Dun Laoghaire Traffic & Commuting Chat

Chinasea

Tabnabs wrote: »

:

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?

Lidl etc, often set up shop in out of town locations and can provide ample free parking. If Drive by shopping aisles are your thing, then just keep on trucking.

As for Dun L Business Ass, I think they have moved now to blaming litter, junkies, the sun moon and stars for the demise, funny that, when I thought the Global recession could have, might have had a little bit of an auld impact.

Tabnabs

Ah here, Lidl etc. are in practically every suburb in Dublin, free parking to boot. You want people to buy groceries, give them convenient parking.

RainyDay

coylemj wrote: »

+1 and in Ballymoss Road in Sandyford Ind Estate outside the China Sichuan restaurant where parking is pretty difficult at lunchtime most days, the council has just 'converted' one of the parking spots to a cycle parking bay with three of those metal chrome brackets and surprise, surprise, today at lunchtime there wasn't a single bicycle bolted to any of them.

The proprietor of the restaurant (who pays a bucket load of commercial rates) told me that short of embedding metal spikes in the road, the council couldn't do more to fcuk up his lunchtime trade.

Perhaps DLRCoCo should be thinking of installing some 'parklets' in Sandyford to boost business traffic

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/03/17/when-parking-spaces-shouldnt-be-wasted-on-cars/

Qualitymark

Chinasea wrote: »

Lidl etc, often set up shop in out of town locations and can provide ample free parking.

Really? Most places I visit, Lidl's in or near the centre.

Chinasea

Plenty as said out of town. What is your point?

Larbre34

RTE Nationwide was from Dun Laoghaire last night. As it covered the Lexicon, the Baths refit and the BID company, I felt this was the thread to mention it.

Being Nationwide, it was very uncontroversial, focused on the positive slant. In fact if the CoCo were producing the programme they couldnt have done better!

All the local nonsense aside though, there was a great feature in it about the work being done with the disadvantaged in the Church of Ireland meals service. The Reverend Asa Bjork Olafsdottir is a very impressive woman (and a great story in herself). The work she is involved in reminded me that buildings and local political point scoring are really just unimportant bullsh1t.

http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10420744/

schemingbohemia

Yeah she was very impressive.

Larbre34

http://afloat.ie/port-news/cruise-liners/item/28743-queen-mary-2

MSC Splendida of 137,000 tonnes was scheduled tomorrow to anchor off Dun Laoghaire, instead her owners MSC Cruises have decided to abandon the harbour as prevously reported on Afloat.ie and instead dock in Dublin Port on the same day. This is the second time this has happened as MSC Splendida was to open the season on 11 May but instead called to Dublin Port.

In response to this latest cancellation, Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company have expressed dismay over the change of plans having carried out preparations for the anticipated visit with a passenger capacity of 3,200 passengers.

This season's record cruise season had started with 22 callers, however this is set to further reduce as yet another even larger cruiseship in the form of Royal Princess, 142,000 tonnes is also understood to have cancelled calling off Dun Laoghaire Harbour this Sunday. According to the Dublin Port cruise-schedule, Royal Princess of 3,600 capacity is to berth in Alexandra Basin on that same day over the weekend.

Hard to know if this development will increase momentum to build a cruiseship berth in DL or make it more likely to abandon the business to Dublin Port

josip

Has any reason been given for the change of berth?

Larbre34

josip wrote: »

Has any reason been given for the change of berth?

There is some guff about the Splendida crew being "blown away" by the welcome in Dublin and the ranks of people along the river waving them off, like an old fashioned ocean liner scene.

Personally I think it might be down to the added hassle and time delay of having to tender in passengers in Dun Laoghaire. The day the Royal Princess anchored last week was very choppy and the tender boats looked very uncomfortable in the rough sea. In Dublin they just walk down the gangplank onto the dock and straight on to the bus, and cruises are all about efficient use of time and facilities.

ted1

Larbre34 wrote: »

There is some guff about the Splendida crew being "blown away" by the welcome in Dublin and the ranks of people along the river waving them off, like an old fashioned ocean liner scene.

