Enhancement of O’Connell Street

Executive Summary

Sligo Local Authorities have a vision for Sligo; that of a compact city, a city for people, an accessible city, a green city, an enterprising city, a creative city.

The urban core of that city is to be a place of safety and human scale, free of the barriers created by traffic congestion and delivered back to the pedestrian in such a way that provides sustainable streets and places, that provide a balance between the demands of commercial realities and the need for calmed places for people to meet, carry out their business affairs and avail of the amenity that civic places, squares, and greens can provide.

Pedestrianisation and Urban Enhancement are key tools in the delivery of this vision and are pillars to the Gateway vision that is enshrined in the Sligo and Environs Development Plan 2004-2010.

Much has been achieved along the banks of the Garvoge river where the amenity value of the flowing river has been captured in a balance between commercial enterprise and it’s recreational potential. Much is planned and is being delivered in the new commercial quarter to the west of O’Connell Street in the Wine Street Centre Block Development. The first phase, that of Johnston Court shopping complex has just opened. An Bord Pleanala has granted permission to two further major elements of the Centre Block Masterplan and a fourth element is currently going through the planning process.

Combined, these commercial projects will generate a new pedestrianised civic square around which new residential, retail and recreational opportunity will be enjoyed. The square will be connected by pedestrian linkages to the existing urban core, via O’Connell Street.

The connection of key civic places and spaces already created at riverside, to those to be provided in the Centre Block Masterplan, is completed by the pedestrianisation of O’Connell Street. An internal, glazed atrium shopping galleria has been provided in the Johnston Court Development to the West of O’Connell Street and forms a strong linkage to the newly pedestrianised street. The enhancement of O’Connell Street, Sligo’s premier street, will provide a calmed place that will allow shoppers, visitors, and residents of the city core to enjoy the restaurants, public houses, shops and facilities that the street has to offer, in a safe and human environment. O’Connell St was formerly a heavily trafficked street that acted as a barrier to the ebb and flow of pedestrian movements to the riverside precinct, this barrier has now been removed. The completion of the O’Connell Street Enhancement project will provide a strong safe civic statement that grounds the city core to the idea of a people centred environment consistant with our city vision, allowing the cut and thrust of human exchange to flourish.

Policy Principles and Approach

Sligo Local Authorities are committed to an urban strategy (embedded in the Sligo and Environs Development Plan 2004-2010) that focuses on the enhancement and quality of its’ urban core. Specific transportation strategies and objectives – such as the Inner Relief Road to the west and the projected Eastern Distributor Road to the east with its’ associated East Bridge – have created the basis for a traffic calmed network of streets that will have been, in effect, returned to the pedestrian.

The enhancement strategy has a central theme: that of recognizing the value of the amenity of the Garvoge River and the necklace of linkages that connect to the river. These can take the form of streets, lanes and bridges or key cultural, amenity, historic or administrative buildings such as the Yeats Society, County Library, Gaol, and County Council and recreational amenity of Doorley Park and the Cleveragh Demese.

Sligo Local Authorities have delivered an enhanced riverside precinct through proactive interventions and framework planning that has opened up, heretofore, inaccessible and underdeveloped riverside frontage at Rockwood Parade and have continued this theme by significant enhancement of JF Kennedy Parade, Riverside, Crozon Parade and Doorley Park. Linkages have been provided by the provision of a footbridge at the intersection of Rockwood Parade and Waterlane. This bridge connects the core of Olde Sligo at Market Cross via the pedestrianised Waterlane to the North Bank of the river at Stephen Street car park (which is used an organic market at weekends) to Sligo County Library at Stephen Street. The North bank of the river has been paved and made accessible with a pedestrian link being provided from Hyde Bridge to the 1682 New Bridge at Bridge Street. The Retail Market has responded to these interventions by its decision to locate cafes, bars, and restaurants as well as residential and retail outlets in this area yielding a vibrant and attractive mix of uses that contribute to a living and sustainable urban core. The area is now used for street festivals promoted by the Local Authorities Arts office, street markets, and community groups.

Sligo and Environs Development Plan 2004-2010 together with the Wine Street Centre Block Masterplan has a vision whereby a new Shopping precinct will be delivered on an existing surface car park and brown field sites owned by SBC and private interests. The Masterplan strategy sees the provision of multi-story car parks with direct access to the Inner Relief road. Ease of access for vehicular traffic is achieved by maintaining and collecting vehicular traffic at and from the periphery of the urban core, and allowing the development of new pedestrian precincts, that connect via two existing arteries directly to O’Connell Street, Sligo’s premier Street. The existing pedestrian achievements along Rockwood Parade, Water Lane and Tobergal Lane have provided pedestrian links to O’Connell Street. However, the heavy flow from south to north through O’Connell Street has created a traffic dominated barrier to the enhanced pedestrian flows between the river, the existing city core, and the proposed Wine Street Centre block masterplan developments.

