Luas stops are another information deficit zone. Charlemont is a favorite hobby-horse of mine as there are 2 exits stairs, one each side of the canal. There are no signs directing you to any exit - that the southern end is not exactly obvious - and nothing to indicate which is the best exit for which direction.
Similar stations abroad with more than 1 exit often have signs on the platform indicating the main streets and landmarks served by the various exits and the direction to follow. So the northbound plaform on Charlemont might have
<< Exit towards Grand Parade, Ranelagh Road & Dartmouth Square<<
>>Exit towards Charlemont Place, Charlemont Street & Hilton Hotel >>
Similarly the stairs on the northern entrance branch half-way up but there's no sign to say which stairs to take for which direction. I know you can cross over when you're up there but this may not be known by the prospective passenger.
The Luas maps are a start but I'm not sure how useful some of the information is: fire stations are marked but more useful details like hotels and shops are not. And the south east quadrant of each map is lost to allow room for a badly-written Veolia "mission statement" message.
The problem is not confined to Luas or rail stations. As a country we just can't manage to produce meaningful signs. The problem is more endemic than our legendary roadsigns. Try finding your way around an Irish hospital or figuring out how to be treated in A&E without asking someone "Where do I go...". In Dublin Airport some signs are in English only, some are in Irish too, some have pictograms, some don't, and every sign appears to be in a different font.
The attitude seems to be that the country is very small, everyone should know where they are going, and if they don't they can speak English (maybe Irish too) to ask directions from a friendly local.
And don't get me started on bus stops....
|