Limerick Businesses Closed V 2.0 [Mod note post 1]

noisenotmusic

zulutango wrote: »

The Council is doing a good jof buying up vacant sites so maybe it should look at acquiring this and the old Dunnes Stores site on Sarsfield Street too? These are prime locations for development.

It's always been bizzare to me that Dunnes still own the old shop and are only renting Howleys Quay from the developer. Despite doing nothing with the old place for 10 years maybe they're keeping it to flatten it when their lease is up?

Poxyshamrock

Totally agree with you, Vanquished!

Would love to live in a townhouse myself! If I won the lotto, it's what I'd invest my money in! I visited 21 Hartstonge Street as part of OpenHouse on Saturday. It showed what can be done to being back townhouses to their former glory.

zulutango

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Totally agree with you, Vanquished!

Would love to live in a townhouse myself! If I won the lotto, it's what I'd invest my money in! I visited 21 Hartstonge Street as part of OpenHouse on Saturday. It showed what can be done to being back townhouses to their former glory.

You wouldn't even need to win the lotto going by the investment that Meritt Bucholz put into that particular house.

95k euro to buy + 200k euro to renovate to a very high standard.

That's not the worst price if you ended up with such a property.

Also, The Georgian Cities initiative (launched earlier this year I think) allows you to recoup renovation costs to the tune of one million euro over ten years in tax rebates provided you commit to living there for 10 years. It's a no brainer for anybody who earns well and wants to live in the city centre in my opinion.

Vanquished

Absolutely. It demonstrates that those buildings are most certainly adaptable for modern living!

21 Hartstonge Street would be considered an example of a modest Georgian townhouse. Imagine what could be done with the larger properties on the likes of Mallow Street, Glentworth Street etc and even O'Connell Street and William Street! Even simple things like the re-introduction of timber sash windows can make such a positive contribution to both the buildings themselves and the streetscape in general.

Hartstonge Street project link;

http://www.bmcea.com/projects/hsh.htm

sleepyman

Vanquished wrote: »

The problems aren't insurmountable. The solutions are out there! You just wonder at times if the council and the various bodies actually grasp the magnitude of the challenges facing the city centre?! And even if they do. Whether the conviction, desire, ambition and expertise exists to actually confront these challenges and implement the necessary measures that could help to turn the tide?!

We've been bombarded with a whole series of strategies and plans over the last decade with very little actually achieved. We're well able to talk the talk but walking the walk is an entirely different story!

I was sitting outside a bar in town on Saturday afternoon and you didn't have to look too hard to get an appreciation of the assets this city possesses. However at the same time the wasted, unfulfilled potential was also painfully evident. Dilapidated Georgian buildings, footpaths in atrocious condition and what seems to be a new innovation; those ghastly, metal ESB poles being stabilised by some form of tensioned cabling! Removing these relics, undergrounding the cables and repaving the streets would have such a dramatic impact on the aesthetics of the city centre. I just can't understand why this is not being pursued more vigorously!

Clearly solving the conundrum of the Georgian building stock is a more complex issue. But we need to see targeted incentives put in place to refurbish these structures to provide quality accommodation (and I don't mean glorified bedsits!) and get people back living in the centre of town. I for one would love to live in Georgian townhouse.

The reality is the city is far more interesting than Galway or Kilkenny in Architectural terms (maybe King Johns isn't quite as grand as the Ormond Castle but Kilkenny/Galway don't have the same degree of georgian buildings if any).It'd very depressing to come home & see another business/pub gone to the wall.
The pubs seem quiet-was in Flannerys (Denmark St) for the rugby match on Saturday.Thought it would be jammers.There was about three people in there @6pm.Granted it filled up ( a little) half way through but it was a bit underwhelming.
This is meant to be the home of Irish rugby!!
As a matter of interest do people who work in Raheen come into the city for after work drinks on a Friday?Jobs that were located in the city centre would have a very positive effect on local pubs/restaraunts/shops

zulutango

sleepyman wrote: »

As a matter of interest do people who work in Raheen come into the city for after work drinks on a Friday?Jobs that were located in the city centre would have a very positive effect on local pubs/restaraunts/shops

If only we could entice a big tech company like Facebook or Google to the city centre. The old Cleeves site would be pretty good for it. It would be a total gamechanger for the city.

sleepyman

zulutango wrote: »

If only we could entice a big tech company like Facebook or Google to the city centre. The old Cleeves site would be pretty good for it. It would be a total gamechanger for the city.

It would be great Zultango.Those kind of companies seems to always go for the big smoke.I'd like to think the Collison lads will keep Limerick in mind when they invaribly open a european hub for Stripe.
A google, facebook,hsbc,Statstreet-one of these opening slap bang in the city would be as you say a gamechanger.
Who's in charge of getting FDI/jobs into the city?Is it the IDA or is there a regional body ( are shannon development no longer around?)

