Dun Laoghaire Traffic & Commuting Chat

Cookie_Monster

josip wrote: »

Would Dun Laoghaire have many leisurely passing through cyclists?

plenty passing through but stopping, I don't really think so. I never would have stopped in DL. Dalkey / Monkstown are nicer places to stop if I'm out on the seafront.

But usually it's into the Wicklow hills and stop at Glencree or Laragh, both see huge business from cyclists in my experience.

Gareth Keenan

trishasaffron wrote: »

I have some non perishable food items to donate. Any idea where in Dun L might b interested?

the Lions Club were collecting non-perishables in Bloomfields at the weekend

Gareth Keenan

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

plenty passing through but stopping, I don't really think so. I never would have stopped in DL. Dalkey / Monkstown are nicer places to stop if I'm out on the seafront.

But usually it's into the Wicklow hills and stop at Glencree or Laragh, both see huge business from cyclists in my experience.

there might be more if the Sutton 2 Sandycove cycle path ever gets finished.

Qualitymark

And if Dun Laoghaire's mystery route into its centre ever gets changed and it's restored into a normal town that you can drive (or cycle) straight through and stop conveniently for a shop or a visit.

josip

Gareth Keenan wrote: »

there might be more if the Sutton 2 Sandycove cycle path ever gets finished.

I think I'm more likely to see nuclear fusion in my lifetime than a completed Sutton to Sandycove cycle path unfortunately

Qualitymark

josip wrote: »

I think I'm more likely to see nuclear fusion in my lifetime than a completed Sutton to Sandycove cycle path unfortunately

(Puffing out cheeks and holding breath hard) http://www.tolerance.ca/ArticleExt.aspx?ID=244329&L=en

josip

Qualitymark wrote: »

(Puffing out cheeks and holding breath hard) http://www.tolerance.ca/ArticleExt.aspx?ID=244329&L=en

Better source
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=92626990&postcount=1

Chinasea

Qualitymark wrote: »

And if Dun Laoghaire's mystery route into its centre ever gets changed and it's restored into a normal town that you can drive (or cycle) straight through and stop conveniently for a shop or a visit.

Totally against a "drive" through town. Dun Laoghaire and Sligo were one of the only towns in Europe to ever have pedestrianisation reversed which was such a short-sighted losing decision egged on by the Dun L Business Ass. Look at Gorey, Kilkenny and so on. Could be very pleasant and safe/family friendly towns if only the ble*din cars were redirected or parked up outside the high streets. Galway works well.

josip

Chinasea wrote: »

Totally against a "drive" through town. Dun Laoghaire and Sligo were one of the only towns in Europe to ever have pedestrianisation reversed which was such a short-sighted losing decision egged on by the Dun L Business Ass. Look at Gorey, Kilkenny and so on. Could be very pleasant and safe/family friendly towns if only the ble*din cars were redirected or parked up outside the high streets. Galway works well.

Would you still be in favour of busses and taxis passing through the town?
What streets would you (re)pedestrianise and from where?

Tabnabs

Chinasea wrote: »

Totally against a "drive" through town. Dun Laoghaire and Sligo were one of the only towns in Europe to ever have pedestrianisation reversed which was such a short-sighted losing decision egged on by the Dun L Business Ass.

Is this the pedestrianised street that public transport and cyclists were still granted access to?

Because that's not pedestrian in any dictionary.

Chinasea

josip wrote: »

Would you still be in favour of busses and taxis passing through the town?
What streets would you (re)pedestrianise and from where?

Lower Georges Street. The stretch is so short there is no real need for buses to pass through, however some towns incorporate 'rising bollards'. Solutions can usually be found where there is genuine will.

ted1

Chinasea wrote: »

Lower Georges Street. The stretch is so short there is no real need for buses to pass through, however some towns incorporate 'rising bollards'. Solutions can usually be found where there is genuine will.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/man-awarded-7500-after-fall-caused-by-disappearing-bollard-266948.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2272440/Couple-BMW-destroyed-rising-bollard-win-year-legal-battle-council.html

can you imagine the Q of people waiting to put in a claim.

Qualitymark

Dunno; when I lived in Dun Laoghaire as a kid it was a town you could get to from either end, and you could go through without being lost. Now, living elsewhere I go to Sandycove or Seapoint. I very, very rarely go into the shopping streets of Dun Laoghaire, because the strange one-way system gives me the uneasy feeling that if I get in there I may never get out. I assume a certain number of other people who might otherwise shop and wander and dip into bookshops and drapers and cafes may feel the same.

ted1

Qualitymark wrote: »

Dunno; when I lived in Dun Laoghaire as a kid it was a town you could get to from either end, and you could go through without being lost. Now, living elsewhere I go to Sandycove or Seapoint. I very, very rarely go into the shopping streets of Dun Laoghaire, because the strange one-way system gives me the uneasy feeling that if I get in there I may never get out. I assume a certain number of other people who might otherwise shop and wander and dip into bookshops and drapers and cafes may feel the same.

How do you feel about not being able to drive down grafton street?

Qualitymark

ted1 wrote: »

How do you feel about not being able to drive down grafton street?

Fine. But Dun Laoghaire is a maze.

If you drive into town, you park on the street or in a parking building and walk around a series of streets with shops, restaurants, etc. If you drive into Dun Laoghaire you get into a nightmare loop.

