November 2023
Hi, there! — Welcome to the twentieth 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 the managing of roadside trees, alternatives to diesel fuels, reporting of blocked drains and improving access to St Luke’s Community Garden, as well as questions about the installation of owl and swift boxes in the city.
I’ve also included updates on the latest revisions to BusConnects Cork, proposed new busking bye-laws in the city, and the maintenance of footpaths.
If you have thoughts and feedback on any issue in the ward, or anything else you want to get in touch about, please feel welcome to email me any time at oliver.moran@greenparty.ie.
Please also share this newsletter with your neighbours and friends in the ward.
Many thanks!
Oliver
p.s. You can use this link to easily share this newsletter ... 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 for the progress of identifying locations to install owl and swift boxes in the city, as per motions 21/066 and 20/083?”
This question will be answered at the full meeting of Cork City Council on Monday. I will also submit a question to the Local Area Committee later in the month.
Motions
“That Cork City Council will revise the standard letter issued to property owners advising them of their responsibilities with regards to ownership of roadside trees in a way that reflects the tone and content of the Landowners Guide for Managing Roadside Trees published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in 2021.”
“That Cork City Council will pilot the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) with diesel-fuel vehicles and plant machinery in its fleet as a climate-mitigation measure; and prepare a report for consideration on the outcomes and issues associated.”
“That Cork City Council will develop a portal for the reporting of issues with storm drains by members of the public; and provide traders groups and residents associations with advice on maintaining and clearing storm drains in the public realm.”
“That Cork City Council will improve the entrance to St Luke’s Community Garden from the Ballyhooly Road and Windsor Cottages in cooperation with the community, so that it is more clearly signposted and accessible by pedestrians and work vehicles.”
What’s happening?
BusConnects Cork updates
The latest round of revisions for BusConnects Cork are been published this week. BusConnects is a €600bn programme of works that will include a whole new bus network for the city and a 50% increase in services.
The revised proposals published last week are to do with public transport priority measures, to improve the reliability of bus services that are otherwise caught in private traffic.
Looking at the North East ward, I think we’re arriving at a landing spot where the residents groups that I’m engaged with are now happy with the outline of the proposals. In Mayfield, St Luke’s and Blackpool, the major issues that were brought up by residents have been addressed.
That’s down to some very constructive engagement by all the residents groups in this part of the city and the approach of the NTA in meeting with them face-to-face.
Something said by public representatives I spoke to this week is that this is now either something we want or don’t want. The current situation for either public or private transport in the city is not going to be workable in future unless we agree a plan of action.
A more reliable public transport system was the strongest demand from residents for the city’s Climate Action Plan. It’s the number one barrier for current bus users. That means compromises to enable public transport priority but the trade-off will mean benefits shared by everyone.
Busking bye-laws
Cork City Council is preparing new busking bye-laws for the city centre. The intention is to reduce nuisance from some “performers”, while putting serious artist on a guaranteed footing.
However, a significant point that I have been raising is that buskers themselves weren’t included in the initial stakeholder engagement. Only now will artists have their say, which can include technical issues not otherwise considered by officials.
I’ve been working to connect performers with the consultation process, including a meeting that is being organised for next week.
The main points of the proposed bye-laws are:
Designated busking locations in the city centre with set performance times at each location.
A two-hour performance limit at each location, after which a performer may continue at another location.
Restrictions on amplification volume to 75dB, which is comparable to a hoover or loud radio.
From my discussions with performers and traders, there’s general agreement on those ideas. However, where there’s less consensus is on other proposals, including:
Ban on backing tracks, which performers say will limit some artists (e.g. instrumentalists and singers).
Cost of registration, which will be €30 per performer and another €30 for each performer using an amplifier.
I’m concerned that the cost of registration will be prohibitive for, say, a secondary school rock group, who would need €240 to register each year before they could perform on the street (i.e. €30 each plus another €30 each for an amplification license).
The full proposed bye-laws can be read online and the consultation is open until Friday, 8 December at consult.corkcity.ie.
Investing in footpaths
Last month, I was provided with data on public liability claims against Cork City Council. The purpose of this was to highlight the importance of maintaining footpaths in the city, which is unfortunately the Cinderella of transport investment.
Amazingly, a majority of €4.8m out of €8.3m in claims paid out by the city over the past five years have related to poor quality footpaths. For comparison, the average payout for injuries from footpaths was €18,875, or six times the average payout for claims made for potholes, which was €3,156.
Through Neasa Hourigan TD, I’ve raised the issue of funding for footpaths at national level. There is no national funding stream for maintenance of footpaths, like there is for roads.
The issue has been referred to the National Transport Authority, who are responsible for funding transport infrastructure like this. Their answer is that they will fund new or upgraded footpaths — but not the maintenance of existing ones.
While investment in active travel infrastructure, including footpaths, has increased significantly in recent years, the majority of this funding is dedicated to the development and construction of new walking and cycling infrastructure.
This is something that is a bugbear of many city councilors and I will continue to beat this drum so that the situation evolves.
On a related issue, this year’s city budget will be agreed this week. I expect to be successful in getting funding for out-of-hours services by traffic wardens, particularly to address the issue of parking on footpaths and in bus stops.
Parking in legal parking bays is free after hours. However, up until now there have been no out-of-hours patrols by traffic wardens to address the blocking of footpaths and bus stops in the city centre.
In the news…
Cork’s controversial ‘robotrees’ spared chop after inconclusive report to city council
Green Party councillor Oliver Moran said it is time to call time on the devices but that we shouldn’t have any regrets in trying the moss walls.
Irish Examiner, Tuesday, 8 November
Landowners threatened by Cork City Council to remove trees on historic road
Green Party councillor for Cork City North East, Oliver Moran, said the notice provided to residents and landowners is entirely unsuitable for the road.
Irish Independent, Monday, 16 October
Locals call on Cork City Council to avoid development on Murphy’s Rock
“The community’s wish is to keep it as an amenity, including for families in new housing being built in the area,” Cllr Oliver Moran said.
Echo, Thursday, 5 October
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, Mastodon and TikTok. And don’t forget, you can email me any time at oliver.moran@greenparty.ie.
Have a great month!
