Swords Masterplan - Fingal County Council

6.6 Urban Form – Streets
LINKING THE TOWN CENTRE TOGETHER
Objectives:
● To provide for a clearly defined street hierarchy. Each street will be
designed according to the core principle that the street is a space, a
place of containment and activity rather than simply a movement and
access route. The scale and character of each street, its width, and
the height of buildings along it shall relate to this hierarchy. A high
degree of permeability will be provided throughout the street network,
with provision for 24 hour streets and minimum 18 hour streets.
● To create a strong central 24 hour pedestrian street, ‘Central Street’
through the Pavilions site connecting the Cultural Quarter, Metro
Quarter and Barrysparks lands.
● To create a strong 24 hour public transport route, ‘The Rise’,
through the Pavilions site connecting the historic Swords Town
Centre, Metro Quarter and Barrysparks lands.
STREET NETWORK
The proposed network of streets will be distinguished in character via:
● Width to height proportions, which will reflect the primacy of the streets
within the scheme. Urban design and daylight criteria will govern the
width-height relationship.
● Primary use, for example retail, residential access, office use etc, will
result in differing street widths and materials.
● The Streets will take the form of a mix of sheltered streets with glazing
or unsheltered streets. The purpose of the sheltered streets is to
protect shoppers against inclement weather conditions, while at the
same time facilitating permeability and a network of 24 hour movement
within the scheme which is more akin to a Town Centre environment
than a shopping mall.
● All streets will be designed with passive security in mind, including the
following features:
– Overlooking by residential and other uses on the upper floors
– Clear and unobstructed street lines without recessed or hidden areas
for easy surveillance at ground level
– Residential and office accommodation should have street addresses with
overt street level entrance lobbies distributed along all 24 hour routes.
– All routes should have alterative access points so cul-de-sacs are avoided.
– Clear street naming signage should be used throughout the area in a
consistent manner to a Swords Town Centre standard design.
– No element of the buildings adjacent the streets shall project over the
street width, except intermittent bays less than 10% of the street width.
S W O R D S M A S T E R P L A N
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