Madam, – Surely College Green is a better choice for locating an underground Dart, Metro and Luas hub than the planned St Stephen’s Green location? A large underground hub beneath the Bank of Ireland, the statues of Henry Grattan and Thomas Davis would allow people exit their trains and trams right in the centre of town. Alighting at St Stephen’s Green would mean most pedestrian traffic would have to flood northward down Grafton Street as there is little to draw pedestrians towards King Street, Harcourt Street, Baggot Street, and Leeson Street (with the exception of Earlsford Terrace and the National Concert Hall). On the other hand, disembarking at a major station on College Green would mean that those coming onto the street are more likely to walk in all directions and spread evenly across the adjoining streets – each of which is an arterial urban route.
Moreover, it is perhaps time to consider taking the former Houses of Parliament buildings back into public ownership. Fire robbed the building of its graceful dome before it was gutted by the bank as part of the conditions of sale in 1801; can we not restore and redevelop this wonderful building into something more than a prestigious counting-house? – Yours, etc,