Three new Liffey bridges (re)planned

Muahahaha

Seems the Docklands bridges are back on the agenda with new developments beginning there soon funding the first pedestrian bridge next year. All the bridges were earmarked before but stopped when the economy sank. The bridge connecting Ringsend to the north quays will be a road bridge, completion of that will be four years away.
There's still no sign of Dublin City Council sticking to their promise to make the East Link toll free though.

DUBLIN will get three new bridges over the Liffey as part of a plan to redevelop the docklands region into a business hub.
It is understood the council will soon begin searching for designers for at least one of two planned new pedestrian bridges, with work due to begin next year.

The other is a traffic bridge to connect Ringsend with the quays.

The council will this year commission the designer of one of two footbridges.

It will be located between the East Link Bridge and the Samuel Beckett Bridge.

Plans for the bridges had been in the works for several years, but the financial crisis halted the progress.

However, rising property prices have prompted work to begin again.

Planning applications for the crossings are likely to be lodged early next year, with the area designated a special development zone.

The pedestrian bridges will cost between €10m and €12m each to build, but this will not be borne by taxpayers. It will be paid for with levies on the developers revamping the region.

All three of the bridges should be completed within four years.]

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/three-new-bridges-planned-for-liffey-30900214.html

neris

be interesting then to see what the impact would be on using the liffey for things like the tall ships and river festivals. The head of dublin port was on the radio at the weekend saying they wanted to use the river more for things like festivals and events and were already putting a bid in for the tall ships again which would be before any new bridge was built. Though the north quays from the convention centre to the point needs redevelopment its like a wasteland at the moment

Peregrine

This was in the Docklands SDZ plan:



The bulky dotted line at the confluence, between Ringsend and Britain Quay, is the road bridge.

Pedestrian bridges between Forbes Street and North Wall Quay and Castleforbes Street and Sir John Rogerson's Quay.

I guess the pedestrian bridge south of the road bridge, over the Dodder and the lock of the Grand Canal, isn't as important right now.

Faith+1

At this rate why don't pave the entire length of the Liffey? How many bridges do we bloody need in this city.

JTMan

Nim wrote: »

The bulky dotted line at the confluence, between Ringsend and Britain Quay, is the road bridge.

Do you know if it be a public transport bridge or car bridge?

Nim wrote: »

Pedestrian bridges between Forbes Street and North Wall Quay and Castleforbes Street and Sir John Rogerson's Quay.

The Indo article says one of these two bridges is going to design stage this year. Do you know which 1?

Nim wrote: »

I guess the pedestrian bridge south of the road bridge, over the Dodder and the lock of the Grand Canal, isn't as important right now.

There already is a run down one there.

Peregrine

JTMan wrote: »

Do you know if it be a public transport bridge or car bridge?

I think it was originally talking about a public transport bridge but I don't really see the point. There aren't that many buses going that route. I hope it's for all road users.

JTMan wrote: »

The Indo article says one of these two bridges is going to design stage this year. Do you know which 1?

Unfortunately, no.

JTMan wrote: »

There already is a run down one there.

There's the lock at the canal, yeah. The plan was talking about conecting Ringsend to Hanover Quay so they'd have to build something over the Dodder.

JTMan

Bus routes will get re-routed.

The toll bridge will be a factor.

ekimiam

20 million could be better spent elsewhere. theres enough fe*king bridges!
build some social housing AAAHHH.

Peregrine

ekimiam wrote: »

20 million could be better spent elsewhere. theres enough fe*king bridges!
build some social housing AAAHHH.

Good luck getting the developers to pay a levy to build social housing. If the people living/building there want bridges and are willing to pay for it, what does it matter to you?

And for the record, no, there aren't enough bridges in the docklands.

King George VI

Why on Earth would the Liffey need more bridges? There's far too man as it is.

HeidiHeidi

God almighty, is there no sense whatsoever of the Liffey as a useable resource in its own right?

There seems to be an absolute determination to permanently and completely disable the Liffey as anything other than water flowing under as many traffic bridges as possible.

Depressing!

ekimiam

Nim wrote: »

Good luck getting the developers to pay a levy to build social housing. If the people living/building there want bridges and are willing to pay for it, what does it matter to you?

And for the record, no, there aren't enough bridges in the docklands.

that money could be used for anything, doesnt have to go into two new bridges. could go for social centers on either side of the liffey.
the developers have to pay the levy anyway, why shouldnt the city get a choice instead of another two bridges.
and there are enough bridges on the liffey. the docklands dont need another 2.

people building there should be told where to spend it, not given a choice

LXFlyer

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

God almighty, is there no sense whatsoever of the Liffey as a useable resource in its own right?

There seems to be an absolute determination to permanently and completely disable the Liffey as anything other than water flowing under as many traffic bridges as possible.

Depressing!

The two planned bridges across the Liffey are pedestrian bridges not traffic bridges.

The bridge across the mouth of the Dodder was certainly supposed to be for public transport only - I'm not sure if that is still the case. Clearly bus routes would be realigned if it is to be for public transport.

HeidiHeidi

lxflyer wrote: »

The two planned bridges across the Liffey are pedestrian bridges not traffic bridges.

The bridge across the mouth of the Dodder was certainly supposed to be for public transport only - I'm not sure if that is still the case. Clearly bus routes would be realigned if it is to be for public transport.

Any bridges at all are going to restrict river traffic.