Iranoutofideas

sleepyman wrote: »

The reality is the city is far more interesting than Galway or Kilkenny in Architectural terms (maybe King Johns isn't quite as grand as the Ormond Castle but Kilkenny/Galway don't have the same degree of georgian buildings if any).It'd very depressing to come home & see another business/pub gone to the wall.
The pubs seem quiet-was in Flannerys (Denmark St) for the rugby match on Saturday.Thought it would be jammers.There was about three people in there @6pm.Granted it filled up ( a little) half way through but it was a bit underwhelming.
This is meant to be the home of Irish rugby!!
As a matter of interest do people who work in Raheen come into the city for after work drinks on a Friday?Jobs that were located in the city centre would have a very positive effect on local pubs/restaraunts/shops

After work drinks on a Friday appears to have died with the Celtic Tiger.

Poxyshamrock

Maybe in Limerick but I've been to Cork and Dublin and seen plenty of folk in suits in pubs after work!

Toffeeboy

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Maybe in Limerick but I've been to Cork and Dublin and seen plenty of folk in suits in pubs after work!

Its probably a case of a lot of people in Dublin live in the city centre or use public transport. In Limerick people drive and live outside.

Poxyshamrock

That's something that needs to be fixed in order for Limerick to prosper.

For a start, I think public transport in the city (i.e Bus Éireann) is perceived to be way worse than it actually is. I regularly use the bus service over my car and have no gripes with the service. Yes, it can be late sometimes but it's far from being unusable.

There's also a stigma against using public transport in Limerick which needs to change.

Comhrá

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

That's something that needs to be fixed in order for Limerick to prosper.

For a start, I think public transport in the city (i.e Bus Éireann) is perceived to be way worse than it actually is. I regularly use the bus service over my car and have no gripes with the service. Yes, it can be late sometimes but it's far from being unusable.

There's also a stigma against using public transport in Limerick which needs to change.

Very true. I take the 302 Caherdavin bus rather than my car into town regularly as it stops near my house. It runs every 20 mins. or so Mon - Fri and I must say I have no complaints. As a matter of fact I secretly love my little "spin on the bus".

bigpink

What happenec with clohessys.? Surely the building works didnt hit it that bad

Vanquished

bigpink wrote: »

What happenec with clohessys.? Surely the building works didnt hit it that bad

No that was just a predictable excuse! The place had been struggling for years and had posted significant losses before the works on the quay had even begun.

The pathetic article in the Limerick Leader states that the pub was essentially inaccessible "for more than a year!" Which is absolute tripe! It reads more like a PR statement rather than a balanced report!

Iranoutofideas

Vanquished wrote: »

No that was just a predictable excuse! The place had been struggling for years and had posted significant losses before the works on the quay had even begun.

The pathetic article in the Limerick Leader states that the pub was essentially inaccessible "for more than a year!" Which is absolute tripe! It reads more like a PR statement rather than a balanced report!

You made the mistake of actually expecting some journalism from a local newspaper.

sleepyman

tippman1 wrote: »

Very true. I take the 302 Caherdavin bus rather than my car into town regularly as it stops near my house. It runs every 20 mins. or so Mon - Fri and I must say I have no complaints. As a matter of fact I secretly love my little "spin on the bus".

If you live in Clareview (well maybe you can jump on the Caherdavin bus), Bracken, Coonagh, NCR etc there is no bus service in the evening after 5.30 or 6.

banie01

sleepyman wrote: »

If you live in Clareview (well maybe you can jump on the Caherdavin bus), Bracken, Coonagh, NCR etc there is no bus service in the evening after 5.30 or 6.

I can't understand why the Caherdavin bus isn't routed back in towards town via the Ennis Rd to alleviate this.
Indeed given the frequency of service, maybe if even every 2nd Caherdavin bus was routed with an Ennis road return(Similar to the Direct and Hyde Rd Raheen Buses)
It would also make an impact on traffic at peak times as the number of kids in the Caherdavin area attending Salesians, JFK, Villiers and Ard Scoil who could be shifted from cars to a bus routed Caherdavin to City Centre via the Ennis rd would surely move some cars off the road.

sleepyman

banie01 wrote: »

I can't understand why the Caherdavin bus isn't routed back in towards town via the Ennis Rd to alleviate this.
Indeed given the frequency of service, maybe if even every 2nd Caherdavin bus was routed with an Ennis road return(Similar to the Direct and Hyde Rd Raheen Buses)
It would also make an impact on traffic at peak times as the number of kids in the Caherdavin area attending Salesians, JFK, Villiers and Ard Scoil who could be shifted from cars to a bus routed Caherdavin to City Centre via the Ennis rd would surely move some cars off the road.

