Restoration of historic gates, new bins, more seating and reopening of the North Road following works
Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Patrick O’Donovan visited the Phoenix Park on Wednesday, 26 May 2021, to view a number of ongoing projects including the restoration of the historic entrances and gates of the Park, installation of new bins and the completed works to the North Road. Following his visit, Minister O’Donovan said: “I am delighted the road works on the North Road have been completed ahead of schedule and that the restoration of the historic gates and entrances is almost complete. The Phoenix Park enjoys a huge popularity, and the OPW is responding to increased footfall over the past months, and going into the summer, by installing new solar compactor bins, additional benches and bicycle stands in the park, which I’m sure will be much appreciated by visitors.”
North Road
The North Road reopened today following essential road repairs to the road surface and adjoining footpaths. The project involved the removal and disposal of existing road surface and relaying of new road surface, taking up, cleaning and relaying of existing granite kerbs and the removal and disposal of existing footpath and relaying of new footpath surface. Other ancillary works included the installation of traffic calming ramps along the 2.5 kilometre stretch of road. The road has remained closed since Monday, 12 April, and the Office of Public Works (OPW) is delighted to reopen the road earlier than the previously expected date of 18 June. The cost of the project is approximately €700,000 excluding VAT. While the newly resurfaced road and footpaths are reopened again to the public, some works are still ongoing at Cabra Gate and these involve the rehanging of the restored historic gates and the surfacing to the road and footpaths adjacent to them. This gate will remain closed for a further 1 to 2 weeks.
Gates
The restoration of the historic gates and entrances continues on site. Currently works are either completed or have commenced at all seven of the entrances to be restored and the project is due to be completed by the end of July. The entrances were originally installed between 1833 and 1906 and this is the first time that they underwent major conservation and restoration.
The restoration works at Knockmaroon Gate and North Circular Road are complete, while Cabra Gate and Grangegorman Gate on Blackhorse Avenue will be completed in the next 2 weeks.
Installation of Solar Compactor Bins
Today, the OPW commenced a 1-year trial of solar compactor bins in the Phoenix Park. The trial is for 40 units at multiple locations across the Park. The capacity of these bins is five times greater than the current bin stock in the Phoenix Park. The 40 units of solar compactor bins have an overall capacity of 20,000 litres of litter between services. These bins are fully sealed so wildlife cannot remove litter from them. A similar trial will soon commence in St Stephen’s Green Park.
Seating and Bicycle Stands
The OPW has received some requests for additional seating in the Park over the past few months due to the increased usage of the Park. We have taken on board these requests and are currently installing new benches throughout the Park. These benches are in keeping with the historic design of the Park and will provide some additional areas for park users to rest as they enjoy the surrounds of the Park.
We will also be installing additional bicycle stands in the coming months and we would welcome submissions from Park users to where additional bicycle stands are required. Please send suggestions for locations by email to superintendent.park@opw.ie and we will consider all requests.
