Cork Transport

@bosco wrote:

PTB – echoing my thoughts (pardon the pun!)

As for trams, guided busses, light rail etc… I’ve had a particular gripe I’ve wanted to get off my chest for ages. A few years ago when the first docklands plan became available for download on the city council’s website, I was delighted to see included in it an ambitious but realisable vision for either a light rail or guided bus line. The route shown was running from Mahon, along the old rail line, through the docklands, the city centre, down Western Road, via Victoria cross to Bishopstown and CIT. There were route maps and even a few pictures of trams and a guided bus for good measure.

Now, it seems to me the only major problem in constructing these tram lines or guided bus tracks would be the lack of space available in the city centre and at certain junctions. One of the major junctions along the route is at Victoria Cross, where one would expect a stop to be provided given the number of student apartments in the area. The existing 4 lane road is barely wide enough, in fact it is too narrow to comfortably fit 4 adjacent lanes of traffic when there is a bus or large truck involved. The footpaths are inadequate for the volume of pedestrians (mostly students). Add into the mix a few cars and vans parked on the footpath or side of the road, thanks to that new Centra (awful planning decision in the first place).

Now, where do they propose to squeeze in the light rail lines? Or a guided bus track? Or even a miserly painted bus lane separated from traffic? Meanwhile, a strip of land running alongside this road from the Clinic on Western Road to the Wylam Chinese has come up for redevelopment in some form or another in the past 3 years. While UCC’s IT building is still under construction on the Western Rd, the rest of the land has been blanketed in student apartment developments, all built right out to the edge of the site boundary, leaving no room for widening footpaths or allowing for future needs.

If you live on a boreen in the middle of the country and you wish to alter the entrance to your house or the boundary in any way, there are rules that oblige you to bring the new boundary back a certain distance from the road. Why on earth does the same not apply in the city? Especially at one of the busiest junctions where traffic can be disastrous at rush hour. Where they supposedly plan to provide a public transport corridor in the future? Where the footpaths are completely inadequate for the volumes of pedestrians using them every day?

I just can’t believe there was no way to force the developers to allow even a 5 meter gap between any development and the existing boundary, so that the land could be utilised in the future to widen the road or provide a separated rail/bus track.

Anybody have a clue what I’m talking about? 🙂

Don’t start me bosco,
City Development Plan 4.10 states that;
“A network of Green Routes will be developed for Cork City and environs. Green Routes are high quality public transport and cycling corridors providing high quality bus services in DEDICATED ROAD SPACE WHERE FEASIBLE”
Most Green Routes in Cork are nothing more than imaginary lines in city planners heads.:eek:

😉 Victoria Cross student apartments!, the Spanish Government are demolishing apartments in many areas where dubious planning was granted, maybe our Government could make a similar decision on these “things”?

Just to illustrate…

And more madness: http://www.headrambles.com/2006/11/13/get-on-yer-bike-bertie/

@Pug wrote:

prediction: CAA to get dumped with the debt (i.e. FF to break its promise) , Ryanair to let them all run around in circles, then come in with cut price offer for old terminal, in one swoop CAA can reduce their 100m debt and ryanair open up europe

Just to say I’m not sure having Ryanair flying out of your airport is necessarily good for it or the customers (long term anyway). Depends on what terms you have Ryanair there on. For example I don’t know but suspect the Shannon deal isn’t working out well for that airport. Ryanair’s deal with them is outrageous – a €1 landing charge or something. It doesn’t surprise me then to hear Shannon made an operating loss last month and would have made a yearly loss in 2006 except for our state sponsorship of US terrorism in the middle east. In fairness to the CAA i think they’ve actually rejected Ryanair to date as Ryanair have offered them a similarly lousy deal. That said, I am envious of all the shannon routes….but I do wonder if they’ll disappear when the current deal is up.

I’d actually be interested to know if anyone can shed light on whether Shannon is happy with how the deal is panning out……..

Yes. I put together on paper a reasonably easy but probobly expensive pic of what a grade separated Dunkettle could look like.

