March 2024
Hi, there! — Welcome to the twenty-fourth edition of my monthly newsletter to keep you up to date on my work for Cork City North East.
This month we have motions on public lighting in Riverstown, a multi-functional community centre for Glanmire, city centre “ambassadors”, as well as questions on the pedestrian scheme planned for Kilcully, and new standards for zebra crossings.
I’ve also included updates on investing in footpaths, new street performance bye-laws, and climate action in the city.
If you have feedback on any issue in this newsletter, or if there’s ever anything you want to get in touch about in the ward, please feel welcome to email me anytime at oliver.moran@greenparty.ie.
Please also share this newsletter with your friends and neighbours in the ward.
Many thanks!
Oliver
p.s. You can use this link to easily read and share all my monthly newsletters ... oliver.ie/newsletter
Motions and notions
Every month, each councillor can submit up to four motions to Cork City Council and ask two formal questions of the Chief Executive. One of these questions is asked at the Local Area Committee and must be about local operational matters.
Before the deadline each month, I meet with my local group, the Cork City North Greens, and we agree motions and questions for the month ahead. We call this our “motions and notions” meeting :-)
If you have ideas or suggestions for a motion, or have a question you want asked, just let me know!
Or join the Cork City North Greens ... my.greenparty.ie
Questions
“To ask the Chief Executive the expected timeline for delivery of the Kilcully phase of the Kilcully/Upper Glanmire Pedestrian Safety Scheme; and if delivery will be accelerated following significant recent road traffic incidents, resulting in serious injury and damage to property?”
I will also ask the following question at the Local Area Committee meeting on Monday, 25 March:
“To ask the Chief Executive to estimate how the new Type B Zebra Pedestrian Crossing will reduce the cost to install a zebra crossing; if it would be suitable at locations such as the currently-unsigned dipped kerb at the L3010 near Marwood; and if such a crossing would be suitable to replace an existing Type A Zebra Pedestrian Crossing where there are defective Belisha beacons, such as at Middle Glanmire Road near St Paul’s Special School and Lower Dublin Hill near Kinvara Close.”
Motions
“That Cork City Council will extend continuous double yellow lines on the Old Youghal Road near Sarsfield’s Terrace and Rathmore Terrace, so as to allow for clear lines of sight for residents exiting these areas.”
“That Cork City Council will install public lighting between Riverstown Cross and Glanmire village.”
“That Cork City Council will identify a location and source of funding for an accessible multi-functional community centre in Glanmire.”
“That Cork City Council will report on the potential for City Centre Ambassadors in Cork city centre, such as in Sheffield and Dundee in the UK.”
What’s happening?
Investing in footpath repair
This month, I argued in the Transport committee of Cork City Council about the need to prioritise spending in repair and maintenance of footpaths across the city.
Last November, I revealed that between 2019 and 2023, more than €4.7m was paid out by Cork City Council for claims relating to footpaths. This is the lion’s share of a €8m paid out over the period — and for comparison claims in relation to potholes totaled just €1m over the same period.
Coming out of that discussion, a consensus is growing among councillors about the need to allocate more budget for repair of footpaths. Across the city, the centrally-agreed budget for footpath repair today is just €200,000.
That is something that I will demand is increased if re-elected in June. However, even now, it doesn’t mean that local councillors can do nothing.
Since 2021, Cork City Council also has ward-level budgets funded by the Local Property Tax. This is something I had sought since being elected in 2019, as it provides a stable income for maintenance and investment across the ward.
In other wards, all of this money is used for estate roads resurfacing. However, in the North East ward, councillors have agreed to use this fund for a wider range of projects, including local amenities and footpath repair.
An example of that is that councillors here have agreed to allocate €50,000 to repair footpaths in Cahergal Avenue and Cahergal Lawn, including a €20,000 top-up from the ward-level budget. These works will now be offered for tender and the footpaths will be repaired in the months ahead.
Walking and footpaths are the keystone of active travel and sustainable transport. Every journey begins and ends as a pedestrian — and our footpaths need constant investing in for that reason.
