New Roads and Major Widenings, Central

A glance at the road map of the central city area will show that only the Eastern Area with O'Connell Street-Westmoreland Street as its backbone has been properly developed. We find in this area a sufficiency of radial roads feeding the centre and a network of wide roads to provide for the principal internal needs. The position is different in the central and western areas. There the radial roads are as inadequate as are the internal communications with the result that valuable central situations are in a derelict or semi-derelict condition.

Traffic.

One of the principal traffic problems is how to ease the centralised traffic stream converging on O'Connell Bridge and Butt Bridge. To deal with this, it is proposed to provide alternative through routes from East to West. On the East the new Cardiff Lane route will divert through North-bound traffic from the Dun Laoghaire direction and provide an easier alternative for Dock traffic. It will be seen that this bridge will form the natural link between the existing North and South Circular routes.

A small stretch of new road connecting Macken Street with Herbert Place will complete the ring.

The existing bridge congestion will be further eased by the rebuilding of the "Metal" Bridge and connecting' it with Dominick Street and Sth. Gt. George's Street. Further considerations in regard to the new bridges will be discussed later in this report.

Ring Roads.

A ring does not come into existence through imposing a geometrical form upon a confused street plan, but it is built up as a result of a series of requirements which gradually work themselves into a pattern. The inner rings of Dublin are roughly in the form of a spiral, having its origin at the City Hall.

The formation of a central internal ring system - Capel Street - Church Street - Bridge Street - Lord Edward Street - can be carried out almost entirely by widening roads at present of inadequate width and broken frontage. This will bring into fruitful use large areas at present hardly accessible.

St. Stephen's Green, North, should be continued via South King Street, to link the South with the central artery system.

It is an essential feature of our proposals that an alternative route, South of and parallel to the quays, should be formed as a continuation of Misery Hill (near the new bridge) on the East and running, via Fleet Street and Cook Street, to join James's Street in the West. There appears to be no likelihood of the disappearance of horse traffic in the near future and this route could be adopted to deal with this slow form of traffic running East-West through the city, thus freeing Dame Street and the quays from the slowest form of traffic.

We suggest an important East-West link road immediately to the North of the central city area which would link with Parnell Street to the East and debouch, via North King Street and Arbour Hill, at the point of Phoenix Park to the West.

Radial Roads.

The principal new radial approaches would be via Crumlin Road, and so to an opened-up Christ Church Place. It may be found that a widening of Cork Street would give adequate connection along that stretch. A possible future canal bank road is indicated which would connect with the Naas-Rathcoole Road, serving the North side of the great new Crumlin housing area. A new North-West radial would connect Cabra with the centre, either via Manor Street or if it is decided eventually to remove the Grangegorman Mental Hospital, via the hospital site as shown.

The widening and straightening of Phibsboro' Road would complete the necessary work on radial roads to serve the City centre.