Reality of Dun Laoghaire Library

Qualitymark

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

The main street is now the seafront! Dl could happily do without Georges St; without the seafront and harbour it would be nothing.

Yes, once George's Street was blocked off halfway down in that weird one-way system it started dying.

Fratton Fred

Tabnabs wrote: »

http://dlharbour.ie/cruise-schedule/

As someone who has worked on passenger vessels, that's a lot of crew who will be interested in coming ashore and buying stuff in the likes of pennies, argos, etc. The local coffee shops and any "traditional" Irish Pubs will do a good trade if they can make themselves known. If that could be replicated year after year, DL could be transformed into a booming little town again. Opportunity is knocking.

Perfect, especially if they want to borrow a few library books...

Tabnabs

Ah Fred, won't your little heart just burst with pride when you see this sail into the bay in a few weeks.



All together now...

Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.

Fratton Fred

Tabnabs wrote: »

Ah Fred, won't your little heart just burst with pride when you see this sail into the bay in a few weeks.



All together now...

Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.

very funny Tabnabs.

Run along now..

Seaswimmer

Tabnabs wrote: »

Ah Fred, won't your little heart just burst with pride when you see this sail into the bay in a few weeks.



All together now...

Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.

Excellent. Puts Kingstown back on the map again..

josip

Tabnabs wrote: »

Ah Fred, won't your little heart just burst with pride when you see this sail into the bay in a few weeks.

That is one ugly cruise liner.
Looks like they stuck a horizontal version of Liberty Hall on the bottom half of a ship.
I wouldn't want that docking in the harbour.

Qualitymark

Is that all the lifeboats?

hatrickpatrick

RainyDay wrote: »

Specifically, the availability of free space in a book-friendly environment in a central location in Dun Laoghaire, for a start.

If the Lexicon had half the number of floors it has and didn't have that God-awful diagonal bit jutting out against the natural slope of the town, do you imagine it would suddenly not be able to provide such a service?

Larbre34

josip wrote: »

That is one ugly cruise liner.
Looks like they stuck a horizontal version of Liberty Hall on the bottom half of a ship.
I wouldn't want that docking in the harbour.

For 13 hours? With a shed load of wealthy pensioners? They may not spend in DL, but the crew will, and the passengers will spend like lunatics in Dublin and Wicklow. No brainer.

RainyDay

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

If the Lexicon had half the number of floors it has and didn't have that God-awful diagonal bit jutting out against the natural slope of the town, do you imagine it would suddenly not be able to provide such a service?

I imagine that they wouldn't be able to provide that service in the old library which preceded the Lexicon. But hey, I'm sure your design and capacity choices would be a huge improvement over those made by the paid professionals who designed the thing.

Larbre34

RainyDay wrote: »

I imagine that they wouldn't be able to provide that service in the old library which preceded the Lexicon. But hey, I'm sure your design and capacity choices would be a huge improvement over those made by the paid professionals who designed the thing.

In fairness those same professionals should be pretty ashamed. I understand they were working to a brief, but its a piss poor interpretation in scale, size and surroundings.

hatrickpatrick

RainyDay wrote: »

I imagine that they wouldn't be able to provide that service in the old library which preceded the Lexicon.

On what basis?
Also, this is not remotely relevant to what I actually asked.

But hey, I'm sure your design and capacity choices would be a huge improvement over those made by the paid professionals who designed the thing.

Those paid professionals clearly didn't give a f*ck about public opinion or about the surrounding area. I thought we lived in a democracy

RainyDay

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

On what basis?

On the basis that they had no room.

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Also, this is not remotely relevant to what I actually asked.

Your question wasn't a question. It was a point in an debate. Forgive me for ignoring it.

Larbre34 wrote: »

In fairness those same professionals should be pretty ashamed. I understand they were working to a brief, but its a piss poor interpretation in scale, size and surroundings.

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Those paid professionals clearly didn't give a f*ck about public opinion or about the surrounding area. I thought we lived in a democracy

That's quite funny, really. Have you ever tried designing a building by democracy? As is quite clear from this discussion, people have different views. Design is subjective. You're never going to please all the people all the time. Get over it, and enjoy the library service.

