Cork Transport

@Pug wrote:

feasibility study on the Luas is welcome but when thats done, there will prob have to be a cost benefit analysis, then funding will have to be appropriated, then the thing actually built, its all a dripfeed of information to cover up the length of time these things take if in fact it will happen at all and we just get extra trambuses / bustrams, whatever they are calling them these days

Brian Cowen announced shamelessly the budget would provide funds for the Cork Midleton railway to be ready for 2009 (i.e. 2010), a project originally announced in May 2004. Was there any mention of Sarsfield Rd/Bandon Rd flyover, N28 to Ringaskiddy, Macroom Bypass, etc etc

Kent Station redevelopment was announced in 2005. In August 2007 CIE said a plan for the redevelopment would be ready “within months”. Shouldnt it have been ready in 2005?

Chatting to an old fellah retired engineer in a pub in Cork recently and he argued that Cork was more prestigious and better looked after under British Rule, infrastructure wise with tram service,trains,ports,dry docks,British Navy at Cobh,roads & rail infrastructure etc and that Cobh has gone into decline since the British Navy pulled out.

The abandonment of Cork by the quandam Cork Examiner is regrettable.

now that is the €38,000 payrise question – when the leader of a country sends an aide de camp as his representative to Katy Frenchs funeral while Cork airport has been told by the DAA to accept the debt on the airport despite FF promise that the airport would be debt free, you know the quality of politician the country has

The deal CCC secured with Owen O’Callaghan to sell Navigation House to the developer for 9.2 million euro plus free all day parking for 120 council staff for the next 999 years (worth 6 million) does not inspire confidence in Corks public transport system.
The rest of us can use the crap public transport while the VIP council staff that are responsible for the transport mess get free secure parking for the next 999 years.
:oWill 999 years be enough time for these Muppets to sort the mess out?

@Saucy Jack wrote:

Is that the same 6 million that Owen had to forfeit for not building the convention centre at Mahon Point ?

No, the 10.4 acres of land that the City Council could have had a convention centre build on at the expense of OCP and handed over to the city at a cost not exceeding one pound as part of the deal signed 10 years ago is now to receive a 300 million investment from OCP who are to apply for permission for 325 apartments, a 185 bedroom hotel plus other commercial units.
The taxpayer received 6 million for the land in lieu of the convention centre plus the land, and now the taxpayer is forking out 8 million for a minority interest in Howard Holdings convention centre to be build in the docklands.

@theblimp wrote:

Kite – memory is fading me here on this one, but I was strongly under the impression that the original terms of the OCP/McC Devs Mahon Point deal was that if OCP didn’t build the ‘Trade Centre’ then they would have to pay the penalty fee AND the land would revert to CCC ownership. CCC have backtracked now and said it was just the penalty fee …. however I do remember reading that it was an ‘AND’, not an ‘OR’ way back in Nav. House!!!

As for CCC equity in HH’s centre in the Dockland’s, I was also always under the impression that this was to be the case. However I’m pretty sure you’ll find that the ‘deal’ done has resulted in NO equity being taken by CCC – ‘Here ya go, poor impoverished HH, just take the money’!!!!! 😮

I agree with your recollection of events, i also thought that the Mahon land would return to CCC ownership if the penalty fee was called in.

just looking at that website and it seems the Mitchelstown bypass is the only one currently under construction, the rest are in design stage but no funding………so in essence only one major road project is underway in Cork, along with the airport fiasco, the midleton line delays……it makes you wonder what in hell we are getting from this government transport and development wise!!!

which brings me to the point of questions and answers (tuesday night), there was a guy on not sure of his name but think he was an economist, who basically said the spatially strategy is a joke, agreed, but also that Dublin is the only viable centre in Ireland due to crtical mass and that everything should be centred there!! Any thoughts on this?? Is Cork really following false hopes or have our hopes not been realised due to government ineptitude??

It seems to me that government publicly stated and private policy are two different things!!

I think you’re at the heart of the problem with Irish politicians there. They actually spend money on studies and grand plans because it fools people into thinking they are doing something about problems.

Let me give you an example on this.

Recently talk has yet again emerged of a light rail system. I’m all for this, but really it’s not what we need politicians to look at now.

Even if a decision was made to build it today, we’d be looking at the following timeframe

Identification of routes would take until 2009
You’d then look at a public enquiry, which would take it into 2010
Then you need to get the legalities of the railway order/planning permission sorted out, so we’re talking late 2010
Put out tenders and we’re into 2011
And then judging by the LUAS it would take 3 or 4 years to build it.

So, even if the decision was made today and the funding was available, we wouldn’t see it in operation until 2014 at the earliest.

Now, if we go back to the last election. Imagine somebody has then decided to double bus frequency on every route. Even with buying busses and hiring and training drivers, we could be seeing benefits pretty soon.

The truth is that the grand designs hide the fact that politicians aren’t making the simple decisions that could mean a massive improvement in the transport situation in the city.

It’s actually hard to quantify my disillusionment with all the main political parties, their lack of vision and even their lack of basic planning and managerial skills. Sometimes I think I should get involved in politics because I could hardly do a worse job, but then when I look at the alternatives of being part of one of the parties that have historically failed us or being an independent with no power to influence or make changes, I just despair completely.

What exactly are the NRA doing in Cork at the moment besides the Mitchelstown bypass?? Nothing as far as I can see, and also announced yesterday that Mallow (government designated hub town) will not get its relief road because the land was zoned for housing and no corridor was left!!!!!