I may be the only one who feels like this, however; are there figures on how the Dun Laoghaire shops have done since this confusing one-way system was instituted? Has business improved for them?

ted1

Qualitymark wrote: »

Fine. But Dun Laoghaire is a maze.

If you drive into town, you park on the street or in a parking building and walk around a series of streets with shops, restaurants, etc. If you drive into Dun Laoghaire you get into a nightmare loop.

I may be the only one who feels like this, however; are there figures on how the Dun Laoghaire shops have done since this confusing one-way system was instituted? Has business improved for them?

It coincided with a recession so no

Qualitymark

ted1 wrote: »

It coincided with a recession so no

Really? When was the one-way system instituted?

Chinasea

Qualitymark wrote: »

Really? When was the one-way system instituted?

Wait now, where are you going with your maze? A little uber the top there, along with the nightmare one way. The global recession hit Dun Laoghaire, as did the giant that is Dundrum SC a mere 20 mins. drive. Blame pedestrianisation if you will, there's just no telling some folk.

Tabnabs

I think it would be correct to blame "pedestrianisation" (mind that bus) for the demise of M&S in Dun Laoghaire, for example. It is interesting to note that before their closing, they were offering services to assist customers to get their shopping to their cars. Clearly recognition that convenient parking (like every other shopping district) is the key to successful retail.

Qualitymark

I don't have a great sense of direction, and confusing loopy one-way systems are something I avoid.
A Dutch friend gave me a lift a while ago and said "We'll hop on to the motorway here; I always avoid the next town because they have changed to a one-way system and I get lost there every time. I used to shop there all the time, but now I go to another town." I can't remember what the two towns were, but she had exactly the same reaction as myself.

Chinasea

Qualitymark wrote: »

I
A Dutch friend gave me a lift a while ago and said "We'll hop on to the motorway here; I always avoid the next town because they have changed to a one-way system and I get lost there every time. I used to shop there all the time, but now I go to another town." I can't remember what the two towns were, but she had exactly the same reaction as myself.

I'm lost, I don't follow. I like the Dutch they like to cycle.

RainyDay

Chinasea wrote: »

Lower Georges Street. The stretch is so short there is no real need for buses to pass through, however some towns incorporate 'rising bollards'. Solutions can usually be found where there is genuine will.

Oooh I can't wait to see the self-obsessed folks of south Dublin taking on the bollards, and losing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRCA8MvedIo

Larbre34

Tabnabs wrote: »

I think it would be correct to blame "pedestrianisation" (mind that bus) for the demise of M&S in Dun Laoghaire, for example. It is interesting to note that before their closing, they were offering services to assist customers to get their shopping to their cars. Clearly recognition that convenient parking (like every other shopping district) is the key to successful retail.

It would not be correct, they were very busy, the reason was widely known to be a rent dispute with the freeholder.

M&S successfully operate stores similar to the former Dun Laoghaire one in urban environments all over the UK that are far less accessible to cars and without parking outside their door.

There is a large car park just 2 minutes walk from what was M&S. If we have got to the point where people almost need to drive their Corolla down the cured meats isle to count as convenience, then I weep for where we have got to.

josip

Larbre34 wrote: »

There is a large car park just 2 minutes walk from what was M&S.

Are you referring to Bloomfields?

Larbre34

josip wrote: »

Are you referring to Bloomfields?

Yes, not free I know, but always with spaces available. Spend €30 in Tesco and you park free.

Tabnabs

Larbre34 wrote: »

Yes, not free I know, but always with spaces available. Spend €30 in Tesco and you park free.

Thereby negating the need to shop in M&S at all, you couldn't make this stuff up! :rolleyes:

Aldi. Lidl, Tesco Supervalu, all have convenient and, generally, free car parking to allow paying customers the ability to buy items (including cured meat) and bring those items directly to their cars.

If the skewered version of "pedestrianisation" was so great for DL, why did the local businesses object to it?

Tabnabs

Larbre34 wrote: »

It would not be correct, they were very busy, the reason was widely known to be a rent dispute with the freeholder.

You have a source for this? Because I can find no evidence to back up that statement.

In fact according to M&S themselves;

"the retail sector outlook has not improved and we have to act now to protect the long term good of the company. We have carried out a strategic store review and it is with regret that we are now closing four unprofitable stores.

http://www.checkout.ie/Retail/m-s-to-close-tallaght-mullingar-dun-loaghaire-and-naas-stores-in-the-coming-weeks.html

Qualitymark

Chinasea wrote: »

I'm lost, I don't follow. I like the Dutch they like to cycle.

Not necessarily from town to town. She was talking about not liking to shop in Hilversum and preferring Laren or Amsterdam, if I remember rightly, though it's a while ago now and I may have the town wrong.

CatFromHue

Tabnabs wrote: »

You have a source for this? Because I can find no evidence to back up that statement.

In fact according to M&S themselves;


http://www.checkout.ie/Retail/m-s-to-close-tallaght-mullingar-dun-loaghaire-and-naas-stores-in-the-coming-weeks.html

I don't know if it was the rent or what but a high rent would cut the profits on the store.

It's funny reading that article as they mention opening a store in Limerick in 2016......which has been rumoured for at least 10 years now :pac:

Tabnabs

It would, but that's assuming you're making profits in excess of other overheads too. No customers, no revenue.