Schadenfreudia

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

If the Lexicon had half the number of floors it has and didn't have that God-awful diagonal bit jutting out against the natural slope of the town, do you imagine it would suddenly not be able to provide such a service?

But then it wouldn't be the beautiful graceful building that it is, libraries are about culture - not grim functionality.

By your logic we could easily replace all our library buildings with cheap second-hand prefabs.

Schadenfreudia

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Those paid professionals clearly didn't give a f*ck about public opinion or about the surrounding area. I thought we lived in a democracy

We do.

That's why we have the beautiful library and a small noisy crowd of Nimby obstructionists have to learn to love it

Larbre34

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

But then it wouldn't be the beautiful graceful building that it is.

Had to check it wasnt April 1st there.

By the way the library service is excellent, nothing against the staff or the range of services . The soviet era Berlin building was not their doing.

Chinasea

Qualitymark wrote: »

Yes, once George's Street was blocked off halfway down in that weird one-way system it started dying.

This really is literally an urban myth. DLRD CoCo’s half hearted attempts to pedestrianise Dun Laoghaire’s high street, had nothing, nothing whatsoever to bring about the much talked about downturn of Dun Laoghaire. We constantly hear from its citizens that “THEY really should do something” about all those closed shops. For starters, we are the THEY!

Dun Laoghaire’s citizens and their off springs are now favouring to carry out their business in what is known as “destination” shopping i.e. Carrickmines, and the likes of the giant that is Dundrum. And other then the odd cup of coffee, enjoyable rummage around a few hokey charity shops, and perhaps a bit a of an enquiry to an employee in one of the mobile phone shops, retail shopping has moved from bricks and mortar to the keyboard.

The facts is, over the past five years, online spending has grown by around 80%. Hankering over the auld Dun Leary that was is sweet nostalgia but really only idle hypocrisy, as we boot up to Glenageary’s sorting office before closing time to collect said purchase that was delivered while “you were out”.

Leaving all the old shops to fester and rot is just a wasteful sin. How “they” allow this is beyond me. What are “they” waiting for? These should be rezoned immediately and allow families and working people move back to central, well served by public transport locations.

Another striking pleasant and positive irony is the pedestrianised zone of Dun Laoahaire, that DLRD CoCo have done a wonderful job is around the new library and all along the metals, which was a total no-go area up until recent years. The placed is now buzzing. The restaurants and shops are totally booming, with thousands of families roaming freely and safely along this ambient stretch. I especially love all the planting.

Qualitymark

Chinasea wrote: »

This really is literally an urban myth. DLRD CoCo’s half hearted attempts to pedestrianise Dun Laoghaire’s high street, had nothing, nothing whatsoever to bring about the much talked about downturn of Dun Laoghaire.

<snip>

Another striking pleasant and positive irony is the pedestrianised zone of Dun Laoahaire, that DLRD CoCo have done a wonderful job is around the new library and all along the metals, which was a total no-go area up until recent years. The placed is now buzzing. The restaurants and shops are totally booming, with thousands of families roaming freely and safely along this ambient stretch. I especially love all the planting.

I suppose I'm speaking personally. I used to go out to Sandycove a lot to swim, then to to a cafe or pub or restaurant in Dun Laoghaire for some chowder, and mooch around the shops a bit. Now, I (and my friends) tend to go to Glasthule instead.

I went to a picture in Dun Laoghaire last month for the first time in years, and it was pleasant, but I found the blockage that stops me walking up the main street to the library claustrophobic.

Tragedy

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

We do.

That's why we have the beautiful library and a small noisy crowd of Nimby obstructionists have to learn to love it

There was a public vote on the Library design?

No?

So you're talking utter nonsense?

Yes!

Finally we have an answer, yet again you're talking out of your arse.

Schadenfreudia

Tragedy wrote: »

There was a public vote on the Library design?

No?

So you're talking utter nonsense?

Yes!

Finally we have an answer, yet again you're talking out of your arse.