Busking bye-laws
This month, the Environment and Amenities committee of Cork City Council agreed draft bye-laws for buskers in the city. Much of the background and issues involved are in an opinion piece by me that the Echo published in November.
The development of the bye-laws didn’t initially begin from a perspective of involving artists. However, I was determined for artists to be at the centre of it and I was fortunate to come across equally determined buskers over the course of the public consultation.
The outcome of that is that alongside the bye-laws will be the formation of a Cork Street Performers Association and a Code of Conduct to go along with that, which is driven by the buskers themselves.
There have been changes to the draft bye-laws as a result of consultation, these include:
The lifting of the proposed prohibition on backing tracks
The reducing of the age for unaccompanied performers to 16 years
Relaxing of rules about set-up and packing-up times
Allowing digital and online donations, in addition to the traditional buskers cap
A cap on permit fees for large groups, like choirs and bands
There were still a small number of changes that I had wanted further to these. In particular, I wanted to see a waiving of permit fees for under 25s.
Cork is a university city with a College of Music and many academies. Supporting young people to enter performance is something really important to the economy and social life of the city.
Waiving fees for under 25s would be cross-cutting of many policies. It would be as much about supporting education and learning, and positive community outlets and work opportunities, as much as it is about enforcement of bye-laws.
This change was agreed by the committee last week, with the effect that it will be included in the draft bye-laws. These are now expected to be agreed at the April meeting of Cork City Council.
Climate action and alternative fuels pilot
Last month, Cork City Council adopted it’s first Climate Action Plan, containing 129 actions for the city.
This is the outcome of two years of concentrated research and public consultation, including household surveys and dedicated climate conversations with children and young people.
Some very significant amendments were made in response to the public consultation and engagement with the Climate Action Committee on the plan.
One, for example, was that, initially, a KPI for implementation of the plan was merely, “Number of actions implemented”. This was to be measured through minutes of meetings, regardless of real-world outcomes.
This has been replaced with the much more stark, and real-world, “Total greenhouse gas / CO2 eq. emissions per annum, by sector.” That stood out for me as being an example of “No more blah, blah, blah,” as demanded by Greta Thunberg.
The members of Cork City Council also agreed unanimously an additional action to continue “to further and maintain Cork City Council’s international outlook on climate action, including support for international climate movements and being an active global citizen, so as to think global, act local.”
That amendment reflects more of a ‘political dimension’ than what officials would ordinarily feel they could place among the actions of a plan like this.
In particular, this amendment directly by the city’s councillors themselves recalls the significance of movements like the student climate strikers, who put a spotlight on the issue in the city and internationally.
At the same meeting, Cork City Council agreed a pilot on the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to replace diesel-fuel in vehicles and plant machinery in its fleet as a climate-mitigation measure. The city has already replaced as much of its fleet as it can to electric vehicles.
Officials are now working with suppliers to identify options to pilot the use of HVO as a diesel fuel alternative in remaining parts of its fleet.
The use of biofuels isn’t without controversy and there is a risk that biofuel production may divert farmlands away from food production. However, based on the outcome of the pilot, Cork City Council will consider HVO as an option in future procurement.
In the news…
Griffith College Cork facing calls to remove pitch from Landscape Preservation Zone
Green Party councillor, Oliver Moran, said the college should now remove the pitch and restore the land to its former state.
Irish Examiner, Tuesday, 27 February
Consultation opens on planned redevelopment of Spring Lane halting site
Green Party councillor, Oliver Moran, described the redevelopment as an opportunity to “make good years of neglect”.
Echo, Saturday, 24 February
Dedicated Uisce Éireann taskforce to tackle Cork City’s water quality
It comes just days after Green Party city councillor, Oliver Moran, asked the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to investigate the problem.
Irish Examiner, Friday, 9 February
Keep in touch
Thanks for reading! Please feel welcome to share this newsletter and invite other people you know to subscribe — and, if you can, please consider making a donation to my 2024 re-election campaign.
You can also keep up to date with my activities on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon and TikTok. And don’t forget, you can email me any time at oliver.moran@greenparty.ie.
Have a great month!