Re: Re: Cork Transport

a boyle…what amazes me about you, and makes me think you just come on here to stir, is that you manage to post a collection of thoughts that mix the excellent and the riduculous…where do I start.

1 – Since the decision to build a motorway network was political, why are the bodies responsible for delivery not following the wishes of those elected politicians?

2 – Going to Cork, have you driven from the Portlaoise turnoff to Johnstown? It’s absolute rubbish. If you can average 70km/h through there then you’ve done it at 4am! Relief roads and roundabouts?! Sure just leave us in the Stone Age altogether. It’s not a question of not investing in roads so that we can invest in public transport (or Shannon 😉 ). It has to be both.

3 – In 30 years, our car ownership has tripled to 1.3million, yet many sections of our roads are substantially as they were 30 years ago. Our ownership relative to Europe is partially reflected in our roads, in countries where they have higher ownership, they build 3 lane motorways. Where we have lower ownership, we should build only 2 lane motorways. That makes sense, except we don’t build the motorways, we build dual carraigeways, or “wide single carriageway”. [2002 Eurostat info, the latest available, we have 375 cars per 100 people, where the EU-25 average is 463. Given our prosperity in the last 4 years compared to Europe, and judging by our new car sales each year since then, it’s a pretty safe bet that we’re a lot closer to that number than we were]

4 – I fly between Cork and Dublin. As did 238,163 other people in 2005 who seem to find it a good idea. Flying, you can be in Dublin city centre at 08:00, have a 4 hour meeting and be back in Cork in your office at 14:30! Driving, you’d have to leave at 04:30, and you’d be back at 15:00. On the train, you’d have to leave at 05:30 (and you’d arrive an hour late) and you’d be back in Cork at 15:50. Do any of these alternatives sound more productive, or less stressful?

I agree I wouldn’t have proceeded as we have, I’d have spent it better. They’ve pissed a lot of it away. Here’s a very short wishlist.

• The right kind of investment in trains, track and station, to get a sub 2 hour service between Cork and Dublin
• 2 large contracts (not 8/10 small ones), big enough to attract the largest and most competitive overseas contractors, to design and build motorway between Cork and Dublin. Buses would do well on these motorways too!