I said we live in a democracy, not that every minor decision goes to a plebiscite.

The fact that you don't like the wonderful building our democratic system delivered is your problem.

Learn to love it - it will be there long after you (and I) are gone.

And no doubt if the Nimby minority in DL pass on their objectionist mindset to their offspring, if someone tries to demolish it in 80 years time it will have become a priceless part of our heritage and your grand-kids will bore everyone in emotional pleading to preserve it!

It will be "iconic" - like the Twin Chimneys in the middle of Dublin Bay :rolleyes:

Qualitymark

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

It will be "iconic" - like the Twin Chimneys in the middle of Dublin Bay :rolleyes:

Or Dun Laoghaire Baths.

hatrickpatrick

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

But then it wouldn't be the beautiful graceful building that it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4m4lnjxkY#t=0m25s

hatrickpatrick

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

We do.

That's why we have the beautiful library and a small noisy crowd of Nimby obstructionists have to learn to love it

I was told by a team of re-election canvassers during the last local election that the library was a bigger complaint than anything else on the doorstep.
Subsequent newspaper reports backed that up.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/dun-laoghaires-new-library-is-a-bigger-election-issue-than-taxes-30282725.html

So we would appear not to be the small minority you accuse us of being.

Also it's hardly nimbyism. Nimbyism is when people support a concept or require a concept but don't want it close to them, such as waste disposal, prisons, hospitals etc. I'd be of the opinion that buildings which look like that don't belong anywhere at all, and are certainly not necessary. It's ugly as f*ck, and no amount of functionality is going to change that fact from my or a lot of other peoples' perspectives.

worded

Parking fines / fees have crippled dun Laoghaire. They are like flies around sh1t printing parking fines. Parking is free in carrcikmines and near free in dundrum sc and you don't have to look at that library building

RainyDay

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I was told by a team of re-election canvassers during the last local election that the library was a bigger complaint than anything else on the doorstep.

And yet many of the candidates who supported the development got re-elected. Funny how democracy works.

worded wrote: »

Parking fines / fees have crippled dun Laoghaire. They are like flies around sh1t printing parking fines for people who think that rules are for other people. Parking is free in carrcikmines and near free in dundrum sc and you don't have to look at that library building

FYP there.

hatrickpatrick

RainyDay wrote: »

And yet many of the candidates who supported the development got re-elected. Funny how democracy works.

Well I voted for one of them, on the argument at the doorstep that councillors were themselves misled about just how huge the thing would be. Given the undemocratic council manager system we have, that doesn't surprise me.
Are you aware that the councillors themselves wanted the library put somewhere else, but the (unelected) county manager vetoed that decision?
Some democracy.

the groutch

Schadenfreudia wrote: »

We do.

That's why we have the beautiful library and a small noisy crowd of Nimby obstructionists have to learn to love it

it's got absolutely nothing to do with nimbyism, it's about the cost and size of something that could have been half the size at half the cost and still serve it's purpose, and the rest of the funds to better use elsewhere, even if it had to be used on capital expenditure.

Qualitymark

There is a certain "The poor are hungry? Why don't they eat cake then" feel about building this giant air container while Dun Laoghaire so badly needs good social housing, jobs, facilities…

RainyDay

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Well I voted for one of them, on the argument at the doorstep that councillors were themselves misled about just how huge the thing would be. Given the undemocratic council manager system we have, that doesn't surprise me.
Are you aware that the councillors themselves wanted the library put somewhere else, but the (unelected) county manager vetoed that decision?
Some democracy.

Here's where the democratically elected Councillors voted to approve the library build.

http://www.dlrcoco.ie/newsevents/latestnews/2012newsarchive/title,7782,en.html

Would you like to show me where they voted to approve the library on another site?

Qualitymark wrote: »

while Dun Laoghaire so badly needs good social housing, jobs, facilities…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5hWWe-ts2s

Larbre34

Qualitymark wrote: »

while Dun Laoghaire so badly needs good social housing, jobs, facilities…

It is among the best served places in the Country for all those things. Social housing lists are bursting everywhere due to a dysfunctional housing market and economic collapse.