
• In order to delineate a cycle track through the plaza trees are required and the feeling was that any arrangement of trees on the north side of College Green would take away from the view of the old Parliament buildings that is now the Bank Of Ireland. Trees on the north side would also obstruct the view of any stage that may be erected in front of the Bank of Ireland for visits of American presidents and homecoming celebrations etc in the past.
There will be a shared pedestrian and cyclist area introduced at the south east corner of the plaza where the cycle track crosses the pedestrian desire line from Grafton Street onto the plaza.
The extract below is taken from the National Cycle Manual,it indicates that the practice of shared space between pedestrians and cyclists reduces the level of service for both the cyclist and the pedestrian.
INSERT TABLE WITH CYCLE and PED NUMBERS HERE
It is accepted that there are large numbers of pedestrians in this area and this system should be monitored to establish if it is working adequately after its introduction, the design has included for the provision of cycle/pedestrian signals at this location in the future by providing ducts and traffic chambers at construction stage.
While cyclists are required to traverse the three sides of the plaza to access the two way cycle track towards Westmoreland St there is no physical barrier stopping them taking the shorter route straight in front of the Bank of Ireland and accessing the two way cycle track by just traversing one side as opposed to three. In fact as the Bank of Ireland car park is likely to remain accessible all be it for restricted hours after the plaza is in place it would seem that this desire line for cyclists will have to be highlighted in some way to show cars the way to the car park thus making it easier for cyclists to take this shorter route
Also the fact that cyclists are being routed a distance of ??? around the plaza as opposed to ?? straight through means the likelihood of conflict with a pedestrian is increased. This brings into question the perceived increased safety for pedestrians in the area if they are likely to cross the path of cyclists.
In light of the above observations I am as part of this dissertation going to investigate a number of alternatives to the current cycling facilities proposed in College Green after the plaza is in place.
Alternative Cycling Facilities in College Green
Option No 1
Two Way Cycling on the North Side Of College Green Plaza
I looked at the possibility of providing a two way cycle track on the north side of the plaza accessing a two way cycle track on Westmoreland Street as illustrated in the diagram below.
INSERT DRAWING BELOW
I considered incorporating the need to allow access to remain into the Bank of Ireland car park at College Green with the clear desire line of cyclists to use the shortest route through the plaza to access Westmoreland Street.
I considered sharing the route cars would use to access the car park with a two way cycle track, conflict between the cyclists and the cars would be eliminated in the area by developing a system of signals which would control who was in the area at any given time.
Cyclist will have priority with lights only changing for the car when they are sensed via a system of loops or possible cameras. ITS systems would be put in place which allow the car park to operate on a needs only basis and not be too excessive as to stop cyclist too often.
I considered delineating the cycle track/entrance to BOI with different paving to the plaza itself, this will help to distinguish the cycling area as opposed to the walking area for the visually impaired, the addition of decorative bollards will also delineating the pedestrian zone from the cycling zone. Examples of the type of layout proposed are shown below.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/519039925780577626/ Georges Street Indianapolis
Dealing With the Cyclist-Pedestrian Conflict
There is a natural north/south desire line for pedestrians between the south and north side of College Green with approximately ???? COUNTDATA taking this route every day, the existing design allows pedestrians and cyclists to share the surface at the south eastern corner of the plaza with the cyclists continuing on to the two way cycle track.
I think that this arrangement is not in line with the National Cycle Manual as outlined above and given the number of pedestrians and cyclists expected to be in the area I do not think it is safe for visually impaired pedestrians to be expected to navigate through a two way cycle track.
As part of a northern cycle track proposal I considered a wide area (12m) where the cyclist will cross this north/south desire line. This area would be controlled by a flashing amber arrangement for both the pedestrians and the cyclists. The flashing amber could be over ridden by a pedestrian push button unit which would give the pedestrian a full green facilitating more vulnerable pedestrians to cross easily.