Personally I think it might be down to the added hassle and time delay of having to tender in passengers in Dun Laoghaire. The day the Royal Princess anchored last week was very choppy and the tender boats looked very uncomfortable in the rough sea. In Dublin they just walk down the gangplank onto the dock and straight on to the bus, and cruises are all about efficient use of time and facilities.

In Dublin they are restricted to high tides.
I reckon it's purely down to cost and convinence. Also the crew probably don't get a chance to get off in dun laoighre. Where as in Dublin they can easily pop off

Tabnabs

ted1 wrote: »

In Dublin they are restricted to high tides.
I reckon it's purely down to cost and convinence. Also the crew probably don't get a chance to get off in dun laoighre. Where as in Dublin they can easily pop off

They're not, otherwise you'd see them leave early this afternoon.


HW LW HW LW
02:10 08:05 14:42 20:18
4.0 m 0.5 m 3.9 m 0.8 m

The Liffey is dredged deep enough to take these ships on all states of tide. The problem is they have to reverse up the Liffey and this is not the optimum way to bring a huge ship like that so far up a river.

Qualitymark

Tabnabs wrote: »

They're not, otherwise you'd see them leave early this afternoon.


HW LW HW LW
02:10 08:05 14:42 20:18
4.0 m 0.5 m 3.9 m 0.8 m

The Liffey is dredged deep enough to take these ships on all states of tide. The problem is they have to reverse up the Liffey and this is not the optimum way to bring a huge ship like that so far up a river.

Is that why Grand Canal Dock or the big pool at the IFSC (name?) was built? Would it be possible to return them to use if so?

Seaswimmer

Qualitymark wrote: »

Is that why Grand Canal Dock or the big pool at the IFSC (name?) was built? Would it be possible to return them to use if so?

They were built for the big ships of their day but totally useless for modern vessels.

Anything going that far up the river has to negotiate the East Link which is quite narrow anyway so that is a limiting factor.

The problem in Dublin Port is not the depth of water or the length of quayside. Its the fact that any ship over approx 300metres long is too long to swing in the river so that it can be berthed facing downriver ready for departure.

This is why the biggest cruise liners are towed stern first up the river and pulled into Alexandra basin stern first so that they can sail out again reasonably easily.

The plan is to have the length of quayside on the northside near the East Link where P and O currently are redeveloped as a cruise berth thus allowing visitors to walk off and get the Luas ect. At present they need taxis or coaches as currently bigger cruise liners dock in Alexandra basin which is a working part of the port.

I still don't know however where they will get space to swing ships of that length in the river

Larbre34

Apparently the tugboat with the Splendida wasnt towing her, just escorting, the most modern Cruise Ships use azipod propulsion which makes them just as maneuverable in reverse at slow speeds, so there should be no need for large passengers ships to come about within Dublin Port

Seaswimmer

Larbre34 wrote: »

Apparently the tugboat with the Splendida wasnt towing her, just escorting, the most modern Cruise Ships use azipod propulsion which makes them just as maneuverable in reverse at slow speeds, so there should be no need for large passengers ships to come about within Dublin Port

True. They were not made fast and escorted only. They were however used to pull her off the berth when sailing due to high winds.

The Splendida is a conventional twin screw ship with bow (3) and stern (2)thrusters.

Azipods tend to be used on smaller vessels (like the tugs).

Tabnabs

Quantum class cruise ships are using azipods, as does the QM2 that visited DL earlier in the week.



More and more cruise ships are opting for this system

http://www.abb.com/cawp/seitp202/fd52d897221dadf7c1257c39002f4dfa.aspx

Seaswimmer

Tabnabs wrote: »

Quantum class cruise ships are using azipods, as does the QM2 that visited DL earlier in the week.



More and more cruise ships are opting for this system

http://www.abb.com/cawp/seitp202/fd52d897221dadf7c1257c39002f4dfa.aspx

Impressive. I suppose all ships may end up with it eventually. If a ship is in and out of port regularly it makes sense.

coylemj

Seaswimmer wrote: »

Impressive. I suppose all ships may end up with it eventually. If a ship is in and out of port regularly it makes sense.

