Promenade - Megathread

[Beelzebub3]

1 minute ago, Nellie said:

I may well have walked past you! Thought much the same. Although there are some sections where you can see progress, week to week, there's no doubt a lot of time is being wasted.

Last week, at the new fancy zebra crossing, by Victoria Street, there was a guy, actually lying on the ground, playing on his phone....... I really wish I'd taken a photo. This is one of the bits now being done by DoI own staff. I know people get tea-breaks etc. but, as you say, a bit of common sense..........

I must admit the DOI team were very busy watching a digger at the Regent st end, further along a Gibson's van 2 men one working, one on phone then as above, not one machine moving JCK men moving cones around at the Gaiety and a few standing around killing time opposite the Villa.

[Andy Onchan]

17 minutes ago, GD4ELI said:

Hardly - it's reclaimed land.

So is most of London but they still have to have onsite archaeologists for major developments.

[GD4ELI]

23 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

So is most of London but they still have to have onsite archaeologists for major developments.

Under the prom, dig down - it's granite. Good luck. Big difference to London.

[Numbnuts]

Heard a story today via a MUA guy that low voltage cables havent been put in and 2 trenchs will have to be dug to accommodate them in a area that has been already finished . Not on plans which would tie in with previous stories I'd heard .  

Edited August 10, 2020 by Numbnuts

[ellanvannin2010]

On 8/8/2020 at 11:41 PM, TheTeapot said:

Paparazzi 

He must be dreading the fact that Howard Street will shortly  be shut for many weeks whilst the DOI gang lay the paving at their seemingly 5 bricks a day speed and not the Gibson lot who seem to be able  to do much more, much quicker with less personnel

Edited August 10, 2020 by ellanvannin2010

[dilligaf]

As much as I love the restaurant, it is a walk in,  not a drive through. Plenty of parking nearby and pedestrian access always open. Owning a business does not give you absolute control of the roads outside your premises .

Same as it is not the job of Government to supply tourists for the hotels , Who can’t be arsed to advertise. ( Covid-19) being outside this argument .

[ellanvannin2010]

3 minutes ago, dilligaf said:

As much as I love the restaurant, it is a walk in,  not a drive through. Plenty of parking nearby and pedestrian access always open. Owning a business does not give you absolute control of the roads outside your premises .

Same as it is not the job of Government to supply tourists for the hotels , Who can’t be arsed to advertise. ( Covid-19) being outside this argument .

It is a coffee place as well, I suppose the parking nearby depends on what you consider is nearby now there is no parking on the Loch prom walkway or whats left of the promenade roadway.

It should not be governments job to supply tourists but do they not have a huge department supposedly doing exactly that?.

[Southfork]

16 minutes ago, dilligaf said:

As much as I love the restaurant, it is a walk in,  not a drive through. Plenty of parking nearby and pedestrian access always open. Owning a business does not give you absolute control of the roads outside your premises .

Where is the nearby parking and where is the pavement? 

[finlo]

3 hours ago, Numbnuts said:

Heard a story today via a MUA guy that low voltage cables havent been put in and 2 trenchs will have to be dug to accommodate them in a area that has been already finished . Not on plans which would tie in with previous stories I'd heard .  

You're telling me there's actually a part of it that's finished?

[joebean]

The Prom refurbishment project was always going to be a major project involving an arterial route into and out of the capital town; an amenity and business location; a showcase for the Island and, lastly, an opportunity to show how Government can act efficiently and decisively to provide a first class scheme delivered on time and in budget. As such, the project should have been meticulously planned, properly researched with extensive consultation with all stakeholders with a final project design and plan approved with necessary funding BEFORE any work was started. None of this is new or exceptional thinking; it is standard for any major construction project. 
Given the importance of the Promenade to traffic, business and the life of Douglas, speed of completion should have been high on the priority list at the outset. If ever there was a need for a concentrated effort between public and private sector, this was it. In just about every respect the project has been flawed and in failure.

At the project completion stage it would be usual for a review to take place to assess how far progress met with the plan and how successfully the project delivered on its objectives. I would argue that the project has been so poorly planned and delivered that the review should start now. The only hope of successfully delivering it lies with implementing improvements at a management level without delay. Nobody could credibly argue that the management of it strategically, operationally or politically has been anything other than rank poor. DoI needs no more excuses; it needs change. 
 

Edited August 11, 2020 by joebean

[Non-Believer]

Far too much of the DOI seems to be run on an "enthusiast's amateur hobby" basis. Rather than operations to serve the good of society and the taxpayer.

The Promenade has highlighted that, both in management and in the obvious clashes of those hobbies.

[Dave Hedgehog]

On 8/8/2020 at 11:41 PM, TheTeapot said:

Paparazzi 

Wouldn't they be better off putting a sign at the top of Howard St opposite TK Maxx saying 'We are open'

Yes it's tough for the businesses but maybe being a bit pro active with marketing rather than just expecting people to walk through the door as normal may be a tad more constructive.

[Roger Mexico]

15 minutes ago, Dave Hedgehog said:

Wouldn't they be better off putting a sign at the top of Howard St opposite TK Maxx saying 'We are open'

Yes it's tough for the businesses but maybe being a bit pro active with marketing rather than just expecting people to walk through the door as normal may be a tad more constructive.

Well they've got some publicity here and maybe elsewhere, so you can't complain about them not trying.  And of course you can't just scatter signs about on public or other people's property.    But marketing costs, and if other things are making it difficult for customers to use your business, then they probably won't even in good times.  To say that people just aren't trying hard enough is simply victim-blaming.

[Max Power]

1 hour ago, Non-Believer said:

Far too much of the DOI seems to be run on an "enthusiast's amateur hobby" basis. Rather than operations to serve the good of society and the taxpayer.

The Promenade has highlighted that, both in management and in the obvious clashes of those hobbies.

I watched a documentary/travelogue on Northern India a while ago. There was a vital hill road which kept washing away in he monsoons, so a perpetual team of people are employed doing constant repairs. The presenter asked the foreman why they didn't do a more permanent road construction instead of just shovelling everything back into place and rolling it in? He said that they all depend on that road for their livelihoods, a permanent solution would leave them unemployed! Sounds a bit like a branch of the DoI.   

[Southfork]

On 8/11/2020 at 10:01 AM, Dave Hedgehog said:

Wouldn't they be better off putting a sign at the top of Howard St opposite TK Maxx saying 'We are open'

Yes it's tough for the businesses but maybe being a bit pro active with marketing rather than just expecting people to walk through the door as normal may be a tad more constructive.

I bet you need permission or a permit to put a sign out. Elf and safety. Someone could trip over it. The corpy would go wild.