Cork Transport
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Cork CoCo (including FF) are asking why they were not consulted about the speed limit change on the old road. The comparison was drawn between this one and the “windey” Fermoy Mallow road which maintains a 100km/h speed limit.
Hardly reassuring to know that the County Council does not know what is happening on the county roads. Perhaps this might explain why the pot holes remain untended on many of the roads in Cork – perhaps the Council has not heard that we actually have roads. Another example of the efficiency of local government.
@goldiefish wrote:
And not just in Cobh 🙂
True! But the level of indolence and incompetence in Cobh Urban District Council is in a class all of its own and completely unrivalled.
Re Cork Airport;
To-day’s quondam Cork Examiner has the following letter. What are we to make of this?
12 October 2006
Wheelchair passenger left to fend for herself
I AGREE with the Cork airport critics whose letters you published recently.
A few days after the terminal opened I was left abandoned in a wheelchair at the baggage carousel.
Fortunately, I was able to get out of the chair and fetch a trolley some distance away. A kind lady helped to get my heavy suitcase off the carousel and onto the trolley.
After searching for the exit I pushed the heavy load to arrivals and my taxi.
I should not have had to do this.
Despite osteoarthritis, I have travelled the world for the past 10 years and I have availed of the wheelchair service at many airports, which keep getting bigger. I was always treated with courtesy, humour and consideration — until now at my local airport.
What if I hadn’t been able to get out of the wheelchair there and was left abandoned in a deserted, ghostly terminal at night?
Wheelchair users should beware of Cork airport.
Patricia O’Neill
Hillside Cottage
Hoddersfield
Crosshaven
Co Cork@THE_Chris wrote:
Fix the Fota Road plz 🙂
Road, more like the Fota 4×4 Test Track.
When planning was and still is being given for numerous new housing develpements in Cobh, they must have thought the occupants would come by sea…. as little thought seems to have been given on the massive increase this would have on the Fota Track traffic….
This is another example of the intelligence operating Cobh Urban District Council. Is it any wonder that we have not seen a mass exodus into the private sector from its cossetted talamo! This is just the sort of scenario to attarct the best and brightest. Believe it or not, Cobh Urban District Council has become so sophisticated that they have hired an Italian as town architect It remains to be seen if he will know more about it than the outgoing Denis Deasey – and the temporary planning officer who thought nothing of recommending the vandalization of the Cathedral although he admitted that he knew nothing about the building. Could the Taliban have done any better?
I don’t see ho it related to Cobh UDC
The Fota road has nothing to do with them and the large bulk of new development in Cobh has been outside the UDC boundaries.
BTW I have a feeling that the theory was that the new residents would travel by train and I’m sure a lot of them do, but that’s only practical if you’re working in Cork City Centre or Little Island and with two parents working in most families nowadays, I wonder how many there are where that is true for both of them.
I realize that Fota is outside of the jurisdiction of the Cobh Urban District Council but a little regional coordinationbetween Cobh Urban District Council and Cork County Council might not be a bad thing that would involve Cobh Urban District Council playing a more pro-active part in the planning processes that have seen the mushrooming of enormous housing estates on the Great Island and on the door step of the Cobh Urban District: but, as usual, the gret brains in the Council did not think of that. Then there is the developments within the Urban District which could be a little more closely considered in terms of local infrastructure: or, perhaps more realistically, lack of it. Come to think of, it might be just as well to abolish Cobh UDC all together.
You are right about the new residents tarvelling by train. It is perfectly in line with the usual idiocy of the UDC.
@jungle wrote:
I don’t see ho it related to Cobh UDC
The Fota road has nothing to do with them and the large bulk of new development in Cobh has been outside the UDC boundaries.
BTW I have a feeling that the theory was that the new residents would travel by train and I’m sure a lot of them do, but that’s only practical if you’re working in Cork City Centre or Little Island and with two parents working in most families nowadays, I wonder how many there are where that is true for both of them.
