The Friday View 15/07
It's the season of sun, games, fun, music, exhibitions and protests.
Op-ed: Bus disconnects
Investing in public transport in Cork is essential for the development of the city and with this comes a number of challenges. Developing onstreet sustainable transport infrastructure and investing in urban renewal involves many competing demands which have to be addressed in a balanced and realistic way. Cork is no different as the establishment of the city dates back to the 6th century. Whilst it has grown into a modern metropolitan city there are still many older quarters made up of narrow, winding and increasingly congested streets. Many of these streets are hilly with steep gradients, especially north of the River Lee. There are many streets with narrow or missing footpaths. The uniqueness of many parts of the city and the limitations of physical space to work with presents significant, but surmountable challenges for the provision of the required level of bus priority and cycling provision.
That, dear readers, is a passage from the BusConnects Consultation Report published last month, and it would be hard to argue against the major points in that (especially the part I placed in italics). For instance, on footpaths: often they are narrow, missing, in disrepair or parked on by cars.
Over the last 50-60 years Cork developed around cars (to the extent that playing ball on the road is a thing of the past, and the car has driven many would-be cyclists off the roads). In a way, BusConnects is a means of addressing a few major concerns: the climate crisis, our car dependency, and an underfunded cycling and public transport infrastructure.
BusConnects is a €600 million investment in getting this right. The plan is to increase bus ridership fourfold by 2040 and increasing the number of people cycling and walking by 33%. But, woe, has it got off to a woeful start?
The City Council meeting last Monday night showed that much, if not much else. To a councillor, they all stood up to say that the National Transport Authority, which is overseeing BusConnects, is simply not connected or clued into transport and life in Cork.
The councillors have a point, multiple points in fact. Tonight, residents in Douglas will gather in the Mangala, one the last vestiges of public land in Douglas where nature is left alone to a good degree, to protest against an emerging preferred route which would see a traffic bridge built over the Mangala to connect with the Carrigaline Road as part of a new Sustainable Bus Corridor. But, sustainability at what cost?
It’s likely more protests, such as the one in the Mangala, will be staged around the city, as on Harbour View Road in the Northside, where some residents have received an information letter about the preferred route from Hollyhill which outlined that it may impact on part of your property. The amount of land could be quite small, and it’s not clear how many residents it would impact on, so the result of these letters was to inject panic. The right move there would have been to meet with the community, many of whom want changes brought into address traffic calming.
Councillors contend the planning for BusConncets was done via Google Street View. They maintain that the NTA is more interested in box ticking, than actually implementing real and sustainable changes. The Mangala road bridge proposal might be a case in point. According to councillors, if there were boots on the ground some of the plans would never have materialised. We’ll be able to answer questions such as these at the public forums in Douglas, Ballincollig and Tivoli which start next week.
There’s a legitimate fear that BusConnects will become a lightning rod for so many (disparate) issues and become bogged down in controversy, nimbyism and acrimony that the promise that it holds won’t materialise. That would truly be a shame, and unforgivable.
Likewise, it was disappointing to hear elected officials at this week’s council meeting express their desire that the plan fail in its entirety. Those council officials that want BusConnects to fail need to understand that while they might rarely use public transport in their city, thousands of people do, and on a daily basis, and they depend on it and want it to be better. And if it improves, that’s better for all of us, the generations that will come after us, and ultimately the planet, which is in an increasingly fragile state.
It was clear from listening to the councillors that some of them have not read much or any of the BusConnects report. They should, because we don’t elect them for uninformed opinions and politics derived from anecdotes.
But, listening is a two-way street. The NTA have fallen down at the first hurdle. They’re going to have a fight on their hands at the public forums.
Failure is not an option, but more consultation, more listening and more dialogue would be a much, much better strategy from here on in. There’s an awful lot to be worked out, but we need connection first, and foremost.
