Dun Laoghaire

WoollyRedHat

Places like Dun Laoghaire, like Bray and so on, could do well, they need a new lease of life.

JMoney

New to Ireland here, just moved to Dun Laoghaire a few weeks ago. I like that it's a bit quiet myself. I don't think it's too dead, there seems to be many good shops around, great butchers and bakeries, and the sunday market in the park is real nice.

Jess16

I can honestly say I have never felt remotely unsafe in Dun Laoghaire. The DART station sometimes has groups of teenagers hanging about, which may be marginally intimidating for a meeker person but beyond that, it's generally a typically quiet, suburban place.

patrickbrophy18

Morlar wrote: »

I think it looks & sounds completely hideous. Looks like some kind of bland featureless looking blockhouse-style monstrosity. It's almost as if they are afraid to give it any character in case it beomes 'culturally non neutral'.

I concur. It is absolutely dreadful looking. This ugly concrete block will severely damage the elegance of the the surrounding architecture.:mad:

Cookie_Monster

patrickbrophy18 wrote: »

I concur. It is absolutely dreadful looking. This ugly concrete block will severely damage the elegance of the the surrounding architecture.:mad:

surrounding architecture??

The shopping centre... work of art that one.
The pavilion blocks? bland
the ferry terminal, on no wait that got knocked down.
the new ferry terminal? that's pretty ugly too
The Royal Marine, not exactly a master piece either but I suppose you might be able to consider it elegant.
The Maritime Museum, OK I'll give you that one but only once they actually finish it.
The Yacht club, probably classed as elegant.
The railway, nope that's ok, they've hidden that in a big trench
That's all I can think of that'll directly surround it or be visible from it apart from a few houses on those side streets. Not exactly a list of fine buildings is it?

Whiskey Devil

Considering the population.. It's probably the safest place in Ireland.

There seems to be an element of snobbery towards Dún Laoghaire from some people in the more secluded surrounding areas.. :rolleyes:

patrickbrophy18

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

Considering the population.. It's probably the safest place in Ireland.

There seems to be an element of snobbery towards Dún Laoghaire from some people in the more secluded surrounding areas.. :rolleyes:

While there is a large amount of truth in that statement, I do think Dun Laoghaire Town is very seedy and depressing. I go to Dun Laoghaire at least twice a week and I regularly see a lot of very odd people, to put it politely. Most of these are very sleazy as well. I also feel unsafe around Dun Laoghaire past 9:00 PM due to the presence of ruffians. Never-mind the fact that half of the stores which line the main street are closed adding a creepy ghost-town feel to it.

Having said that, most of the nearby amenities are very pleasant including The East Pier, The Pavilion, The Peoples Park, The Hotels, The Ferry Terminal and The Sandycove Walkway. There are also plans to smarten up the rest of the coast line as per the following link:

http://www.dlharbour.ie/masterplan/masterplan.php

This is very impressive.:D

dublinman1990

Just like to mention that Penneys & Primark is getting a refurbishment on the exterior of it's shop atm.

There is also a new Indian food take away which I can't think of the name. It replaced the former Italian owned Lido Cafe.

Econoline Van

dublinman1990 wrote: »

Just like to mention that Penneys & Primark is getting a refurbishment on the exterior of it's shop atm.

There is also a new Indian food take away which I can't think of the name. It replaced the former Italian owned Lido Cafe.

The Lido is gone???? :mad::eek:

zyndacyclone

I hope so, I never liked the owner. Anything would be an improvement.

eth0

dunner515 wrote: »

I basically live in Dun Laoghaire and the place could not be more of a ghost town, sure ya get the odd person stumbling around after the pub and the occasional late night walker but ya get that everywhere. I personally don't think that it's a rough spot at all

They're all broke from paying their household charge or inside worshipping Big Phil

Agent Smith

eth0 wrote: »

They're all broke from paying their household charge or inside worshipping Big Phil

Can we stay somewhat on topic?



Dun laoghaire Is as Dangerous as playing Russian Roulette with a cork gun.

Theres a few drunks that hang around at the Boylan Centre. (who Genuinely will sit there watching your car if you give them a euro or two)

Dun Laoghaires a pretty quiet town, Well thats a bit of an understatement.
The town dies come 7pm. The best pub in the town (weirs) is closed at present.

