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For most people, O'Connell Street is the centre of Dublin city - it is traditionally where the trams stopped and nowadays nearly every bus route passes through it. O'Connell Street has been in decline since the 1960s. Up until the 1960s O'Connell Street was known for its cinemas, the GPO and Nelson's Column. With the destruction of the column and the closure of all bar one of the cinemas, the street has become a garish strip of discount stores and fast food restaurants. As the street increasingly became a no-go area after dark due to drugs and street violence, and business interests became concerned with a perceived fall in the quality and pulling power of the street, Dublin Corporation formed a committee to come up with a development plan for the street and its environs.
O'Connell Street is the main thoroughfare in Dublin City. It is the hub of a bustling city centre shopping precinct. In February 1998 Dublin Corporation launched a new action plan for O'Connell Street. This plan came about because of the very real concern that O'Connell Street was not living up to its potential as the finest street in the city and it had serious problems that needed to be addressed.
As part of the scheme, an area covering O'Connell Street, and parts of the surrounding streets has been designated for the execution of an integrated area plan. The area stretches from Parnell Square, Marlborough Street, to Westmoreland Street, D'Olier Street and College Street. As part of the scheme, individual buildings and groups of buildings of merit have been listed. Others that the corporation feel should be redeveloped or are in need of repair have also been listed for attention.
The plan looks at an area wider than just O'Connell Street and takes in the adjoining properties back as far as Marlborough Street on one side and Moore Street on the other. In also extends north to include Parnell Square and south across the river to College Street, along with Westmoreland Street and D'Olier Street.
The O'Connell Street plan concludes that nothing short of a redefinition of the existing uses is necessary if the street is to become effective as the main street of the capital and of the country. This will involve the development of a range of uses that generate animation, vitality and the kind of atmosphere that draws all sectors of society into the street and makes people want to stay.
The main proposals in the O'Connell Street integrated area plan are:
- To improve the pedestrian environment in O'Connell Street
- To create a dramatic new space in front of the GPO
- To remove one lane of traffic from each side of the street
- To provide a major new feature on the site of Nelson Pillar
- To bring about improvements for pedestrians in the adjoining Westmoreland and D'Olier Streets as well as Parnell Square
- To create a new pedestrian route from College Street to Marlborough Street via Hawkins Street and a new pedestrian bridge across the Liffey
The main recommendations of the development plan include:
- Widening of the pavements and central mall and reducing the number of traffic lanes in either direction to two lanes
- Construction of a Luas station (new tramway system) in Lower O'Connell Street.
- Construction of a plaza outside the General Post Office for use during civic celebrations and events.
- Extensive replanting of trees in a more geometric fashion to provide strolling boulevards in the paved areas.
- A competition to find a replacement for Nelson's Column to add a vertical emphasis to the street.
- It is also intended to introduce other improvements such as the upgrading of poor quality buildings and shopfronts, the construction of buildings on vacant sites and the reduction of car parking in locations such as Parnell Square.
In the long run it is hoped for the removal of traffic from the entire stretch of road from Parnell Square to Grafton Street. However, this can only happen once all of the changes proposed in the Dublin Transportation Intitiative's strategy have been implemented.
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