PUBLIC REALM + STREET DESIGN |
Carrigaline Transportation and Public Realm Enhancement Plan | Cork County Council + NTA
Urban Movement (public realm, streetscape and landscape design) alongside ARUP (transport and movement) were commissioned by Cork County Council and the NTA to develop public realm and landscape proposals for Carrigaline, to include the design of Main Street to promote more walking and cycling, better bus passenger experiences and an improved high street economy, alongside a new town square piazza with landscaped riverfront public realm.
This project was enshrined in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) which was the coordinated land use and transport strategy for the Cork Metropolitan area - setting out a framework for the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services to support envisaged growth in Cork.
In response, our project - the Transportation and Public Realm Enhancement Plan (TPREP) provides the framework for an integrated transport network for Carrigaline with the purpose of rejuvenating the town centre, enhancing cycle and pedestrian amenities for residents and promoting connectivity with surrounding destinations by sustainable travel modes. To deliver on this ambition our proposals were centred around reducing car use in the town centre; developing a transport hierarchy focussed on pedestrians, cyclists and public transport; Connecting schools, the town centre and other community facilities to residential areas with a comprehensive active mode network; providing routes on the outskirts of town to accommodate vehicular traffic; and rebalancing movement and place along Main Street to make space for people-focussed public spaces and streets.
The main street has traditionally been the focus for community activity in towns and villages all over the world. The place to shop, socialise, relax, visit the optician, get on a bus and all the other activities that require human interaction. Over the last seventy years or so, outdoor space for these activities to take place has gradually been squeezed to accommodate increasing volumes of motor traffic. Over and above the erosion of the quantity of the public space, vehicular traffic has other detrimental impacts on the quality of the remaining public space through noise and air pollution. On Carrigaline’s Main Street, the public spaces (primarily the footways) have been squeezed to a minimum with barely enough room in some places for two people to pass each other. One of the central aims of the Transport & Public Realm Enhancement Project is to rejuvenate Carrigaline’s Main Street so it can fully function, once again, as the community focus of the town. In addition to providing more space out on the street for people to shop, socialise and relax the public realm enhancement proposals will also make active travel modes (walking and cycling) more appealing and viable as ways to move around Carrigaline. The introduction of bus priority measures along Main Street will allow buses to move more freely, making public transport a more attractive travel choice. These aims will be aided by the more strategic transport proposals undertaken as part of this work, namely rerouting through traffic off Main Street and the introduction of a bus gate on the southbound section through the centre.
Our proposals were based on the understanding that the public realm exists for the benefit of everyone and should therefore avoid exclusivity. Our concept design attempts to strike an equitable balance between the needs of all the people of Carrigaline, including those just passing though, whilst helping to rejuvenate the economy and encouraging more people to walk, cycle and use public transport. We designed in places to sit, rest and socialise; trees to provide shade; places outside cafes and bars to eat and drink; places to park and secure a bicycle; comfortable places to wait for buses with shelters and benches; safe places for pedestrians to cross the street; and places to park, load and service shops.
This project was enshrined in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) which was the coordinated land use and transport strategy for the Cork Metropolitan area - setting out a framework for the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services to support envisaged growth in Cork.
In response, our project - the Transportation and Public Realm Enhancement Plan (TPREP) provides the framework for an integrated transport network for Carrigaline with the purpose of rejuvenating the town centre, enhancing cycle and pedestrian amenities for residents and promoting connectivity with surrounding destinations by sustainable travel modes. To deliver on this ambition our proposals were centred around reducing car use in the town centre; developing a transport hierarchy focussed on pedestrians, cyclists and public transport; Connecting schools, the town centre and other community facilities to residential areas with a comprehensive active mode network; providing routes on the outskirts of town to accommodate vehicular traffic; and rebalancing movement and place along Main Street to make space for people-focussed public spaces and streets.
The main street has traditionally been the focus for community activity in towns and villages all over the world. The place to shop, socialise, relax, visit the optician, get on a bus and all the other activities that require human interaction. Over the last seventy years or so, outdoor space for these activities to take place has gradually been squeezed to accommodate increasing volumes of motor traffic. Over and above the erosion of the quantity of the public space, vehicular traffic has other detrimental impacts on the quality of the remaining public space through noise and air pollution. On Carrigaline’s Main Street, the public spaces (primarily the footways) have been squeezed to a minimum with barely enough room in some places for two people to pass each other. One of the central aims of the Transport & Public Realm Enhancement Project is to rejuvenate Carrigaline’s Main Street so it can fully function, once again, as the community focus of the town. In addition to providing more space out on the street for people to shop, socialise and relax the public realm enhancement proposals will also make active travel modes (walking and cycling) more appealing and viable as ways to move around Carrigaline. The introduction of bus priority measures along Main Street will allow buses to move more freely, making public transport a more attractive travel choice. These aims will be aided by the more strategic transport proposals undertaken as part of this work, namely rerouting through traffic off Main Street and the introduction of a bus gate on the southbound section through the centre.
Our proposals were based on the understanding that the public realm exists for the benefit of everyone and should therefore avoid exclusivity. Our concept design attempts to strike an equitable balance between the needs of all the people of Carrigaline, including those just passing though, whilst helping to rejuvenate the economy and encouraging more people to walk, cycle and use public transport. We designed in places to sit, rest and socialise; trees to provide shade; places outside cafes and bars to eat and drink; places to park and secure a bicycle; comfortable places to wait for buses with shelters and benches; safe places for pedestrians to cross the street; and places to park, load and service shops.