Dundrum killed Dun Laoghaire.

Dun laoire

Agent Smith wrote: »

Can we stay somewhat on topic?



Dun laoghaire Is as Dangerous as playing Russian Roulette with a cork gun.

Theres a few drunks that hang around at the Boylan Centre. (who Genuinely will sit there watching your car if you give them a euro or two)

Dun Laoghaires a pretty quiet town, Well thats a bit of an understatement.
The town dies come 7pm. The best pub in the town (weirs) is closed at present.

Dundrum killed Dun Laoghaire.

Yeah i agree, Dundrum has had a massive impact on Dun Laoghaire's downturn. Could also be argued that the road works to pedestrianise Lower Georges Street had an impact but maybe that just coincided with the DD shopping centre?!?!

ted1

Agent Smith wrote: »

Dundrum killed Dun Laoghaire.

The council helped them by off enforcing the parking and by charging to much. Also the restrictions on the number of trucks allowed on the ferry killed the harbour. I see that there is planning in for change of use of the terminal to an exhibition center. That Will be an intresting one to watch.

SimonMaher

ted1 wrote: »

The council helped them by off enforcing the parking and by charging to much. Also the restrictions on the number of trucks allowed on the ferry killed the harbour. I see that there is planning in for change of use of the terminal to an exhibition center. That Will be an intresting one to watch.

You're right Ted1, the parking regime in Dun Laoghaire is draconian and it is one of the few places operating a quota based system (i.e. the clamping company has a quota of cars it has to clamp each month to get fully paid). Insanity in a recession. Such a pity to see a town with such potential in such trouble although there are in fairness some good people working on ways to rejuvinate it.

On the harbour front, the killing off of freight traffic really didnt help at all but I reckon freight was always going to end up in Dublin port once the tunnel was built. Front section of the terminal building (the old departures hall) will now become an exhibition space for long term exhibitions (first one planned to be an Ernest Shackleton one) and the new terminal entrance for ferry foot passengers will be the current side entrance. Likelyhood is that the current arrangement for the HSS will remain as is for the forseeable i.e. End of March to end of September which is far from ideal but far better than losing it altogether. Permission has also been applied for to use the car/coach marshalling area for public events in the wintertime like concerts, markets and the like.

Tragedy

There's simply no reason to go to Dun Laoghaire anymore. Used to walk the pier most evenings and then they brought in late and weekend parking fees. The one way system makes it a pain to get to where you want to, the cobbles on the streets make them horrific to drive(or get a bus!) on, it has nothing that Stillorgan doesn't offer - never mind Dundrum.

realgirl

Tragedy wrote: »

There's simply no reason to go to Dun Laoghaire anymore. Used to walk the pier most evenings and then they brought in late and weekend parking fees. The one way system makes it a pain to get to where you want to, the cobbles on the streets make them horrific to drive(or get a bus!) on, it has nothing that Stillorgan doesn't offer - never mind Dundrum.

What Dun Laoghaire offers that Stillorgan and Dundrum don't:
1 A lovely park with a playground and the market on Sundays
2 The sea and related activities e.g. kayaking, scuba diving, swimming, birdwatching, fishing, sailing
3 Seaside walks
etc etc
I know the shops in Dun Laoghaire aren't great and I agree with you about the parking, it's a joke to charge outside business hours at all and the charges are too high. I still think there's plenty of reasons to go to Dun Laoghaire, just not for the parking and shopping...

Tragedy

realgirl wrote: »

What Dun Laoghaire offers that Stillorgan and Dundrum don't:
1 A lovely park with a playground and the market on Sundays
2 The sea and related activities e.g. kayaking, scuba diving, swimming, birdwatching, fishing, sailing
3 Seaside walks
etc etc
I know the shops in Dun Laoghaire aren't great and I agree with you about the parking, it's a joke to charge outside business hours at all and the charges are too high. I still think there's plenty of reasons to go to Dun Laoghaire, just not for the parking and shopping...

#1 #2 and #3 refer to reasons to visit the pier, not Dun Laoghaire town itself
In fairness, lovely parks are ten a penny in Dublin and I can name any number which are nicer than the people's park (imo of course!) and Bray or Sandymount offer a much nicer seaside walk.

zagmund

Parking is definitely a disaster. There's nowhere free to park if you're dropping in for a few minutes. Given a choice, I will go to Stillorgan (which I don't like) or Deansgrange, or Blackrock.