The closure of O’Connell Street to vehicular traffic, while controversial initially has proven to be a success from both the pedestrian and traders perspective to the point where there are now high expectations for the immediate enhancement of O’Connell Street to complete the process.

Project Description

The proposed enhancement of O’Connell Street in Sligo is one element of a strategy to traffic calm the main body of the city’s urban core. The development proposes:

• The removal of the existing undersized concrete footpaths.
• The removal of the existing asphalt road surface.
• Traffic calming of the junctions of O’Connell Street with John Street and Grattan Street to the south and with Lower Knox Street to the north.
• The rationalization and future proofing of subterranean services and utilities which will include the removal of leaking undersized Victorian water mains, provision of new sewers, provision of extra ducting for all utilities, the replacement of an existing Victorian brick storm water culvert, and the provision of new water mains. This element of the project is particularly important in that once the new paving is installed the council does not want to disturb the newly laid paving with further excavations to the street.
• The paving of the entire street in a combination of different stone types to include Granite and Limestone and Basalt that takes account of the access needs of pedestrians, service vehicles, and persons with special needs.
• The introduction of automatic control barriers to facilitate traffic management of the street during specific periods of servicing and access to the street for emergency services.
• The provision of high quality street furniture which will include new public lighting, banner poles, benches, bollards and litter bins. The scheme will also provide for the inclusion of CCTV cameras.
• The scheme proposes new soft landscaping and trees in limited areas.
• The objective of the scheme is to provide a high quality inner urban environment where the balance of retail shopping and recreational amenity can be supported and enhanced in a safe and accessible way.

The challenge of the scheme is to provide a street language that allows for the provision of vehicular deliveries in the early morning period whilst allowing the pedestrian to safely use the street in that period, but to maintain a pedestrian priority in the appearance and ambiance of the street.

At the intersection of Lower Knox Street and O’Connell Street at the northern end is a major public space, fronted by the Edwardian General Post Office. This space will become a traffic calmed square that allows the paving works to O’Connell street to fuse with Lower Knox street to the east and Wine street to the west. A combination of smooth and textured paving along shop fronts in contrasting tones will facilitate orientation for persons with visual special needs while textured corduroy paving slabs placed 2.4 meters from the shop fronts on both sides of the street will provide a safe zone for pedestrians during early morning deliveries.

Collaboration

The development of the O’Connell Street Pedestrianisation and Enhancement project has involved extensive consultation. Parties to this consultation process are the members of Sligo Borough Council and Sligo County Council, the Infrastructural , Planning, and Community Directorates of Sligo Local Authorities, the O’Connell Street Traders association, Sligo Chamber of Commerce, the Emergency Services including the Gardai, the Ambulance service, and the Fire Service, Bus Eireann, the Taxi Association. The access needs of persons with special needs were addressed through the forum of the Sligo Access Committee. The utilities, ESB, Telecom, Broadband providers, together with the Sligo County Council service providers of water and waste water disposal have also been consulted as have Sligo Borough Council’s Parks Department, the Sligo Local Authorities Arts Office, St. Patrick’s Day Committee, Sligo Live Committee, and Yeats Society.

- Aerial View of Sligo's Core

- O'Connell Street (turn of 20th Century)

- Aerial View of Centre Block

- O'Connell Street 2007

- JFK Parade

- Rockwood Parade

- Centre Block Master Plan

- Vision of Centre Block Pedestrianisation

- O’Connell Street: Sligo’s premier shopping street

O'Connell Street Design Development

- Lower Knox Street Junction with O'Connell Street

O'Connell Street Design Development

- O'Connell Street North

- Consultation Document

- O'Connell Street circa 1860

- O'Connell Street circa 1900

Costs
 

Conclusion

The O’Connell Street Enhancement Project is a bold statement of intent which is driven by quality in design, materials and finish, that confirms the commitment of Sligo Local Authorities to it’s vision of the emerging Gateway City as a sustainable city that has at it’s core, the creation of people centred environments that balance and provide for the commercial realities which drive the growth of the city centre.

Risk Analysis

Severity Scale

• 5 Very Severe
• 4 Severe
• 3 Moderate
• 2 Small impact
• 1 Little or no impact on the project

Risk of Occurrence

• 5 Definitely will occur
• 4 High risk of occurrence
• 3 Moderate possibility of occurrence
• 2 Small possibility
• 1 Unlikely possibility of occurrence

Risk Response

• Avoidance: Consequences are avoided by changing the project Plan.
• Transfer: Transfer the consequences ownership and responsibility of the risk to a third party.
• Mitigation: Reduction of the probability and/or severity of a risk to an acceptable threshold.
• Acceptance: Accepting the consequences of the risk by developing a contingency plan or by accepting the impact of the risk