Estimating  the size of the crowd at protests can be a pain the head. However, things get vastly easier if the protest stops somewhere and you have fairly clear photographs of the protesters and the area they are occupying, ideally taken from a vantage point.

The household charge protest yesterday meets those requirements when it was outside the Dublin convention centre in the Docklands.

From within the convention centre, David Cochrane of politics.ie had such an advantage point to take photos. He stitched the images together and posted the combined image to the politics.ie Facebook page. He says the protest was static at the time. The crowd all in one pic is also shown on irishtimes.com – while this image shows the mass of the crowd all in one, it does not show us the ends (but Cochrane’s image already shows us this).

Now you need to get the area. Roughly Cochrane’s image shows that the protest fills Guild Street from the quay side to nearly as far as the Luas tracks, as well as a small bit onto the Samuel Beckett bridge and a a few meters west on North Wall Quay. Along Guild Street, in satellite view, Google Maps still shows the current park and footpath (where the protest barrier is located) as part of the buildings site, but with local knowledge, we know that the location is just meters past the old wall shown on Google Maps.

Roughly, but at the same time conservatively, the protest filled at least this area:

(If the map image does not show, click here to see it on Twitpic)

That’s just under 4,000 meters squared (3974.41 m²). Because this is an estimate, we’ll just say 4,000 m².

But how many people are there per square meter? Yesterday, on the way to what turned out to be a tram which was not running, I walked past the south-west end of the protest and it looked fairly compact (it was hard to get past with a pram!), but it’s best to rely on an overall view. Images from news site including this gallery on thejournal.ie also show an overall fairly compact crowd, with some spread out bits — there’s some places where there’s gaps but in the middle and near to the top of the barriers people are very close together.

Writing about protest crowd counting, the BBC says: “…three people per square metre is comfortable and four is like a rock concert”.

Going by the photographs and the rest of the above, one person per square meter would be far more spread out than what is shown. Given the protest area was conservatively 4,000  m², that discounts the lower estimates for yesterday of 4,000 people.

While there might be parts of the protests near the barriers which look a bit like a rock concert closeness, it does not meet that level overall. If as the BBC says “three people per square metre is comfortable” and that could be applied to the protest, then there would have been about 12,000 people. That would put the upper estimate above the 10,000 protesters claimed by some of the organisers.

But going by the photographs — which have to be relied on because this writer did not walk around the protest — there were some significant gaps which make three people per square meter unrealistic. The 10,000 figure could be more realistic as an upper estimate.

What about the lower range? If three people per square metre is comfortable, two per square meter must be very comfortable. Two people per square meter in this case is 8,000 people — well above most reported estimates.

Even if you departed from all of the above evidence and came up with a very conservative estimate of 1.5 people per square meter, that gives 6,000 people which is again above most reported estimates.

But going by the evidence, between 8,000 to 10,000 people is our estimate.

For the record: We also estimated the numbers at a past protest, which was other issues.  The figure we arrived at was 10,000 people less than the most reported figure, and an eye-watering 60,000 less that the crazy higher estimate reported by The Guardian for the protest. So, it’s not a case of the media always doing one thing or another, in that case the media had a high figure and in this case a fairly low one.

MAIN IMAGE: William Murphy / infomatique on Flickr, CC some rights reserved.

Children and toddlers played on the street outside their houses:

It’s a reminder that streets don’t all have to be car parks and rat runs. Why isn’t the above planned?

While it might be unreasonable for streets everywhere to be closed, Grangegorman Upper is an example where this might work on a more permanent bases — on-street parking is far from being in short supply and there is a parallel alternative access route to Grangegorman Lower.

Joe Higgins, searing political wit and staunch defender of the working classes, is a tough act to follow. But 27-year-old Paul Murphy is quietly confident that he can fill the shoes of the great Socialist when he takes over as Dublin MEP next month.

A native of Ballinteer who has been assistant to Joe Higgins since 2009, Paul Murphy is the Socialist Party’s choice to fill the seat left vacant at the European Parliament since Higgins regained his position in the Dáil.

Subject to final approval by MEPs, he is due to attend his first plenary session of the parliament in April as Ireland’s youngest ever MEP. Despite his tender years, Paul is already a seasoned activist and political advisor, having campaigned on Socialist issues for over ten years.