The harbour authority charging all day (0700-2100 as far as I remember) in all parts of the area is bad as well.

I think the cobbles are mad - I'm not a big car head, but I do worry about what it does to my car every time I drive through.

I do agree with the traffic calming and on the main street - I don't know why anyone would think that having more cars (which don't/can't stop) would improve it.

z

jimogr

zagmund wrote: »

(0700-2100 as far as I remember)

8am-8pm 7 days.

jimogr

SimonMaher wrote: »

it is one of the few places operating a quota based system (i.e. the clamping company has a quota of cars it has to clamp each month to get fully paid).

There are no private clampers in Dun Laoghaire. In the town and surrounding area, there are no clampers at all - there are parking tickets - which is run by the council themselves.

The harbour does have clamping, but it is run by the harbour police.

jimogr

zagmund wrote: »

There's nowhere free to park if you're dropping in for a few minutes.

All street parking, and council run car parks in the town have a 15 minutes grace period, advertised on the machines, the first 15 mins is free - and an additional 15mins added on to the end of your ticket if you pay.

There is free parking at the weekends in a number of locations - the car park at Teddy's is free Sat/Sun (there are other free streets and public car parks too.)

The bloomsfield car park is free for 2 hours if you spend 30 euro in tesco.

The DL shopping center car park is 2 euro for 2 hours, and free if you spend x in supervalu.

Many of the business operating in the pavilion offer free parking in the pavilion car park.

zagmund

I had forgotten about the 15 minutes free (even though I posted on here about it before) and I didn't realise the other places were free. Maybe they need to work on the PR side and let people know about the free stuff.

My overwhelming feeling when driving into/through DL is that people aren't welcome to park unless they pay.

Don't get me wrong - I like DL - but I just think it could do with a little better PR.

z

jimogr wrote: »

All street parking, and council run car parks in the town have a 15 minutes grace period, advertised on the machines, the first 15 mins is free - and an additional 15mins added on to the end of your ticket if you pay.

There is free parking at the weekends in a number of locations - the car park at Teddy's is free Sat/Sun (there are other free streets and public car parks too.)

The bloomsfield car park is free for 2 hours if you spend 30 euro in tesco.

The DL shopping center car park is 2 euro for 2 hours, and free if you spend x in supervalu.

Many of the business operating in the pavilion offer free parking in the pavilion car park.

jimogr

zagmund wrote: »

I had forgotten about the 15 minutes free (even though I posted on here about it before) and I didn't realise the other places were free. Maybe they need to work on the PR side and let people know about the free stuff.

My overwhelming feeling when driving into/through DL is that people aren't welcome to park unless they pay.

Don't get me wrong - I like DL - but I just think it could do with a little better PR.

z

Agreed. I think how the harbour company is funded is a big part of the problem - now that the HSS is sailing only once a day, and only in the summer, one of the main sources of revenue for the harbour company is parking. I also get the impression that the harbour company and the council don't work together very well...

Morlar

I agree with all the above sentiments re parking, particularly given this :

Council defends annual bill for staff car parking

By JEROME REILLY
Sunday December 04 2011

Cash-strapped Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Council is paying nearly €40,000 a year to provide free private car parking for staff as local senior citizens who need their car for mobility face a potential annual parking bill of more than €800.

The council pays for 60 car parking spaces in Bloomfields Shopping Centre car park for its staff, county manager Owen Keegan admitted earlier this year.

Mr Keegan, who has clashed with local residents and retailers in Dun Laoghaire over the council's tough parking regime, justified the free car parking for council staff on the grounds of efficiency.

"It is important in the interests of operational efficiency that staff who need their cars in the course of their work should have access to convenient parking.

In response to a letter from local resident Paul Howard, who had suggested that council staff could easily use the West Pier car park, Mr Keegan responded: "I would not consider the West Pier car park to be especially convenient."

During the first seven months of this year, local residents, shoppers and traders paid more than €3.5m in parking fees and fines.

According to Vincent English of the local Combined Residents' Association, parking is particularly problematic for seniors who need their car for mobility -- especially daily mass-goers who could end up paying €624 a year for the privilege.

