Sir, – Upon reading Una Mullally's column ("Design remains an afterthought when it comes to Dublin streets", August 7th) it was clear to me that the design team for the Dublin Cross-City Luas line would have benefited enormously from a visit to the city of Nice.
There is one tramway line (north-south) operational and a second (east-west) is well advanced in terms of construction.
The north-south tramway line traverses two of the most beautiful squares in the city: Place Massena and Place Garibaldi. As the tram approaches either of these squares it lowers its overhead pantograph and switches to its onboard nickel metal-hydride battery packs to cross these large open spaces. This simple and elegant solution for the squares obviates the need for poles and overhead wires (such as are now to blight the beautiful area of Dublin’s city centre) .
In addition, a portion of the east-west line traverses areas of the city centre which are rich in architectural features. Rather than compromise this architectural heritage with poles and overhead wires, 3.2 km of the line is going underground. Where there’s a will there’s a way. – Yours, etc,
DENIS O’SHAUGHNESSY,
Kilbride, Co Meath.