I doubt it because it has to be a much more expensive option that an old-fashioned shaft and propeller. By the looks of it the pods have electric motors driving the props which means the motive power of the engine is converted to electricity, then fed to those pods which even at a high level of efficiency will involve some waste of energy. Smaller cruise ships all have bow thrusters (props on the side) which allow them to swivel around in tight spaces and in most cases they berth by getting a gentle shove into the quay wall by a couple of tugs. The really big boats are just too big for the tugs or would need a dozen or so to push them about.

Tabnabs

coylemj wrote: »

I doubt it because it has to be a much more expensive option that an old-fashioned shaft and propeller. By the looks of it the pods have electric motors driving the props which means the motive power of the engine is converted to electricity, then fed to those pods which even at a high level of efficiency will involve some waste of energy.

The azipods are more fuel efficient than traditional propellers that push the ship rather than pull it as the azipods do. The also take up less space than a propshaft, propeller and rudder thereby increasing the internal volume of the ship. Finally, they do away with the need for stern thrusters which gives an additional capital saving.

coylemj wrote: »

Smaller cruise ships all have bow thrusters (props on the side) which allow them to swivel around in tight spaces and in most cases they berth by getting a gentle shove into the quay wall by a couple of tugs. The really big boats are just too big for the tugs or would need a dozen or so to push them about.

Any sized ship can be assisted onto the berth by a minimum of two tugs. The bigger the ships handled by the port, the bigger the tugs.

Eg

Bits_n_Bobs

Careful now!! This is becoming a weirdly interesting and compelling education about huge big-ass boats!! I'm pretty sure this sort of thing is against the rules of boards...

Tabnabs

Haigh Terrace is getting a makeover, to make it more presentable. The problem is the narrow street is being made narrower, the footpath removed and car parking retained. Seems about right for DLCOCO standards...

https://dlrcoco.citizenspace.com/infrastructure-climate-change/proposed-upgrade-works-at-haigh-terrace-d-n-laogha

Cookie_Monster

Tabnabs wrote: »

Haigh Terrace is getting a makeover, to make it more presentable. The problem is the narrow street is being made narrower, the footpath removed and car parking retained. Seems about right for DLCOCO standards...

https://dlrcoco.citizenspace.com/infrastructure-climate-change/proposed-upgrade-works-at-haigh-terrace-d-n-laogha

that's pretty disgraceful. How can they possibly think it's appropriate to remove a footpath in favour of cars?

ted1

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

that's pretty disgraceful. How can they possibly think it's appropriate to remove a footpath in favour of cars?

Did you read it? It kind of makes sense.
The path was too narrow and didn't work . Removing the path puts people on the mixed use surface and forces drivers to be considerate

Larbre34

Yes its effectively a pedestrianisation with cars more marginalised. Its pretty standard across the continent.

Personally though, i dont see the point of doing it on upper Haigh Terrace, too much money on a low demand side street for me.

Kingp35

Larbre34 wrote: »

Personally though, i dont see the point of doing it on upper Haigh Terrace, too much money on a low demand side street for me.

There's a lot more foot traffic on it now since it is one of the main thoroughfares to the Library.

here2surf

Not sure I am in the right forum but am wondering if DL could sustain a burrito bar?
Logic says that if Mc ds Burger King nandos etc are busy then why not?

Concern would be the failing of a Subway in Pavilions.

Is there a big lunchtime trade in the area?

ted1

here2surf wrote: »

Not sure I am in the right forum but am wondering if DL could sustain a burrito bar?
Logic says that if Mc ds Burger King nandos etc are busy then why not?

Concern would be the failing of a Subway in Pavilions.

Is there a big lunchtime trade in the area?

Don't see why not, there's enough cafes and restaurants. But if you are thinking off opening one, do some proper research. E.g. Is your market tourists , workers, students etc

Dun Laoighre is more than just a sea front.

errlloyd

I'd be optimistic of the success of a Burrito bar in DL. There are plenty of the right demographic around.

frash

here2surf wrote: »

Not sure I am in the right forum but am wondering if DL could sustain a burrito bar?
Logic says that if Mc ds Burger King nandos etc are busy then why not?

Concern would be the failing of a Subway in Pavilions.

Is there a big lunchtime trade in the area?

Maybe test it out at the People's Park market on a Sunday or with a pop-up shop type arrangement?