Elegant entrance to city is scarred by traffic congestion, bad planning and skips in gardens

Rathmines is one of the most diverse parts of Dublin, both socially and architecturally. But like so many other "urban villages", it is also plagued by traffic, official neglect, poor planning, lack of affordable housing and inadequate recreational facilities.

Instead of waiting for Dublin Corporation to draw up a local plan for Rathmines, a number of residents' associations in the area got together and commissioned the UCD School of Architecture to carry out a detailed study identifying the community's needs.

The principal aim of the Rathmines Initiative is to re-establish the old township "as a place that the community can identify with and be proud of" through conservation, traffic calming, more infill housing, better leisure facilities and "suitable" commercial activities.

Intended as a "blueprint" for the future development of Rathmines, the study was undertaken by second-year architecture students under the direction of Gerry Cahill, local resident and lecturer at the UCD School of Architecture, and later refined by public consultation.

Somewhat surprisingly, in view of the recent trend to convert "bedsit" houses back to single family use, the study found that 62 per cent of the population of Rathmines is still squeezed into multiple dwellings that account for 28 per cent of the housing stock in the area.

Though densely-populated, Rathmines is "dramatically short of public spaces and amenity areas". And since ball games are prohibited in public parks, the study suggests that pitches should be available to the public in St Mary's College and the Church of Ireland Training College.

The area's only public open space, Tranquila Park, on Upper Rathmines Road, is virtually useless and suffers from problems arising from its original planning, lack of maintenance and vandalism. The study says it should be divided into separate zones for recreation and relaxation. Assuming that Cathal Brugha Barracks comes up for redevelopment, it proposes that the southern end of this under-utilised 40acre State-owned property should incorporate playing fields for the local community, surrounded by new housing of appropriate scale.

Built as the Portobello Cavalry Barracks between 1810 and 1815, it now seems inevitable that its function will change. In that context, the Rathmines Initiative believes it should be redeveloped for housing, with new blocks built in sympathy with the existing layout.

The study also proposes that the corporation's cleansing depot, occupying a large off-street site in the heart of Rathmines, should be developed for a mix of social housing and workshop units. More infill housing is also proposed for corporation estates.

Recognising the predominance of private-sector tenants, it suggests a scheme of tax incentives to encourage the provision of purpose-designed buildings offering bedsit-type accommodation as well as the upgrading of substandard flats in older multiple dwellings.

Though the study says that Lower Rathmines Road provides an elegant entrance to the inner city, it bluntly concedes that it has been scarred by the removal of railings and "the parking of cars, junk, skips and omnivorous [sic] pieces of household rubbish in the neglected front gardens".

And while "the inhabitation of front gardens by shops is at this stage a tradition in Rathmines", it puts forward the idea of inserting a pedestrian lane behind the existing shops as well as infilling the remaining plots with other units to give a uniform street line.

The study also proposes shortening the front gardens on Lower Rathmines Road to provide space for a cycle lane under a line of trees. At present, as it says, cycling in the area is "a stressful ordeal" in the "loud, petrol-fumed atmosphere" created by heavy traffic.

"Rathmines was not planned for the automotive age and thus suffers from serious traffic and parking problems," the authors say. Traffic calming measures are advocated, including a new pedestrian island at the very busy junction of Rathmines Road and Rathgar Road.

The study suggests that Richmond Hill - described as "an eyesore" - could be improved visually if front gardens were cut back and new walls, piers and gates built for every home, leaving room for a line of trees on the footpath. But this is "unanimously" opposed by residents.

THE study also highlights what it calls "the plight of the Town Hall", designed by Sir Thomas Drew and built in 1896. Its once spectacular galleried auditorium, with a capacity of 2,000, has been marred by the insertion of a false ceiling to cater for classroom use by the VEC. The proposal is to restore the auditorium as "a public gathering room right in the middle of Rathmines".

As for the nondescript swimming-pool, located just off the main street, the study suggests that this entire site should be redeveloped to provide a public space backed by a new "landmark building" incorporating a swimming-pool and other recreational facilities.

The planning study was co-ordinated by Margaret Dillon and compiled by Ciaran O'Brien, of Gerry Cahill Architects, and it is available in a large format printed version or CD-rom. Further information may be obtained from Ms Dillon, telephone (01) 497 4643.