You are right most developments are outside, my house is inside udc area but i’m looking directly at new houses that are not. All the new occupants cars park outside their house at nigh etc. in CCC area but clog up road by me every morning in UDC area. My point being in practical/real world they the same thing.
Not the fault of new occupants, so don’t get me wrong but roads by me and Fota Road are all having increased traffic and I do not believe this was given much thought by UDCs or CCC.
The train most definately is being used more and in last few years a much more reliable service (than when I was growing up and commuting to Cork) but a hell of alot moe cars on the great Island and know
most of develpments near me are all 2 cars familes as you describe, many using Cross River ferry as many working in the pharma ind. in Ringaskiddy…..The county council and the urban councils are nothing more than talking shops and tax generating vehicles. Boundaries are out of date and they are in no rush to change them and councillors are more worried about their pension entitlements than actually doing their job. They talk and scream about what the authorities should be doing and somehow forget that they are the ones who are empowered to do exactly that. Witness the recent Dartmouth Square like carry on in Mallow. Instead of doing their job years ago and securing the site, the councillors and officials are blaming Cromwell and suggesting we rise up in rebellion! Local government is an embarassment these days. And since this is a transport thread, why are so many roads in County Cork still using tar and chip surfacing? And what, praytell, is the logic of throwing lumps of tarmacadam into potholes full of water, only for the pothole to rise phoenix-like within a week. We should be world experts on potholes by now but we never seem to learn. Thankfully the national roads have improved, but Cork’s secondary roads are still pretty dire.
@corcaighboy wrote:
Local government is an embarassment these days. .
CB!
NAIL ON HEAD!!
Nothing more embarrassing than the bolschie clowns in Cobh Urban District Council who are so ignorant that they have no realization of the importance of Cobh Cathedral as a monument of international significance; who are quite prepared to authorized the vandalization of its interior; and whose enlightened architect is prepared to state in a report that nothing out of the ordinary happened when a carpetbagging gillout arrives into the building and digs holes in the floor, without planning permission, in the middle of the night – and no prosecution happens. Try parking your car on the strand in Cobh and that will very quickly become sopmething out of the ordinary and lead to fine or to prosecution to finance the red/pink parlour that is the Urban DIstrict Council.
Another item of customer feed-back from to-day’s quondam Cork Examiner in relation to Cork airport:
14 October 2006
False impression
MY Cork airport experience recently has prompted me to add to the letters I’ve read in the Irish Examiner recently.
At first glance, the new terminal looks like an excellent piece of work.
Unfortunately, that impression quickly fades.
The baggage trolley I used was rusty and stiff and clearly past its best. All others I tried were as bad.
My taxi-driver bad-mouthed the airport and its political standing.
And there’s the long walk to the aircraft. I am in good physical condition, but I would not relish the prospect of doing a 440-yard dash in wet and windy conditions.
Cork is a gem and has much going for it. But to get there one has to use its airport. It’s a pity it has failed to use this unique opportunity to enhance the city.
Roger Damont
The Causeway
Worthing
West Sussex BN99 6DA
EnglandMore encouraging news from this morning’s quondam Cork Examiner re: Cork Airport
18 October 2006
Bumpy departure from airport
LIKE quite a few of your readers in recent times, I wish to recount an unpleasant experience at the new Cork Airport.
One wet and windy morning two weeks ago, my husband and I took an early morning flight to Malaga from there.
The long walk from the car park through the ‘covered’ walkway — which is open to wind and rain unless you manage to keep to the inside — was the first no-no as neither of us can walk easily or very far.
The trolley had a mind of its own and was difficult to propel.
While waiting to check in, there was nowhere to sit unless we purchased a coffee and managed to find a seat in the dozen or so chairs outside the small cafeteria.
We also had an additional walk through the duty-free area upstairs, whereas before we could bypass it if we wished to get to the departures area.
Queuing for the departure gates was confusing and people were continually asked to queue ‘sideways’ by the railing — but which side?