Although he was down the list of substitutes to replace Joe Higgins, Paul Murphy was the only candidate free to assume the role. Former Councillor Clare Daly won a seat in the Dail, while second substitute Councillor Ruth Coppinger had family obligations which prevented her accepting the job in Brussels. Paul insists there was no power struggle involved in his selection, and dismisses claims that anyone had been “shafted”.

Paul Murphy MEP

“This is the Socialist Party, no-one is in it for the career gains or the money! There is no dispute between any party members,” he said.

In line with his predecessor, Paul Murphy will claim less than one third of his annual MEP’s salary estimated at €90,000. He will only accept an average workers’ wage of about €24,000, plus travel expenses, and will donate the rest of his earnings to workers’ groups and human rights campaigns.Murphy is determined to continue Joe Higgins’ work in Brussels of exposing what he described as the “predatory nature” of the EU’s trade policy.

“I will take over from Joe as a member of the International Trade Committee, where I will fight against the exploitation of under-developed countries for the benefit of European multinationals,” he said.

He will also keep a hand in domestic politics by campaigning against water charges, home taxes and other threats to working people. And Paul will also keep in close contact with mentor Joe Higgins, who was happy to give his blessing to his young colleague.

“Paul is highly competent and will be a very energetic EU parliamentarian, he will carry on with the same crucial issues that I fought for myself,” said Higgins.

Article by journalist Jessie Magee for Eurolink, which is funded by the European Parliament.

MAIN IMAGE: Some rights reserved by European Parliament

Dublin Bikes has gone from predictions of mass theft and vandalism, to one of the most successful on-street bicycle rental schemes in the world, so the big question is: “When will it expand?”

On the back of the scheme smashing all expectations in its first year, Dublin City Council has drawn up a plan to expand across the city, increasing the amount of bicycles from 500 to 5,000.

“When I first proposed it back in 2004, a lot of people said it’d never work, that all the bikes would be stolen or end up in the River Liffey,” said Labour councillor Andrew Montague, who is the chair of the Dublin City Council transport committee. “Thankfully it has turned out to be one of the most successful bike rental schemes in the world.”

The first millionth journey was achieved last summer and the bikes have now being used for over 1.7 million journeys. There are nearly 50,000 subscribers and around 30,000 of those are yearly subscriptions. It is now an accepted feature of the city’s landscape, used by business men in suits and estate agents commonly listing the nearest station as a feature on property rental adverts.

The main problem with Dublin Bikes is how its success has led to capacity issues at stations.

The first phase was funded by advertising billboards in a controversial deal with ad company JCDecaux, but advertising is now taking a back seat with the new expansion.

“Predominately this is going to be funded by a few different sources – firstly the National Transport Authority is going to put some funding to it, and we’ve also got commitments from various businesses who want a station near their business and they’re prepared to pay for it,” says Cllr Montague.

He adds: “There may be some advertising, but if there is it will be a very minor part of it. Advertising was 100 per cent of the funding before, now it’ll be a very minor part of the funding.”

The Fine Gael-Labour programme for government, taken at face value, can be seen as more ambitious than Dublin City Council’s plans for expansion, which are confined to its area of the city. The programme says: “We will continue to invest in the National Cycle Policy and we will look to extend the Dublin Bikes Scheme across the wider Dublin area and to other cities and integrate the scheme much more effectively with public transport links.”

Will Andrews, chairman of the Dublin Cycle Campaign says: “It should be pushed as soon as possible. It should be given whatever funding is required – which is not hugely significant compared to what has been spent on motorways. It should be given everybody’s support.”

Does the campaign support more advertisements? “As long as the bikes get on the ground and the bikes work, we wouldn’t really want to interfere with how it’s funded. Personally as a citizen of Dublin, you’d hate to see too many of those billboards going up,” says Andrews.

With the funding from businesses model, it is not yet clear if these businesses are willing to spend on set up costs, or if they are willing to provide key on-going funding which keeps the system maintained. “We’d have to get into negotiations with them,” Cllr Montague said. “But they have indicated they are willing to provide money.”

A Dublin Bikes station

The Dublin Cycle Campaign believes bike rental schemes should be rolled out in every city in Ireland and even larger towns.

And what about users contributing more to the costs? “There may be slight variations in cost, but we’d like to see the existing structure retained – you get a great take-up because the first half hour is free and it encourages people to leave bikes back quicker,” Andrews says.

