BROADSTONE PLAZA CONSTITUTION HILL – AT LONG LAST IT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Earlier this month it was announced that Broadstone Plaza – Grangegorman Gate would open in September. On my return form Waterford last Friday I was surprised to discover that the opening had gone ahead, without me, while I was away. I was somewhat disappointed by the fact that the college campus element was not yet fully open to the public.
As I live nearby I really do hope that this public space does not become a magnet for anti-social behaviour.
The initial project was described as follows more than two years ago:
“The Broadstone Gate will provide a key access to the Grangegorman site once complete and is being developed as part of the Luas Cross City works. It will be finished as a public plaza and the access will provide 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 Weatern Railway Station commonly known as Broadstone, and will mark a prominent entrance to the Grangegorman urban quarter.”
“Under the Grangegorman Masterplan, the primary urban path through Grangegorman – St Brendan’s Way will link with the Broadstone Gate which when completed will reach 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.”
MAYNOOTH RAILWAY STATION – DUKES’ HARBOUR AND NEARBY
I am working on a new project that requires me to photograph the Royal Canal between Dublin Docklands and Maynooth and the first step was to travel to Maynooth by train today. Unfortunately as soon as I arrived at the railway station it began to rain and it was really heavy and as a result I got on the next train back to Dublin. However the weather got better as I got closer to Dublin so I got off the train at Castleknock and I walked to Ashtown thus completing part of the project.
The railway station is situated on the south side of the Royal Canal, opposite Dukes’ Harbour. Access to Maynooth is by either the footbridge to the west, which leads to the Main Street of Maynooth; west along the canal walk to residential areas of the town, or via the road bridges to the east, which lead north to the older part of Maynooth, or south to the newer areas.
The station has two staffed ticket desks and four automated ticket machines, one inside and three outside the station building. The ticket office is open from 06:00 AM to 23:15 PM, Monday to Sunday. [note: the ticket desks were closed when I visited]
The footbridge crossing the tracks and connecting the two platforms was originally situated at Lansdowne Road railway station.
From Maynooth onwards to Sligo, the line is a single-track railway, the line being a double-track railway from Maynooth to Bray.
The 2018 NTA Heavy Rail Census showed 6,625 passengers using the station on the day of the survey, up from 6,228 in 2017 and 5,262 in 2016.
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