Cork - BusConnects

cgcsb

Save our right turn lanes? Seriously?

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120098005#Comment_120098005

It's true. The signs being nailed to the tree is the pièce de résistance.

Markcheese

Does Batt o 'keefe still live in that estate ? Could cause another layer of hassle ,

cgcsb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120098129#Comment_120098129

Heaven help us the karens will be chaining themselves to the right turn lanes. A new level of entitlement.

gooseman12

It looks like the latest revisions for Cork are up on the bus connects site now, https://busconnects.ie/cork/

I've only just glanced at 2 of the routes and there appears to be some considerable watering down of the plans.

Summerhill North appears to have reverted to exactly as it is right now, no bus lane, short bike lane at bottom and all parking retained.

Ballincollig also has all parking on main street reinstated and bus gate removed.

I dont know if the strategy is go hard in round 1 and go soft in round 2 and meet somewhere in the middle or what but i hope this doesn't become a pointless exercise in retaining the status quo as that does absolutely nothing for the city.

thomil

It's a complete capitulation to NIMBYs, vested interests and the generally ignorant populace of the city bat large. Might as well cancel the entire project and leave things as it is at this point because the new plans will deliver NO improvement at all. NTA should have just gone in and forced the original plans through the courts!

CatInABox

It'll be interesting actually, as there's a legal case to be made that a plan that doesn't sufficiently take into account the current state of the environment is not a plan at all. The government has already been taken to court over a weak Climate Action Plan once so far, and lost, so this has the potential to end up in a Judicial Review as well.

The courts may well decide that plans that don't reduce emissions enough aren't acceptable.

brianc89

https://www.thejournal.ie/busconnects-cork-public-consultation-6032686-Mar2023/

I don't know Cork, but certainly reads as a massive watering down.

People worried about losing some of their garden and the impact on property value, with no regard for the property value increase due to improves public transport. They'd also get compensated for the garden loss.... talk about win win win.

Overall, surely it's still an improvement that can be built on in medium term?...

corkoniense

Sounds disappointing. None of my recommendations appear to have been accepted anyway! The original plans provided an estimated travel time along the routes in 2030(I think) if the project proceded as is, versus the estimated travel time if nothing was done. I wonder will the updated plans provide updated estimates? Or is it all an exercise in wishful thinking?

namloc1980

A capitulation to nimbys and local political interests. Waste of time as these new plans won't improve the bus experience, so best to scrap it altogether to be honest.

hans aus dtschl

I'm with others here: it looks watered down to the point of being mostly useless

gooseman12

"However it is no longer proposed to introduce a bus gate and the number of on street car parking spaces has been increased to retain more existing spaces than previously proposed" (Page 16 of the Ballincollig Document)

I think this sentance alone sums it all up for me, bus gate removed and more car parking spaces! I mean, if there is anything at all in the world that the town of Ballincollig needs, it is not car parking, the place is overflowing with spaces.

I think many of us, including myself, had hoped that TII would get this done with as little influence from the city council and the naysayers as possible but unfortunately that has not happened.

BagofWeed

A joke plan for an increasingly joke of a city.

Pete_Cavan

If the NTA should have learnedanything from the BusConnects Dublin experience, it's that the infrastructure improvements should be done in a localised way using Part 8. These big city-wide plans only poke every bear of a NIMBY across the whole city and galvanise people against the plan.

BusConnects should be a network redesign and the common branding, standard bus stops, etc. The road layout changes can be more easily done under Part 8. Start off by picking some low hanging fruit of pinchpoints where benefits can be realised but also relatively uncontroversial. Those works could be done much quicker that way than jumping through all the hoops a mega project like BusConnects entails. I'd be confident more works would be done by 2030 using this route rather than going through the slog that is BusConnects (where clearly nothing of note will be done by 2030).

cgcsb

Looks like a cancellation to me. I guess there's no seriousness behind the various strategies and acts.

Yggr of Asgard

I think it's fair to say that the original Cork Bus Connect plan has been scrapped because what is remaining is a few route changes and some minor adjustments.

This was supposed to be a major improvement for public transport in the city, with more frequent and reliable buses, dedicated lanes, and better connections. But thanks to a vocal minority of nimbies (not in my backyard), who opposed any changes to their precious roads and parking spaces, the plan has been shelved.

This is a huge setback for Cork and its residents, who deserve better options for getting around. It appears to me that the nimbies have shown once again that they have more influence than the wider public, who would benefit from a more sustainable and efficient transport system. In my opinion they have ignored the facts and the evidence, and instead focused on their own selfish interests.

They have ruined the proposed Cork Bus Connect plan, and they have done a disservice to the city and its future. They have put their own convenience over the common good, and they have stifled progress and innovation. They have shown that they don't care about the environment, the economy, or the quality of life of their fellow citizens.

I'm not surprised, yet still disappointed. We need to stand up to the nimbies and demand better transport solutions for Cork. We need to make our voices heard and show that we care about our city and its future. We need to support the Cork Bus Connect plan and make it happen.

namloc1980

I'd urge everyone to put in a submission for the second consultation along the lines of the above excellent post. This can't just die a death to local nimby and councillor interests.

https://consult.nationaltransport.ie/en/consultation/busconnects-cork-sustainable-transport-corridors-preferred-route-option-public-consultation-round-2