Planning for the Modern Street
Above: Thomas Street in the 1970s. The street has always been a lively and bustling city market place. All of the buildings pictured in this terrace survive today, though many are now in a poorer state of repair, and in some cases have had their top storeys demolished.
Adjoining Areas: Cathedral Quarter to Heuston and Kilmainham Areas adjoining Thomas Street have seen their share of initiatives. To the east, framework plans were developed for the remaining sections of the City Walls, parts of which are still extant around Cornmarket, while the Ship Street-Werburgh Street Framework Plan (2005) seeks to stimulate the development of a “Cathedral Quarter” for the area between Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Both plans provide guidance for key opportunity sites in the area and include proposals to improve the public realm and create new public spaces, however both plans remain substantially under-realised. These frameworks should remain the basis from which to drive a high quality vision for the whole south-west quarter of the city centre and should be advanced in conjunction with other initiatives such as the refurbishment of Dublin Castle by OPW, greatly enhancing the tourism function of our most important State complex, and the preparation of the River Liffey Framework Plan by Dublin City Council, which will enhance and develop the amenity value and urban character of the river and its surrounding quays and streets. To the west of Thomas Street, framework plans and urban renewal projects have also been developed for the area around Heuston, including a “Museum Quarter” cluster centred on the National Museum at Collins Barracks, IMMA and other attractions in the area, which seek to harness and protect the historic character and features of these areas while providing for improved streetscapes, public spaces and legibility within the wider city. The realisation of these plans will help to further diversify the cultural and leisure activities in the city and create new opportunity to develop Dublin’s tourism appeal.
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