All Photographs Supplied By William Murphy
AT WOLFE TONE PARK 5 MAY 2023
The feel of the area has greatly improved as a result of the greening of Wolfe Tone Park. This is now a well located and maintained docking station … of course all are well maintained but some locations are better than others.
DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 77 WOLFE TONE STREET
The robust bicycles are produced by the French bicycle company Mercier in Hungary and are repaired by JCDecaux. They are three-speed bicycles, fitted with Shimano Nexus gears which can be changed up and down using a twist/grip shifter on the right handlebar. A Shimano hub dynamo in the front wheel generates power for front and rear always-on LED lighting. The bikes are fitted with Schwalbe Marathon tyres. Other components include a locking system, an adjustable cushioned saddle, a front bicycle basket, a kick stand and a bell.
Each station is equipped with an automatic rental terminal and stands for 20 to 40 bicycles. Initially, fourteen terminals have credit card facilities enabling the user to purchase a 3-Day Ticket.
If a user arrives with a rented bicycle at a station without open spots, the terminal grants another fifteen minutes of free rental time. The rental terminals also display information about neighbouring dublinbike stations, including location, number of available bicycles and open stands. A fleet of bicycle-transporting vehicles are used to redistribute bicycles between empty and full stations.
BROADSTONE LUAS TRAM STOP
There was once a harbour at this location: Broadstone harbour’s location was chosen for its proximity to the markets and the law courts. Bolton Street was the preferred site, but high land prices and objections from local residents forced its relocation to Broadstome. The Kings Inns, designed by James Gandon, was built opposite the harbour and, like the Four Courts and Custom House, was designed with its frontage on a waterfront.
The Broadstone Gate provides a key access to the Grangegorman site and has been developed as part of the Luas Cross City works. It has been developed as a public plaza and the access provides a major linkage between Grangegorman and Dublin city. The plaza is situated off Constitution Hill on the site of the Old Royal Canal at the former Great Western Railway Station commonly known as Broadstone, and is now the most prominent entrance to the Grangegorman urban quarter.
Under the Grangegorman Masterplan, the primary urban path through Grangegorman – St Brendan’s Way acts as a link with the Broadstone Gate which reaches as far as Prussia Street. The link with Broadstone can also be seen as an extension to the 18th century historic spine of Dublin City which covered Dublin Castle across Grattan Bridge, along Capel Street/Bolton Street, Henrietta Street and King’s Inn.
