Albert Dock Area

[scouserdave]

BTW, I was in the Albert Dock yesterday a.m. and the only people there apart from myself, were a coach load of schoolkids who were visiting The Tate. The shops must make all their money over the weekend.

[Kev]

It will be buzzing again when the redevelopments end and the visitors flock in. A trip to the Albert dock will be all part of the ride for them. A concert followed by a drink and a meal and a nice walk around. Or the other way around.

[scouserdave]

It will be buzzing again when the redevelopments end and the visitors flock in. A trip to the Albert dock will be all part of the ride for them. A concert followed by a drink and a meal and a nice walk around. Or the other way around.

Problem is though, that tends to be weekend stuff and the people are ferried(eh?!) in by coaches. During the weekdays, trying to cross the road is a bit like navigating the M6 at 8am

[MissInformed]

I used to go to the Albert Dock nearly every weekend when I was younger. I remember hiring a rowing boat with some friends, and we didnt even get lifejackets!
We could have been killed!

Oh well, I hope it does pick up, it would be sad if we were just left with bars and restaurants down there...

[christy]

There was a Euro study (in the 90s I think and linked to the objective one status) ) which identified Liverpool as having one of the lowest rates of car ownership anywhere in Europe and compared it with places like the poorer parts of southern Italy. A lecturer in planning/transport at John Moores Uni produced a related study with the dept of Architecture and design concluding that at the time, the starnd could be totally barred to traffic and it would make no long term difference to traffic flow etc. How much it would make now is a different prospect with the rerouting of traffic for the new developments and big dig etc but an opportunity was defo missed I think!

Remember the council knocking back the proposed link bridge acroos the strand from Chavasse park to the Albert dock and using the old Sahnkland plan walkways as an excuse because they all ended up being demolished. The fact that a lot of them went nowhere because the whole plan (awful though most of it was) was never put in place and therefore they were not used was ignoreed.. Walkways/bridges are fine, it is the design that makes the difference. I heard the bridge may have been designed by Santiago Calatrava (sp?) which would have been amazing.
Same as them saying the cost of putting the treaffic below ground for this stretch would be too much - well Grosvenor are building a tunnel there now while traffic still uses the road. We have so suffered from a lack of vision in the past. Sorry for ranting for ages but I get a bit mad about these things.

[Waterways]

There was a Euro study (in the 90s I think and linked to the objective one status) ) which identified Liverpool as having one of the lowest rates of car ownership anywhere in Europe and compared it with places like the poorer parts of southern Italy. A lecturer in planning/transport at John Moores Uni produced a related study with the dept of Architecture and design concluding that at the time, the strand could be totally barred to traffic and it would make no long term difference to traffic flow etc.

That is still the case today. The Strand and Dock road can go along most of its route and make little difference to traffic. The benefits to the environment and quality of life would be enormous.

[christy]

The benefits to the physical environment would be enormous, especially between Georges dock gate and the Albert dock. The stretch from the Liver buildings to White star offices is such an impressive stretch of road and the equal in scale and width of any major city in the world. Banned to traffic, pedestrianised, the ground floor of the buildings developed and road welll planted and landscaped, this would be one of the nicest open urban spaces in Europe.

[Kev]

AN EIGHT metre-high floating crystal "chandelier" is to herald the renaissance of the Albert Dock as a tourist destination.



The Fountain of Life sculpture by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will be lit by 800 lightbulbs powered by a specially-designed underwater plug.

It is being funded by a £3.4m package to boost visitor numbers across Liverpool's waterfront attractions by providing better links between sites like the Pier Head and new Kings Dock stadium.

It includes a new exhibition centre telling the history of the Albert Dock, where the toilets will receive a major upgrade with new showers and baby changing facilities.A 35-metre pedestrian bridge will be built linking the Albert Dock to the new Kings Dock Arena and Convention Centre (ACC).

Stretching across Dukes Dock, the six metre-wide steel structure will lead visitors from the stadium to a modernised gateway at the Albert Dock's Britannia Pavilion.

And a series of signposts will lead tourists around the city's world heritage site and new canal link, encouraging them into surrounding facilities like the new Museum of Liverpool and Pier Head ferry terminal.

The projects all come under the umbrella of the Waterfront Connections scheme, being led by Liverpool Vision.

They will include better disabled access across the World Heritage Site attractions by the end of 2007, and upgrades to street decorations like flower beds.

"This is like the glue which will bind all the attractions together and create one branded Liverpool waterfront destination", said Vision's project manager, Alistair Macdonald. continues...

[A.D.W]

The numpties at the Echo using metric again.

Sigh!

[taffy]

Spotted this manhole cover at the Albert Dock recently. It was made in MANCHESTER. Oh dear !!

[Kev]

Spotted this manhole cover at the Albert Dock recently. It was made in MANCHESTER. Oh dear !!

[Kev]

THE new director of Liverpool’s Albert Dock last night pledged to spearhead an “unmissable world class attraction”. more

[AK1]

This is great to hear. The albert dock should be more entertainment and leisure than shopping. It's a place where people go to walk around and relax, not rush about to get the latest offers.

[Kev]

[chippie]

Kev, nice photos. The dock looks quite serene with no people about. Quite an alternative sight to when I was up there last and it was bustling.