JJ
Planning watch
A decision on Apple’s expansion plan for its campus in Hollyhill is expected to be announced next week by Cork City Council. The tech giant, also the richest company in the world, has sought planning persimmon for the construction of a four-storey office building. The proposed development will include a ‘commute hub’, which is Apple speak for bicycle and scooter parking space. If it gets the green light, construction could start at the end of the year with a completion date in 2025. The Irish Times reports that the new building could house up 1,300 people.
More homes
Cork County Council plans to build 3,880 social and affordable homes across the county over the next five years. They’ll be built by the council as well as approved housing bodies. Under the newly adopted country development plan, the population is expected to grow by nearly 60,000 over the next six years. You can read more about the county development plan on T+D here.
Of those, 3,880 houses this is the breakdown over the next five years according to the council:
560 in 2022
622 in 2023
636 in 2024
683 in 2025
697 in 2026
Greenway re-opens
The Cork City to Passage West Greenway re-opens to the public today. The route follows the 19th century Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway line and construction work has been ongoing there for the past number of years. Conservation works are ongoing at the old Blackrock Railway Station and at bridges along the route.
Play ball
A new multipurpose astroturf pitch opened in Crosshaven this week. Built at a cost of €40,000, it will be free to use and and has basketball nets and soccer goals. The pitch and court is located in the Camden area of Crosshaven and is open seven days a week.
Photo of the week: origin of the galaxies
Out + About
🎶Joy in the Park: Fitzgerald’s Park is the place to be this Sunday as Joy in the Park returns, and with it lots of music and craic. Kila will be headlining the daylong festival, and they’ll be joined by John Spillane, Jerry Fish, the Cork Pops Orchestra, Rebel Brass, Circus Factory and lots, lots more. Free entry and full events programme here.
Time, date, place: 12pm- 6pm, Sunday July 17, Fitzgerald’s Park
🚶♂️Ronan Leonard is off again on one of his themed walking tours of the city, and this time it’s one for all the family as Ronan will be showing children (8 to 12ish year olds) what it was like to be that age at different times in Cork. Get ready for a walk back in time and a bit of craic. The tour lasts for 90 minutes and Ronan will be holding tours throughout this weekend. More information here.
Time, date, place: various dates over the next week, meeting outside St Peter’s on North Main Street
🎏Blackrock Village Festival returns this weekend to the seaside village with loads promised, including good weather. Author Deirdre Ryan will be doing a story time for kids; musicians Hank Wedel and Declan Sinnot will be performing. There’ll also be the usual mix of food stalls and a great atmosphere in the plaza. More information here.
Time, date, place: 2pm - 6pm, Saturday, July 16, the Plaza, Blackrock
🌊Inchadoney: Volunteers are asked to meet at one of Cork’s loveliest beaches this weekend for a beach clean. The meeting point is the car park at Inchadoney, where a Clean Coasts Officer will give a short safety introduction before giving out some cleaning kit. More information here.
Time, date, place: 10am, Saturday, July 16, Inchadoney
This week on T +D
On Monday Ellie wrote about the price of a three bedroom home in Cork City Council’s soon-to-be launched “affordable housing” scheme which will range in price from €285,000 to €323,950. But as Cllr Eolan Ryng pointed out at a city council meeting on Monday evening, an equivalent scheme in South County Dublin, where land values are typically higher that Cork, had prices ranging from €245,600 to €285,300. You can read that story here.
On Tuesday JJ wrote about the reaction to the BusConnects plan at City Hall. As outlined above, there was widespread criticism and all councillors backed Cllr Tony Fitzgerald’s amendment to extend the consultation period past September. You can read that story here.
Ellie will be back tomorrow morning with an Arts+Culture newsletter - stay tuned.
That’s it for this week’s Friday View. Any tips, news or events you’d like to share with Tripe+Drisheen, you can contact either of us at jj.odonoghue@gmail.com or emailellieobyrne@gmail.com. We are always happy to speak to people off the record in the first instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity. Get in touch.