Cllr Montague says Melbourne’s bike system – which has 600 bicycles, about 100 more than Dublin – is used for about 100 to 150 trips a day in summer time, while Dubliners did “2,000 trips per day in the snow.” The council’s report on the expansion (see the link at the bottom of this page) says there’s an average of 5,000 trips on weekdays in the summer and 4,000 in the winter.

JCDecaux said today that the daily record was broken yesterday, Thursday March 24. “Yesterday saw a new rental record of 5,874 journeys being taken in one day, perhaps a reflection of the sunshine we’ve been having in Dublin this week,” said JCDecaux on its website today.

The city council’s report highlights journey time reliability, health, tourism, and fewer emissions as some of the main benefits of the plan. Needing to lower emissions may sound strange in a recession, but traffic emissions in parts of Dublin were recently recorded as exceeding EU limits.

The docking stations will be expanded first to the Docklands and the Heuston areas, covering Islandbridge, and as far as Kilmainham. Following this, it is planned to be rolled out to a total of 14 zones – which will cover:

[3] Dolphin’s Barn and the Liberties;
[4A] Fairview, East Wall, and Croke Park;
[4B] Phibsborogh, Cabra, and Stoneybatter;
[5] Ballsbridge, Ranelagh, Rathmines;
[6] Drumcondra, Marino, and parts of Glasnevin;
[7] Harold’s Cross;
[8] Ringsend, Irishtown, and Sandymount;
[9] Parts of Drimnagh and Inchicore, and further areas of Kilmainham;
[10] Donnybrook
[11] Further into Rathmines and Ranelagh, out as far as Rathgar and Clonskeagh;
[12] Areas around Crumlin and Terenure;
[13] Glasnevin east and central
[14] DCU and Whitehall.

If the five year plan goes ahead as scheduled, the ambitious strategy also mentions further expansion into the rest of the city council’s areas, such as Finglas, Ballymun, and Ballyfermot.

Why was the order chosen? Cllr Montague explains: “Each expansion has to connect to another, so you can’t start in the city centre and then put a station in DCU, you have to work from the city centre out.”

He says: “The most important expansion is the east-west expansion in the city centre, that’s why that’s the first – down towards Grand Canal Dock and towards Heuston Station. That’s the really high demand area, and we focus on high employment and high density residential areas as well.”

On a timeframe, Cllr Montague says the first phase has to go out for tender. “Until we get the tenders back we can’t say for sure, but I’d be hopeful within a year or so we’ll get it up and running, but I think once we get the first stage up and running it’ll be quicker after that.” But he adds: “There are no definitive dates yet.”

MORE: Dublin Bikes Strategic Planning Framework 2011-2016 (PDF)
MORE: In Pictures: Canal cycle route (under construction)
MORE: Millions for strategic cycle route suspended due to objections
MORE: DATA BLOG: Dublin Bikes subscriber numbers released
MORE: City council “committed” to expanding Dublin Bikes
MORE: Bike scheme advertising questioned
MORE: One millionth Dublin Bikes journey expected
MORE: Dublin Cycle Chic Fashion Show on Dublin Bikes and more

The record seems to be playing the same tune even after Dart, Luas, and Commuter rail have proven hugely successful and proven their opposition wrong. Here’s an opinion article from the Sunday Independent on June 3, 1979:

So the electrification of the Dublin-Bray suburban line has been approved. There can be few projects in the history of the State for which there was less jusification. Here we had a railway line which does about 2% or urban transport and in doing so loses nearly as much money as do the Dublin buses, which carry twenty times as many passengers.

The line is wasteful of fuel; there is good evidence to show that petroleum imports whould be saved if it were closed and all its passengers used cars, one person to a car.

So what does the government do? Does it put more money into the more economic bus services, which serve the poorer areas? Not on your life. It proposes to spend nearly £50m, much of it on imported machinery, so that even more — four times more — half-empty trains parade up and down the line, using a system (electrication) which is inherently less fuelefficient than the current diesel system — and far less efficient than buses.

You and I — the taxpayers — would have to fork out less if instead of electrifing it the government bought a brand-new car for each of the line’s present adult passengers to do their suburban travel in; and in doing so they would use less fuel than the proposed system would.

The article went on to argue against the wider Dart project proposed at the time. The Dublin Rail Rapid Transit Study (DRRTS) recommended a phased expansion of Dart to other parts of Dublin. Click on the image to enlarge it in all of its glory and typographical errors:

There are different kinds of sweets on offer but the real selling point is mixed sweets in a jar that you stuff in as many as you can. Strangely, there’s no scoop here to pick up the sweets — you have to use a medical-like glove to push as many as you can into the plastic jar.