The potential annual bill is calculated on the basis of a parking permit (€40 a year), daily mass attendance (€624) a weekly shopping trip (€104) and a monthly medical appointment (€48).

- JEROME REILLY


Source : http://www.independent.ie/national-news/council-defends-annual-bill-for-staff-car-parking-2953494.html

On the subject of traffic warden & grace periods I have witnessed wardens hiding behind Green (electric ?) boxes waiting to nab people who leave their cars momentarily. Once on a literally empty street at lunchtime.

Generally I think it's a nice area with a lot to offer, it's just a shame about the councils attitude imo.

Marcusm

SimonMaher wrote: »

You're right Ted1, the parking regime in Dun Laoghaire is draconian and it is one of the few places operating a quota based system (i.e. the clamping company has a quota of cars it has to clamp each month to get fully paid). Insanity in a recession. Such a pity to see a town with such potential in such trouble although there are in fairness some good people working on ways to rejuvinate it.

On the harbour front, the killing off of freight traffic really didnt help at all but I reckon freight was always going to end up in Dublin port once the tunnel was built. Front section of the terminal building (the old departures hall) will now become an exhibition space for long term exhibitions (first one planned to be an Ernest Shackleton one) and the new terminal entrance for ferry foot passengers will be the current side entrance. Likelyhood is that the current arrangement for the HSS will remain as is for the forseeable i.e. End of March to end of September which is far from ideal but far better than losing it altogether. Permission has also been applied for to use the car/coach marshalling area for public events in the wintertime like concerts, markets and the like.

Ticket, not clamp. Don't believe that the DLR contract mandates clamping.

SimonMaher

Marcusm wrote: »

Ticket, not clamp. Don't believe that the DLR contract mandates clamping.

Apologies, meant to say ticketing. Point remains though that while street parking is a legitimate source of revenue, ticketing should be used as a method of encouraging sensible parking and not as a revenue generating exercise and definitely not quota based. Having different parking regimes on street within feet of each other (DLRCOCO and DLHC) doesn't help either.

The whole thing seems to be sadly self-defeating too with people voting with their feet (and their wheels!) and not coming to Dun Laoghaire at all.

me-skywalker

My mother got a parking ticket last week. She parked on Convent Road, houses side, inside the designated area, inside the time. She got it for.... hold on.... "11a Parking a vehicle in a bus lane/street"... now as long as I've known Dun L, no buses have EVER gone down Convent Road and there are no bus lanes on the street. Its a one-way street.

I've obviously lodged an appeal for her. Also the ticket quotes sections of the Acts and I cannot for the life of me find the "11a Parking a vechicle in a bus lane/street" park if anynoe else could would be great help incase they decline the appeal.

ROAD TRAFFIC ACT 2002:
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2002/en/act/pub/0012/print.html#sec12

LOCAL AUTHORITIES (TRAFFIC WARDENS) ACT, 1975:
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1975/en/act/pub/0014/print.html#sec3

AMENDMENT OF ACT OF 1975 (TRAFFIC WARDENS).:
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2006/en/act/pub/0023/print.html#sec15

Posted the appeal to: Dun Laoghaire Rathdown CC, PO BOX 9943, Lucan ,Co. Dublin

Emailed to: enquiries.dlrcoco@apcoa.ie

Chinasea

Dun laoire wrote: »

Could also be argued that the road works to pedestrianise Lower Georges Street had an impact but maybe that just coincided with the DD shopping centre?!?!

Coming to this dead late, but whatever chance Dun Laoghaire had of making it through, the pedestrianisation was certainly a glimmer of hope. Car free shopping zones are a renowned success. The Dun L business association were adamant that they wanted the road through the place reinstated and the CoCo never implemented the whole pedestrianisation properly. It was a half hearted token gesture unfortunately. There was blatant disregard for the pedestrianisation with no barrier or deterrent to prevent cars continuing to hurtle down the street and no enforcement. Apathy and lack of forethought whipped away any chance of progression for Dun Laoghiare.

Dun Laoghaire and Sligo would benefit so much if it was pedestrianised (PROPERLY). Both towns had the pedestrianisation reversed which is imo a shocking short-sighted step backwards. Most European cities have car free zones where local people can go about their business in a care free unruffled environment.

ted1

Sligo and dun laoighre are hardly cities.