Dunkettle was done like this because apparently it only cost about €2m to put lights in and add a lane here and there. Grade separating this fully would cost €60,70,80m easily (Kinsale Road was €40m I think off the top of my head). So its not a priority right now and nor should it be, when you think of the awful roads between cities at the moment, 🙂

Sarsfield/Bandon are badly badly needed I agree, but with the priority being the interurbans, dont expect construction to begin before 2010. Advance funding for site investigation and the plans for the junction have been given, but no construction till the interurbans are done, as far as I’ve heard.

From this morning’s quondam Cork Examiner:

23 February 2007

Airport the victim of policy u-turn

THE news that Cork Airport Authority (CAA) is to be saddled with a €100 million debt in exchange for freedom from control by the Dublin Airport Authority (Irish Examiner, February 20) flies in the face of the Government’s own plans for regional development.

In his statement establishing the three independent airport authorities — Shannon, Dublin and Cork — former Transport Minister Seamus Brennan clearly stated that the debt-free start would lead to the independent airports being able to “compete with each other and vigorously pursue new business free from central control”.

Are we to take it now that the Government does not want this?

Does it not want three competing airports, but one main airport and two smaller versions too crippled with debt to compete on equal terms?

If it is the case that the debt is to be divided in this way, then shouldn’t CAA request its share of revenue from the sale of the Great Southern hotels and other former Aer Rianta assets?

Shouldn’t the assets, as well as the debt, be shared by the new authorities?

Senator John Minihan has been very vocal in his opposition to imposing this debt on Cork, but it has to be remembered there are two senior PD ministers in the cabinet that took this decision.

No doubt the PDs and Fianna Fáil candidates in Cork will feel the backlash come the summer election.

Eoin Lettice

3 Nicholas Court

Travers Street

Cork.

And ditto:

23 February 2007

Look to Dublin for source of debt crisis

YOUR editorial on the Government’s somersault on Cork Airport funding was very much to the point, but did not go far enough (Irish Examiner, February 21).

It should be noted that the budgeted cost of the airport project was €120 million and that the (mis)management of the project was down to the then Aer Rianta and, now, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) — leading to a cost over-run of €100m that the Government now wishes to recover from the Cork travelling public.

Apart from the unequivocal undertakings by Seamus Brennan, supported subsequently in writing by the Taoiseach, responsibility for the total debt of €220m should rest squarely with the responsible agency — the DAA.

The suggestion that the land bank near the airport should be ‘thrown in’ to help fund the €100m being foisted on Cork airport management is cynical in the extreme. This land is an integral part of the airport and should not be used as a political football. Is it any wonder that many people are cynical about our political process and do not vote?

Maybe that is why the Government has the gall to spring this one on us in the run-up to a general election. Perhaps it’s time we give our response in the polling stations.

Patrick Ronayne

‘Drake’s View’

Crosshaven

Co Cork.

To be honest, I don’t take any of these ministerial announcements at face value anymore. Firstly, it is an election year so it seems any government official can trot out any number (the higher the better) to show how great they are. Secondly, how they arrive at these headline numbers amazes me. It would probably confuse a professor of Mathematics.
In the case of the Galway announcement, I wonder how much has actually been allocated to the redevelopment of the train station? Only the monies the department of finance have ok’d would cut it with me. The rest of the finance is most likely the total potential value of the investment, which in all honesty is more related to a figure plucked out of the sky. Grand announcements and grand schemes (preferably with ‘quarter’ in them) are designed to get the public drunk with anticipation…until the election is out of the way. Jaysus, I have become a cynic!!
By the way, Ceannt Station could do with a clean-up…let’s just hope it is a real one and not some ministerial red herring.

@browser wrote:

Ah but they are lovely and white. Martin picked them himself so they’ll be top notch!

They are actually going a mossy shade of green.

What a farce in Cork.

Really.:mad:

Translation: Its an election stunt and none of them had a CLUE what the plans actually entailed 😀