Swords Masterplan - Fingal County Council

area. The development of the parks will require a site-specific Landscape
Strategy and associated Appropriate Assessment. This shall be completed within
12-24 months of the preparation of this Masterplan.
While the treatment the public realm of the major urban spaces is discussed in
detail elsewhere in this document, this section of the Masterplan highlights key
issues of the public realm strategy for the Town Centre as a whole and consists of:
● Streetscape (the ‘streetscape’ includes facades addressing the public areas
as well as the highway, cycle lane, pavements and associated street furniture
and planting).
● Street furniture
● Signage
● Lighting
● Public Art
The following are key public realm criteria to be considered in relation to
Swords Town Centre:
1. The design and layout of buildings must incorporate the principles of
passive surveillance to encourage a community atmosphere while
discouraging anti-social behaviour.
2. Active frontages are to be provided around the main public spaces,
especially those of the major activity nodes.
3. Pavements and walkways must be wide enough to accommodate
wheelchairs and pushchairs and have dropped/sloping kerbs to
ensure safe and easy crossing points.
4. All crossing points should be located on pedestrian and cyclist
desire lines.
5. Guard rails and other street furniture should be kept to a minimum
consistent with maintaining safety standards while avoiding visual clutter.
6. Cycle paths should be clearly defined but changes of colour within
the highway should be minimised.
7. Paving materials should reflect the character of the area, whether it be
the historic core of the civic quarter or the modern retail of Pavilions.
8. The use of an agreed palette of materials will define the hierarchy of
streets and spaces in the Town Centre, enhance the setting of civic
buildings and identify pedestrian priority areas whilst reinforcing
local distinctiveness.
9. Signage and public art will be incorporated into the paving to add
additional visual interest and minimize clutter within the streetscape.
Detailing of railings and street furniture, such as planters, can also
function as elements of public art within the streetscape.
9.3 Street Furniture
Street furniture should help to create a distinctive and consistent identity for the
Town Centre whilst enabling individual character areas to be recognized. The coordination
of street furniture, public art and streetscape can reduce visual clutter
and create a ‘coherent’ Town Centre.
1. The use of local and environmentally friendly materials can assist in
minimising the visual intrusion of street furniture in the streetscene.
2. The design and positioning of street furniture should also be co-ordinated to
minimize clutter. Street furniture should be placed to avoid conflict with
pedestrian movement. It should not reduce the width of the pavement to such a
degree that it impacts on accessibility for users of wheelchairs and pushchairs.
3. Trees will be used to soften the landscape in key locations, for example on the
Metro Plaza they may be used to provide acoustic and visual barrier to the R132.
4. Coordinating street furniture with planting will assist in creating attractive
environments for pedestrians and in minimising visual intrusion.
5. The positioning of seating and other street furniture will take account of the
micro-climate. Ensuring protection from the wind and maximising sunlight
will enhance use of spaces whilst also assisting with maintenance of street
furniture.
9.4 Signage
Signage will be designed to convey directional and orientation information
(particularly for visitors). Signage should be consistent and co-ordinated across
the Town Centre. A Town Centre ‘identity’ can be achieved by consideration of:
● Typeface;
● Colour and materials used;
● Shape, proportions and even heights of signs;
● Use of logos.
1. Some signage will be integrated with the design of buildings, and reflect the
character of the area. Illumination of signage should be controlled,
particularly in historic parts of the Town Centre.
2. Where possible, signage should also be co-ordinated with street furniture
and with information boards.
3. High quality information boards/orientation signage will be provided at
priority orientation points such as the Metro Quarter.
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9.5 Lighting
Lighting is a fundamental element of any strategy for the public realm. The
design of the public realm must be able to support activity in the evening as well
as during the day. Streets and spaces must encourage activity and provide safe
and welcoming environments.
On a practical level, lighting can improve the attractiveness of an area and make
it feel safe for pedestrians at night. Lighting can also create interesting
environments by illuminating buildings or key routes and enhancing the setting of
civic buildings and spaces.
1. Lighting needs to be sensitively designed and positioned to avoid clutter and
light pollution. Lighting fixtures, fittings and columns should, wherever
practicable, be incorporated into existing or proposed columns, street
furniture and features to reduce the impact of lighting in the streetscape.
2. The approach to lighting, particularly of important buildings, should be coordinated
across the Town. The distinctive character of individual areas can
however be emphasised by subtle changes in the lighting strategies, and
coloured lighting can add a further dimension to this strategy. Low level
lighting is likely to be required, and energy efficient lighting should be
integrated into the strategy across the Town.
3. Lighting strategies for special (whether civic or seasonal) events should be
considered and the infrastructure incorporated into the design of new spaces
and buildings.