GOREY. Spaces and Places 8. Esmonde Street

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Baldwin Simpson
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1 GOREY Spaces and Places 8 Esmonde Street

2 Sports Ground Tennis Ground 43.5 E BM Esmonde Street is a second shopping zone in the centre, a special area with interesting shops and a more personal scale than Main Street, from which it leads down and under the railway bridge to the Tesco /Lidl shopping area. However it is not really in competition with either Main Street or the supermarkets as it has grown and developed speciality shops with reputations for quality throughout the region and further. But it has not had a great deal, in terms of the public space fronting shops. The street is wide and so are the pavements. There are trees lining the street in parts; they are lucky to survive their position on the street, and vulnerable to vehicles. Pavements are wide, but not beautiful. The lighting is desperate with wires hanging over the street. Vehicles travel quite quickly up and down the street, and unlike Main Street, the experience of crossing the road seems fraught with danger. The proposals are as follows: Street width and on- street parking are maintained, with widening of pavements at key points for crossing and in front of some shops to facilitate pavement activity. Crossings are intended to act as traffic calming measures, with centre of the road planting, lighting and dividers. The cross roads is rationalised to some degree to give a clearer priority system, giving way from the Wicklow entrance. Pedestrians get a much better deal with less roadway, more pavement. Keeping the existing structure of movement and the subtle control of street width at each of the crossings should lead to a slowdown of traffic. The achievement of quality surfaces for pavements and the provision of very wide pavements serially along the street should help to make it a more enjoyable walking as well as shopping experience. s m o n d e S t r e e t Right: Enlargement of crossing zone to show how it is composed as a stop in the length of the street with planting and lighting at the centre and a seat at either side. Car spaces are paved and defined by paving. This one is located at the entrance/exit to the lane- way that leads to the car park beside St Michael s church. Esmond Street Area 1:750

3 d oa R ow kl Ar Below: Crossroads is chaotic, but it means most people in vehicles are very careful...concern here is more for the pedestrian trying to cross the road. With four clear crossing points proposed, the temptation to make a diagonal dash across should be less; the width of crossing is also reduced by extending the pavement. oad Ma r 43.5 BM E s m o n d e S t r e e t S t M i c h a e l s R Right: The proposed traffic solution is to give priority to the Main Street traffic, which is turning down Esmonde Street and filtering left to the Arklow Road, or right to St Michael s Road. Traffic at the exit from the Arklow Road will have to give way to turn across the traffic from Main Street. It is quite likely that the traffic evaporation theory will apply here, with local traffic choosing to use the Courtown Road to come back around, up Esmonde Street, thus easing the right turn problem at the crossing... t S in t ee Left: Esmonde Street Colourful shopfronts contrast with the drab pavements and the deplorable wirescape. Right: Nice refurbishment of the Coach House at the top of Esmonde Street and a generous stretch of pavement. The crossroads sign is as chaotic as the crossroads This one, though, might be preserved as a keepsake of the multidirectional junction.

4 GOREY Spaces and Places 9 Approaching the Town

5 1 Approaching from Carnew, image lower right. This is the southern entrance of the old N11 at the junction with the Carnew Road. At present the Celtic cross memorial is an island in a sea of tarmac which is no longer needed at this scale. A roundabout is proposed on the far side of the memorial. The suggestion is to close of the slip road beside the terrace of cottages and to create a new mini- park which would connect the memorial to the footpath, making it accessible and giving it a better setting. It would also oﬀer the possibility of using the landscaping of the park to make an attractive visual entry point to the town. Welcome to Gorey Town Co Wexford 1 Approaching from Arklow, image on right. This approach, on the old N11 has a generous and now quiet road and an entry as the road descends and turns to the right, under the bridge and into the town centre. The enclosure of trees and the silhouette of the church tower could hardly be improved upon, except in detail. The suggested sign for Gorey superimposed on the picture is borrowed and adapted from Father Collins Park in Donaghmeade, Dublin, where it is a sign post for the Park. The column is in bush hammered granite; the text is etched onto a sheet of stainless steel which is inset into the granite. The sign could be accompanied by a raised, paved section of roadway which would also signal arrival and slow down traﬃc before the junction and bridge. The wall behind the proposed sign might be rendered and painted a lighter colour. Consideration might be given to providing a lighting standard in the median area of the road, along with a strip of planting and kerb. Right: Aerial map showing triangle of space at the Carnew Road junction with memorial and redundant roadway, which can be limited to residents access only and landscaped to make a small park and a more enclosed arrival point for the town. Proposed roundabout is shown on the map with connection to Tesco new site. Below: Image shows the prominent memorial and unnecessary width of roadway, which can be closed at this end: with access in a narrow version for residents only at the slip road end.

6 2 From the N11; Gorey centre is 1 km away; undulatingcountryside with fine hedgerows Continuation of unspoiled countryside; the curving road helps reduce speed First sign of the town; Amber Springs Hotel not obtrusive, with good hedging boundary Large billboard type sign makes a poor impression.tourist Office sign unnecessarily large. Better to have, as well, a Welcome to Gorey sign as proposed on N11 north end... Trees mitigate impact of large buildings on entry.5 signs in picture; 4 not ok. Attractive trees frame buildings as they appear, to mark the beginning of town proper Pleasant sweep through trees, nice stone walls, buildings framed, and the Avenue visible Arrival point at roundabout. The Avenue takes over as the lead road into town centre

7 GOREY Spaces and Places 10 Greenways: Connecting New Schools with Housing Sites

9 Exploratory Map of possible directions of greenways with the intention of linking the western areas of the town with recognised greenways, where safety and security of users is a prime consideration. The map should not be taken literally as these routes need to be explored in detail with input from residents of these areas to establish their feasibility.

"Description of the urban and architectural development conceptual design of the historical city centre of Gorzow Wlkp. R3DC4T

"Description of the urban and architectural development conceptual design of the historical city centre of Gorzow Wlkp. R3DC4T Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski is an important regional city centre