Dublin Corporation collected £85,000 in compensation from a hotel developer for this week's closure of Dawson Street - but it will not be handing out money to motorists who were inconvenienced by the ensuing traffic congestion.
The upper end of Dawson Street was closed last Monday to facilitate the erection of one of the tallest tower cranes in the city. It has spent the past five days lifting pre-fabricated bedroom units, complete with bathrooms, over the roof of La Stampa restaurant.
The 61-bedroom hotel is being developed by Mr Louis Murray, owner of La Stampa and a number of pubs and nightclubs in the city. Planning permission for the project, including its unconventional use of English-made units, was granted last October.
It is understood that Mr Murray first discussed the possibility of closing Dawson Street with the corporation a few years ago and was told that this would not present a problem. At the time, it was assumed that the work could be done over a weekend.
However, it transpired that the crane would take 17 hours to erect and another 17 hours to dismantle, so the corporation reluctantly agreed to close the street for a full week at a time when traffic volumes are relatively low.
The director of traffic, Mr Owen Keegan, said yesterday it had been a "very difficult decision" but it could not be avoided because of the earlier understanding reached with the developer.
Coincidentally, a new scheme of charges for road closures to facilitate construction activity in the city had just taken effect, raising the cost to developers from zero to £10,000 per day. As a result, Mr Murray was required to pay £85,000 "up front".
Mr Keegan admitted that the closure of Dawson Street had caused "huge traffic congestion" last Monday, mainly because of poor weather. "Since then, however, it has had hardly any impact and the crane should be down by Monday," he said.
"We regret the fact that anyone has been inconvenienced, but I don't subscribe to the view that roads in the city are exclusively for the benefit of commuting motorists. Property development is a legitimate business and this project involved a difficult landlocked site."
It was an advantage that the hotel, designed by Dublin-based 3-D Architects, was being built on a "fast-track" basis. The crane has been lifting pairs of bedroom units from flat-bed trucks parked on the street.
The new scheme of charges for road or lane closures reflects their impact on the city, according to Mr Keegan. "The more important the road is, the more you pay. It's designed as an incentive to minimise the amount of space and time taken up by any closure."
Mr Murray's £85,000, which actually incorporated a discount on the normal charge, will go towards funding traffic management, road safety and bus lanes, Mr Keegan said. "We're also having a Car-Free Day on Friday, September 22nd, when lots of streets will be closed."