FIND PICTURES TO SUPPORT
I propose that street furniture will be arranged in a way that will encourage the large number of pedestrians that just wish to pass through the east end of the plaza to do so in this area leaving other areas free to be enjoyed by the pedestrian who may not be in a hurry to pass through. This street furniture could take the form of seating and incorporate the TOMAS DAVIS STATUE.
There will be adequate footpath width left between the walls of the Bank of Ireland and the proposed cycle track to ensure that the desire line on the northern end of College Green is catered for without infringing on the cycle track and the southern end desire line is no longer inhibited by a cycle track so pedestrians are free to access the whole plaza from the south.
Advantages
• Shortest route for cyclists along a natural desire line.
• Safer for pedestrians as cyclists are present for shorter distances within the plaza.
• Cyclists controlled by signals at pedestrian crossing areas.
• Complies with the Development Plan and the Greater Dublin Cycle Network Requirements.
• Integrates Bank Of Ireland access with Cycling facilities.
Disadvantages
• Introduces a cycle track on the northern more sunny side of the plaza. Space used by the cycle track could otherwise have been used for events.
• Cycle track would need to be closed for larger events
• The introduction of traffic signals at the northern side of the plaza would take away from the view of the historic Parliament Buildings.
• As the cycle track would not be delineated by trees it could be more likely for pedestrians to wonder out in front of a bicycle
Option No 2 Anglesea Street /Bedford Row Cycle Route
College Green plaza is being proposed to be a pedestrian area and there is an argument that cyclists should be banned from the area altogether. This alternative looks at the possibility of routing cyclists away from College Green thus eliminating the conflict between cyclists and pedestrians.
I considered providing a two way cycling facility through Anglesea Street, Bedford Row and onto a two way cycle track on Aston Quay which links up with O Connell Bridge, this would give cyclists an alternative to travelling through College Green.
Many options have been proposed for the Liffey Cycle Route with the majority of these proposed for the north side of the Liffey, however if the Liffey Cycle route was built on the south side of the Liffey then the link to O Connell Bridge could be a possibility. I progressed this design to concept stage to analysis its viability.
INSERT DRAWING HERE
Signals would be introduced at the junction of Aston Quay and Bedford Row to allow access to a new premium cycle route on the river side of the south Quays, Bedford Row and Anglesea Street would have a southbound contraflow cycle track from Aston Quay to Dame Street for south bound cyclists while northbound cyclists would travel with the low volumes of traffic which currently use the street. Priority would be changed to this north-south route as opposed to the current east-west priority which Fleet Street has.
Advantages
• Removes Cyclists from the College Green Plaza
• Provides Cyclists with a direct route to O Connell Bridge.
Disadvantages
• Existing footpaths in the area are already below the required 1.8m as set out in DMURS and the Traffic Management Guidelines. While routing cyclists away from the College Green Plaza eliminates the conflict with pedestrians in that location it is creating a conflict elsewhere. The Temple Bar area which Anglesea Street and Bedford Row form part of is an area of high pedestrian activity with large amounts of tourists and locals flocking to the area at all times of the day but especially at night. It could be said that the possibility of conflict between pedestrians and cyclists would be greater due to the fact that many of the pedestrians in Temple Bar may have alcohol consumed.
Extract From DEMURS
• Due to limited road widths it would not be possible to provide the required 2.0m set down in the National Cylcle Manual for a contra flow Cycle track.
Extract from the National Cycle Manual
• Both Anglesea Street and Bedford Row are cobble streets(See below) which make for a very uncomfortable cycle for northbound cyclists. Any alterations to the pavement type on these streets may meet with opposition from residents and also from Heritage agencies in Dublin.
• This schemes success is dependent on the Liffey Cycle Route being built on the south side of the Liffey which to date looks unlikely.
• In order to place a contraflow cycle track on Bedford Row and Anglesea St loading and parking may need to be relocated/removed. Time restrictions on loading already exist in the area and any further removal of loading may meet with opposition.