I could not walk down the two flights of stairs to the tarmac and so had to find a member of staff to take me there in the lift as passengers are not normally allowed to use it for ‘security’ reasons.
When I got out of the lift, I was blown away by a heavy gust of wind and rain and in the confusion collided with the metal barrier rails — which were far too near the entrance to the stairwell and the lifts.
I landed heavily on the wet tarmac, injuring my hand and arm. With my clothes all wet and stained from the fall and my hand in great pain and now swollen, I had to make an instant decision as to whether to continue my journey or turn back and seek medical attention.
I decided to continue my journey and was given a car ride in the dark and wet out to the aircraft where I was well looked after by two lovely Aer Lingus hostesses, Majella and Lorraine, who gave me ice to reduce the swelling and sweet tea for the shock.
I then realised that in the fall I had lost my reading glasses, but Majella said she would look for them among the barriers on the tarmac on her return flight.
She did as promised — and kindly left them with baggage enquiries where I collected them on our return.
I wish to thank her sincerely for her kindness.
We arrived in Malaga some three hours later to brilliant sunshine. The plane taxied up to an extended airbridge and we were whizzed in a golf-like cart to collect our luggage and then outside where we got a taxi.
What a difference!
No longer do I look forward to flying from the new Cork airport — in fact, I dread it.
Bring back the old one and extend it, I say.
It worked fine for just about everyone. Where was the need to spend millions on a huge, grey shed?
Ann Dinneen
Templebryan
Clonakilty
Co Cork.
The idea that the new airport is in some way worse than the old one is a nonsense. People don’t seem to have noticed the improvements – no more queueing in the rain for immigration for example.
I can’t say that I have any real issues about the covered walkway between the car park and the airport. Most airports don’t even provide that.
However, some points are real. The trolleys are a disgrace. There aren’t enough and they are unremovable. Surely, this is somewhere to look for a bit of corporate sponsorship to replace them – you buy us a new trolley and we give you 5 years advertising on them.
There’s also the issue of the airbridges/covered walkway. A covered walkway should have been provided along the apron. Some aircraft (e.g. Aer Arann) will never be able to pull up to an airbridge and the cost would have been marginal in the context of the overall project (I would argue that cuts should have been made elsewhere to fund it). The sole airbridge still isn’t in use. As I understand it some of the airlines that use the airport have expressed an interest in using it and haven’t been able to. That situation needs to be rectified quickly.
As for the seats… It is my understanding that this was a deliberate policy to encourage passengers to pass through security as quickly as possible to where there are seats available on the other side. The idea is that arriving passengers don’t need them and that departing passengers should go through as soon as they’ve checked in. It should encourage the smooth running of the airport.
I got the train to Dublin for the 1st time in over a year at the weekend. On the way down I had the usual old train, but on the way up I had the luck to get the new train! I was really impressed. I like the automated PA, seats were comfortable etc. I loved the 2 seaters – more private, so I could snooze away! lol The only thing was the counter where you can buy food at the top of the train was out of sandwiches, hot food etc. Just danishes and bars! Sure I suppose it is one of the busiest trains in the country on a Sunday heading to Dublin – sure what’s the point of having excess food!
I got a new train last week and must admit to being disappointed. The ride comfort in particular, whether it was the train or the tracks, or the combination of the two, was awful. Really uncomforable. A friend I met in Kent who works for IE said they have made an awful bags of the suspension setup.
Also, there is no luggage space in the cars for bags too large or heavy for the overhead racks. A terrible omission.
I only had “hand luggage” so i didn’t notice the lack of storage – good point. As for the “bumpy ride” – a couple of times I noticed it, but I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. Actually an annoucement was made that “We’d be shortly arriving in Dublin, earlier than expected.”
People got up straight away, clammering to get their bags and move to the doors – of course we crawled most of the way through Dublin so we may have arrived a few mins early but the annoucement was made away too early. Suppose it’s like on a plane – and the second the plane stops moving people jump off their seats! 🙂
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