“I’m not sure what point this goes from a challenge to being greedy,” I told the staff as they encouraged me to stuff more in.

The 500ml container is €9, and there are two smaller sizes. But how much you get in is up to you — the labelling warns, “This is the 500ml container, however, scrumptious goodies and weight vary”.

You also get to choose the label. These range from Facebook references to “A gift from Dublin” to the cheesy — like the one pictured to the right which reads “I’m sweet on you – You’re so sweet you give me a toothache”.

Is it worth it? We have not compared prices, but it’s great fun. It’s worth a try at least once and it would make a quirky gift.

You can find them at 13 Sprangers Yard, Temple Bar — from Dame Street, it’s to the left hand side of the Central Bank, and close to the DublinBikes stand. Their website happypills.ie does not seem to be live yet.

View Happy Pills, Temple Bar in a larger map

Dublin City Council have been installing Luas-like electronic, real-time timetables at bus stops since last last year. It should mean an end to waiting for a bus that for some reason is never going to come, but how well does it work?

We watched one of the units today for a short time outside Xtra-vision in Fairview and the system worked. It worked reasonably well. Most of the buses came when the on-street screen said they would.

Although it is a testing phase, one notable problem seemed to be that buses stopped at traffic lights 100m down the road were sometimes wiped from the screen as if they had already come and gone.

Other buses went from being ‘due’ back up to an estimated arivial time of 1min. This is a feature of the system, not a flaw. When buses are delayed for whatever reason –traffic, traffic lights, etc — the GPS tracker on the bus tells the system the bus has stopped or slowed. The system reacts and the estimated arrival time at the stop is then updated accordingly.

An old lady at the stop in Fairview seemed to be ignoring the bright new stand and instead struggled with the printed timetables. Unlike the new signs which estimate when a bus is due to arrive, the current printed timetables only tell users when a bus is due to leave its starting point, it’s up to users to guess how long the bus will take.

The old woman told us her bus — the 130 — was cut in frequency and complained about the timetables. When we pointed at the shiny new display unit she was sceptical. Minutes later when she was boarding the 130 she said “That was more than five minutes.” It was the bus was at least a minute late, but minutes feel a lot longer waiting for a Dublin Bus on a sunny day and it was raining at the time.

There’s likely to be many sceptical users to convince, and real-time information can’t solve all of Dublin Bus’ problems. Although it is hoped the GPS tracking systems on buses will also be used to give buses priority at junctions.

The National Transport Authority said last week that the live testing phase is designed to check accuracy of the information. It invited bus users to give their feedback at transportforireland.ie.

The signs were switched on for the first time last November. Since the PR launch on Friday at least 10 of the units are up and running. Work is continuing on installing 450 screens at bus stops in the Greater Dublin Area. The screen units will be mounted to stainless-steel polls at stops — many of these polls are already visible at bus stops.

All Dublin bus stops have been mapped out and numbered. At stops where these will be no screens, passengers will be able to use the bus stop number to get the live data using text messaging and a website.

MORE: Transportforireland.ie
MORE: Transport authority hopes for open access to real-time bus data
MORE: Boards.ie thread on real time information

IMAGE: Work on footpath improvements along the route

How does a cycle lane cost so much? It seems mainly because of junction crossing, boardwalks, CCTV, bridges and street water drainage upgrades. Many of which are not directly linked with cycling.

People trying to walk along the canal will see major improvements — the main one being able to cross junctions without having to dodge cars and buses.

The cost of the route from Portobello to Guild Street will come in at around €6m says Ciarán Fallon, the cycling officer at Dublin City Council. The full cost was originally estimated to be around €10. The funding is ring-fenced only for this project by the Department of Transport.

Fallon said: “Nine major junctions are being re-signalised to provide for pedestrians and cyclists. Drainage and public lighting is being upgraded along route. A traffic communications fibre optic cable in being laid and a CCTV system is being installed.”

Pedestrians will see benefits with the installation of toucan crossings (designed for both cyclists and pedestrians) at busy junctions along the Grand Canal from Portobello to the Docklands. Currently much of the route is not signalled for pedestrians. Visual and mobility impaired users should also find the upgraded crossing easer to use.