Preaching to the converted here.I find it baffling some of the decisions that Bus Eireann have made in the city regarding bus services.I'm guessing the population of the soutside of the city is greater than the northside or am I mistaken?I often think the raillines that circle the city are also underused

zulutango

sleepyman wrote: »

Preaching to the converted here.I find it baffling some of the decisions that Bus Eireann have made in the city regarding bus services.I'm guessing the population of the soutside of the city is greater than the northside or am I mistaken?I often think the raillines that circle the city are also underused

There was an issue a few years ago where Bus Eireann were adamant that a bus lane should go in the Ennis Road if they were to provide a service along it. The residents there went ape**** and lobbied the council not to put it there, and they were successful. Because the funding had already been allocated, the Council decided to the bus lane on Condell Road (where there were no city bus routes!) instead. It's a classic case of how badly our city is managed.

sleepyman

zulutango wrote: »

There was an issue a few years ago where Bus Eireann were adamant that a bus lane should go in the Ennis Road if they were to provide a service along it. The residents there went ape**** and lobbied the council not to put it there, and they were successful. Because the funding had already been allocated, the Council decided to the bus lane on Condell Road (where there were no city bus routes!) instead. It's a classic case of how badly our city is managed.

Doesn't surprise me.The best ideas on how to improve the city come out of this thread most of the time.Council should take note & listen to the posters.
We could have produced our 'alternative' 2030 at a fraction of the cost.

Vanquished

The Ennis Road bus lane is still very much alive. It's included in the smarter travel strategy too. It consists of an inbound bus lane from Caherdavin cross to the maternity hospital.

The residents can whinge and moan all they want! They might live on the road but the reality is it's a piece of public infrastructure that should be utilised to serve the greater good not their narrow, selfish interests!

That road is perfectly suitable for a bus lane. It's a wide corridor, has a relatively straight alignment and is in the centre of a large residential area. A good portion of the road already has double yellow lines anyhow.

The Condell road bus lane was put in to facilitate intercity coaches. Although it's doubtful how much use it actually receives!

zulutango

Vanquished wrote: »

The Ennis Road bus lane is still very much alive. It's included in the smarter travel strategy too. It consists of an inbound bus lane from Caherdavin cross to the maternity hospital.

The residents can whinge and moan all they want! They might live on the road but the reality is it's a piece of public infrastructure that should be utilised to serve the greater good not their narrow, selfish interests!

That road is perfectly suitable for a bus lane. It's a wide corridor, has a relatively straight alignment and is in the centre of a large residential area. A good portion of the road already has double yellow lines anyhow.

The Condell road bus lane was put in to facilitate intercity coaches. Although it's doubtful how much use it actually receives!

The thing is the councillors will always bend to small sectional interests such as residents if there's votes to be won or lost, however wrong that might be.

I have it on good authority that the Condell Road lane was only built as an alternative to the Ennis Road one. It was a case of use the money or lose it.

Vanquished

The City Council lost out on millions of Euro of funding for bus lanes back in the mid 2000s because they couldn't get their house in order and identify the desired routes!

The Condell road makes no sense as an alternative to the Ennis road proposal as it doesn't serve any residential areas. The council just took advantage of outstanding funding to construct a bus lane, cycle lanes and a pedestrian walkway as this was the only project that was shovel-ready.

The Ennis Road "green route" is still in the pipeline but it has yet to go through the part 8 planning process and also needs over €3 million in funding.

Berty

At least we got a well surfaced Condell Road...................except the awfully low speed limit.

Since the opening of the Tunnel I've never seen the Ennis road busy enough to justify a bus lane anymore(you can't build one on Sarsfield bridge anyway). It may be needed at rush hour at JFK school but I assure people that folks would park in the bus lane if it was there anyway. Take Clare Street/Dublin road as an example. They just park in the left lane on the way into town whilst collecting children meaning if there are a few turning right onto Park Road then the whole place is gridlocked.

thesimpsons

when my kids started secondary school I queried Bus eireann if they'd consider running a bus on Condel Rd to facilitate school students to NCR schools and into town. they couldn't see any merit in it. after a few letters and phone calls, I just gave up.

Jofspring

Ya at this stage I see no need for a bus lane on the Ennis Rd. It's been a long time since I've been caught in any kind of traffic on that stretch of road. A cycle lane is a different story and one going from the Coonagh Roundabout right in to Sarsfield Bridge would be a better addition in my opinion.

mgbgt1978

The Body Shop in the Crescent closed (last weekend I believe).

zulutango

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

The Body Shop in the Crescent closed (last weekend I believe).

And one is to reopen in the city centre! Is the tide turning away from the suburbs, at last?

Comhrá

Just spotted a 'sale agreed' sign up on the wall of Ivan's in Caherdavin.

A good sign hopefully. Be nice to see it up & running in whatever guise it may adopt for the future.

Berty

Probably had to wait till the post office moved into the old bank of ireland by whites mace.