Someone went to all the trouble of building the excellent marina and pontoon beside the conference centre, and then built the Samuel Beckett bridge downriver from it, rendering it all but useless as the SB bridge is such a hassle and expense to open.

The East Link can be opened and closed in the space of about 5 minutes with no personnel required bar the man to push the buttons. I've forgotten the figures for the SB bridge but it requires about a team of 6 or 8 and multiples of that time to open and close. So they won't do it, except in exceptional circumstances. So the marina is effectively redundant.

I'd imagine it was quite a thrill for visiting boats to be able to moor so close to the city centre - I know I've visited many towns and cities by boat and it's a big deal not to be in a marina miles from anywhere. Could and should have been a big selling point for Dublin.

Some joined-up thinking that was.

Any more bridges downriver from the SB bridge will only make matters worse for visiting boat traffic. I'd imagine it's goodbye to the Tall Ships, and most other visiting shipping.

The Liffey has always been an underused (non-used, mostly) resource in the city. More bridges will only be more nails in its coffin as an asset to Dublin.

NSAman

Well that rules out using the Quays for boats in the future. Not to mention security issues on the South quays , personally it is fine the way it is now. I can see a nightmare for people living here when there is a concert in the 3 arena, with parking which is already tight enough for those who do not have a designated parking space in their buildings.

Do we really need these bridges? IMO absolutely not.

Tristram

Security issues on the south quays?

Greenmachine

4 years to build a couple of bridge across the liffey.

dsmythy

I live in East Wall and work near Bray. I'm going to tell you now there are NOT enough bridges in that neck of the woods.

AndonHandon

Traffic on the Beckett Bridge bottlenecking causes delays at Pearse Street (1 kilometre away) and all the way up to Jury's Hotel on the North Quays at times. These bridges are desperately needed.

LXFlyer

AndonHandon wrote: »

Traffic on the Beckett Bridge bottlenecking causes delays at Pearse Street (1 kilometre away) and all the way up to Jury's Hotel on the North Quays at times. These bridges are desperately needed.

At the risk of repeating myself, the two bridges proposed across the Liffey are pedestrian bridges and not traffic bridges, so I'm not sure why you think they will help the traffic situation?

The third bridge across the mouth of the Dodder may well only be for public transport if the original plan is followed through.

subpar

The pedestrian bridge between the Beckett Bridge and the East Link is badly needed

NSAman

subpar wrote: »

The pedestrian bridge between the Beckett Bridge and the East Link is badly needed

For what purpose? So you can save 5 minutes walk?

HeidiHeidi

One bridge is said to be located between the SB bridge and the East Link. The traffic bridge between Ringsend and the south quays.

Where's the third one going?

We surely don't need TWO pedestrian bridges west of the East Link?!

If they're pedestrian, and can be lifted easily (which is mentioned in the article, although this is the Indo we're talking about) and frequently I suppose it may not be so bad.

My faith in the whole planning/foresight/joined-up-thinking process is destroyed though after the SB bridge was built in the way it was.

AndyBoBandy

I wonder what the Ringsend bridge will do tp traffic going through Thorncastle street in Ringsend?

loyatemu

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

One bridge is said to be located between the SB bridge and the East Link. The traffic bridge between Ringsend and the south quays.

Where's the third one going?

We surely don't need TWO pedestrian bridges west of the East Link?!

there's a picture in post 3 - it is 2 pedestrian bridges between East Link and Beckett. I guess the idea is to link up the north and south docklands into one integrated area

LXFlyer

Andybobandy wrote: »

I wonder what the Ringsend bridge will do tp traffic going through Thorncastle street in Ringsend?

It is supposed to be for public transport only.

Aard

Makes perfect sense. The Liffey is relatively wide at Docklands. The bridge spacing is wider than around Temple Bar even with the new bridges. Docklands is going to see the most concentrated amount of construction anywhere in the country over the next fifteen years. Without new bridges the river acts as a giant wall between north and south.

I can't see why anyone would oppose this.

Muahahaha

Likewise, this isn't about saving people a 5 minute walk. Its about integrating north and south by making each easily accessible to the other regardless of where you are. There's going to be thousands more apartments going up in Spencer Dock, Bolands Mill redevelopment plans just went in, Glass Bottle site won't be empty forever either.

Though I do agree with other posters that consideration needs to be taken for visiting boats, its a market that can be grown in Dublin with the right investment so I hope they don't install bridges that mean only barges will have an easy passage.

JuliusCaesar

It's lovely to see boats on the Liffey.

There used be a ferry that would take pedestrians across the river down near Docklands in the long ago; more (cheap) ferries across and along the river would be brilliant. Although at low tide the river near Heuston is slimey and shows a lot of mud. Still it doesn't stink - which seems to have been forgotten. (What did they do with the river to stop it stinking, sometime in the 80s I think?)

Anytime I've seen boats on the river - the rowing clubs seem to travel down to town every now and again - people stop on the bridges and quays, taking photos, and seem to enjoy the sight.

Rowing at Customs House

And fixed seat rowing

Santy

Linky

Victor

Muahahaha wrote: »

There's still no sign of Dublin City Council sticking to their promise to make the East Link toll free though.

Who promised this?

It is highly unlikely that it will become free for cars as it would just flood the quays with more cars.

That said, the revenue could be allocated to building a parallel bridge. The existing bridge can't be widened and isn't a great experience for pedestrians and cyclists.