He continued: “Pinch points on Charlemont Place are being widened by the construction of a retaining wall and a canal boardwalk.” The section between Charlemont Place and Leeson Street Bridge is a pinch point because houses back on to the canal, leaving only a small and heavily used walkway.

Fallon also notes: “There are substantial costs associated with working in proximity with underground services – 10 bar gas distribution main and 220kV electricity.”

Although, it is now unclear what options will be used on the cycle route between the Dockland and Fairview Park, it is understood that bridges made up a substantial cost of up to €4m for the short section. Plans included a tall bridge needed to cross the Royal Canal and railway tracks. Between West Road and Fairview Park there was also planned to be a bridge crossing the River Tolka.

The route is seen as a key part of creating strategic cycle routes along Dublin’s canals and Dublin Bay. Large sections of these routes are already built but are unconnected. The current project from Portobello to Fairview is seen as one of the most expensive sections because it crosses a large number of busy junctions.

The route’s traffic light sequencing between Portobello and the north Docklands will be a deciding factor for many – if travel times are worse than the adjacent roads, faster cyclists will likely avoid the route. But it will provide a friendlier environment for families, newcomers and those not in such a hurry. Fallon says that discussion on the sequencing is ongoing and due to be tested. If all goes well sections could be open before July.

MORE: Millions for strategic cycle route suspended due to objections (includes map)

The O’Connell Monument is only planned to be removed before the main works start. However, it said that monuments to James Larkin (pictured, right), John Gray and William Smith O’Brien on O’Connell Street will be removed for enabling works.

“The Larkin, Gray and O’Brien monuments must be moved to facilitate the enabling works.  Other monuments, including the O’Connell Monument must be moved in advance of the main works commencing,” said Manning Tom at the RPA.

Ironically, given current water supply problems the city has, archiseek.com says the John Gray statue celebrates “his efforts in bringing a water supply to Dublin in 1868.”

As part of the Irish Sports Council’s National Walking Event, in conjunction with Operation Transformation, a new Irish Heart Foundation Slí na Sláinte walking route, ‘The Metals’, will be launched by An Cathaoirleach Cllr. Lettie McCarthy on Saturday, 15th January 2011 at 12pm in County Hall, Dún Laoghaire. On this day every county in Ireland will have a similar walking event to cater for all levels of fitness, but may be of particular interest to those looking to start exercising again.

Slí na Sláinte (“Path to Health”) is a unique initiative of the Irish Heart Foundation designed to encourage people to get more active and get walking, on routes marked out at 1 km intervals.

The Metals Slí na Sláinte route is 3km in length (6km return) from Dún Laoghaire Pier to Dalkey, suitable for all levels of walker and it is supported by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Department of Transport’s Smarter Travel Project Fund and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Sports Partnership.

Speaking in advance of the event, An Cathaoirleach Cllr McCarthy remarked, “Connecting Dún Laoghaire to Dalkey, the new route takes in some of the most scenic and historical streetscapes  and villages in the County and provides an attractive link for pedestrians and cyclists to DART stations, schools, recreational facilities and shopping.  Residents and visitors alike will benefit from this new amenity, and I strongly encourage the community to come out and join us at the launch of the new Slí na Sláinte route and the Irish Sport Council’s National Walking Event on January 15.”

Edel Byrne from the Irish Heart Foundation added: “We hope the community of Dún Laoghaire will get great enjoyment and benefit from the new Slí na Sláinte route in the town. Getting active makes such a big difference to your heart and overall health, helping to reduce stress, ease back pain and reduce the risk of heart disease. For heart health adults need at least 30 minutes of physical activity, such as brisk walking, five days a week. By having a clearly marked and safe walking route, we aim to make it easier for people in Dún Laoghaire to get active as part of their normal day.”

The new Slí na Sláinte will be launched by an enjoyable walk along the route and the unveiling of the route map board, followed by light refreshments. Trained walking leaders will be available and the event will include information on the history of The Metals. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

For further information on this event and to register your interest please contact Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Sports Partnership at 01-2719507 or sportspartnership@dlrcoco.ie.

Anyone seeking further info on Slí na Sláinte routes can contact Edel Byrne, Slí na Sláinte National Co-ordinator at the Irish Heart Foundation, 4 Clyde Road, Dublin 4, Tel: 01 668-5001 or e-mail: ebyrne@irishheart.ie