• The existing outdoor seating at the Oliver St John Gogharty pub would need to be removed to allow footpath space.
• Bedford Row is the exit route for Fleet Street Car park, while this proposal does not stop this it does introduce a stop for cars exiting from Fleet Street onto Bedford Row.
• South bound cyclists would be faced with an up-hill cycle on Anglesea Street as can be seen below.
• Trinity College bound cyclists would face a lengthy detour.
• Does not comply with the Development Plan and the Greater Dublin Cycle Network Requirements directly.
I discounted this option as not viable on consideration of all the above.
Option No 3 Trinity Street-Andrew Street-Suffolk Street Cycle Route
As with the previous option the thinking behind this option is to remove cyclists completely from the College Green Plaza.
In this scenario I considered bringing cyclists with traffic flow right off Dame Street onto Trinity Street , left onto Andrew Street and right on to Suffolk Street were they could remerge on to Grafton Street to join the exiting two way cycle track on Westmoreland Street. A segregated contra flow cycle track could be introduced along Suffolk Street.
Dame Street Approach Trinity Street
Andrew St with existing Contra flow Cycle Track Suffolk Street
Grafton St Lower Southbound. Grafton Street Nothbound-Pinchpoint
This proposed design is in line with the National Cycle Manual as shown below.
National Cycle Manual
This layout according to the manual is suitable in locations as shown in the extract below.
As can be seen in the above pictures the streets I am planning to bring the cycle route along match the above description, however there is a loading demand along Suffolk Street which I plan on meeting by providing a 24 hour loading bay on Church Lane and retaining the existing loading bay on Andrews Street. There will also be the option of loading from Grafton Street between 0500-1100 Monday to Friday.
INSERT DIVERSION ROUTES
At the junction of Grafton Street Lower and Suffolk St a toucan crossing would be installed allowing cyclists access a southbound direction towards Nassau Street or a north bound direction towards the two way cycle track on Westmoreland Street.
Southbound cyclists coming off the two way cycle track at College Green will access the Tram route via a new set of signals on Grafton Street Lower which they will travel south on for approximately 60m until they can cross onto the new contraflow on Suffolk Street.
I developed this option to preliminary design stage as can be seen on next pages.
Advantages
• Removes Cyclists from the College Green Plaza.
• Adequate footpath widths achievable to suit DMURS requirements for busier pedestrian streets
Extract from DMURS
• Provides a route that meets the National Cycle Manuals requirements for Contra flow cycle tracks. 2.0m segregated cycle track is achievable.
Extract from the National Cycle Manual
• Toucan Crossings can be provided in locations where it is possible for cyclists to cross the rail tracks at 90 degrees.
Disadvantages
• Detour away from desire line required for cyclists.
• Due to inadequate space on Grafton Street Lower cyclists are forced to interact with the LUAS tracks.
• Cyclists are required to dismount to use the Toucan Crossings.
• Cyclists forced to mix with large volumes of pedestrians at the junction of Suffolk Street and Grafton Street as can be seen below
• Does not comply with the Development Plan and the Greater Dublin Cycle Network Requirements directly.
Conclusions
On considerations of the above options for cycling facilities around College Green I have deduced that while the current proposal to route cyclists through the plaza while not ideal it is the most suitable solution to meet all the requirements for cycling in the area .
I do however feel that the inclusion of an uncontrolled shared surface at the south eastern corner of the plaza is unsafe given the number of pedestrians in the area. I think consideration should be given to introducing signals here to control the crossing point for both the pedestrians and cyclists.
Other European city such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen have allowed cycling in their pedestrian squares for some time with great success and it is already in operation in both Grand Canal Square and Barnardo’s Square in Dublin. It may take some time for both the cyclists and the pedestrians to get to grips with it but it is not an alien concept, pedestrians and cyclists need to share the space and have respect for each other.
Grand Canal Square Dublin where cyclists and pedestrians mingle successfully together
Cyclists traversing Grand canal Square as part of the Grand Canal Cycle Route
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