LOCALS IN NORTH Dublin city are objecting to a ‘Berlinesque’ wall that’s been erected as part of Luas works in the area.
The dispute centres on a wall that’s been built on front of the 19th century Broadstone railway station. The station will be the site of the new Broadstone-DIT station when the Luas Cross City works are completed.
The railway station has been obscured for a century by a range of buildings, recently by a petrol station, but Compulsory Purchase Orders mean the view has now been cleared.
A public concourse is envisaged for the site on front of the Luas stop.
Locals say that the decision to build another wall on front of it is a “travesty” and that over 1,500 signatures have been collected opposing the plans.
Phizzfest, the Phibsborough Community and Arts Festival, is organising a protest today and says that people were not made sufficiently aware of the wall.
“This wall that’s been built has been largely obscured, because there are a lot of hoardings up, so you don’t really see it that clearly. It’s only when you look for it,” says spokesperson Ciara Considine.
Considine says that the objections and the petition came about when locals realised that the wall was a permanent fixture.
Phizzfest also argues that the original design for the station had a guard rail and not a concrete wall.
The campaign is being supported by a number of local representatives. The Green Party’s Ciarán Cuffe says the opportunity at Broadstone should not be wasted:
Broadstone has the potential to be a fantastic civic space for Dublin and we’ve got to get it right. The ugly concrete wall is an eyesore, and needs to be redesigned so that the Broadstone Station designed by John Skipton Mulvaney is fully visible, rather than stuck behind a concrete wall .
Considine says that Luas Cross City agreed to attend today’s protest to receive the petition and that they appear open to dialogue.
A request has been made of Luas Cross City for comment on the matter.
The demonstration and petition handover will take place from 2pm at Broadstone Station later today.
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