Election 2009 & Tramore Road: The Aftermath

Stan Nangle

James Mccartan wrote: »

We could take to the streets then you would find out who is pissed off bet it would be like election day all would go into hiding.
Every one is backing you onto you try to do some thing and then there is no one to be found.
I found this out the hard way.

The one recurring issue in every street and estate was the state of the Tramore Road and the damage that was being done to peoples' cars. Everyone was up in arms about this.

Then, come election day, the four County Councillors responsible for the state of the road are the first four elected.

Totally barmy!

Gulamugas

Stan in fairness the councillors are not responsible for the state of the road. They approve the spend and some engineer decided when and how the job is done, when the job turned out to be a mess the councillors can only rely on the information given to them by the executive on how best to resolve the problem.

Stan Nangle

Gulamugas wrote: »

Stan in fairness the councillors are not responsible for the state of the road. They approve the spend and some engineer decided when and how the job is done, when the job turned out to be a mess the councillors can only rely on the information given to them by the executive on how best to resolve the problem.

€1 million for 2km in Kilmacthomas

€1.7 million for 2km in Clonea

€52,000 for 2km in Tramore

That should have jumped off the page of the roads budget.

The job turned out to be a mess because the Councillors didn't make sure there was enough money budgeted for it. The job hasn't been fixed because the Councillors didn't demand that it be fixed.

But we're going off topic ................

Jim_Are_Great

Stan Nangle wrote: »

Then, come election day, the four County Councillors responsible for the state of the road are the first four elected.

That's disingenuous, Stan. Not least because the first four people elected weren't even all county councillors.

Stan Nangle wrote: »

The job hasn't been fixed because the Councillors didn't demand that it be fixed.

The reparation process is underway, as far as I'm aware, with some councillors lobbying to make sure it gets done.

But yes, this is off-topic.

Sully

Ill spit to the older topic if you guys want to debate this?!

Stan Nangle

Sully wrote: »

Ill spit to the older topic if you guys want to debate this?!

Make it so Number 1

Sully

Split from http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055538482

Point of Reference: http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055366364

Stan Nangle

Jim_Are_Great wrote: »

That's disingenuous, Stan. Not least because the first four people elected weren't even all county councillors.

Let me rephrase.

The four Councillors with the highest first preferences were all sitting Councillors, and were part of the pact, when the 2008 roads budget was passed. They were also sitting Councillors when the 2009 roads budget was passed, and they neglected to correct their mistake when that opportunity was presented to them.

The reparation process is underway, as far as I'm aware, with some councillors lobbying to make sure it gets done.

The "reparation process" is NOT underway. They have not agreed a date with the contractor yet, as far as I can ascertain.

Neither is the job going to be done properly, as far as I can ascertain.

There are NO Councillors lobbying to have the job done properly, and certainly none with influence. This would have had to have been done when the 2009 budgets were being fixed, and it wasn't.

The current plan, as far as I can ascertain, is to remediate the cock up that was made last August. Nothing more, nothing less. This involves using more of the 15mm chip that caused the problem in the first place, but this time they are going to increase the amount of bitumen to stop it stripping.

But the stripping was only ever the visually obvious problem. The real problem was the use of the tar and chip technique on a road with that volume of traffic - more than twice the average daily volume that the new motorway between Waterford and Paulstown will have.

The new carpark in Colligan - hot rolled macadam

The carpark in Cappoquin - hot rolled macadam

Ballymacmague - hot rolled macadam

Ring - hot rolled macadam

Kilmacthomas - hot rolled macadam

Clonea - hot rolled macadam

Kilmeaden to Kill road - hot rolled macadam

Waterford bypass - thin layer macadam


Yet, with more traffic than all the above combined,

R675, Tramore to Waterford - 15mm loose chippings, and no sense of urgency to fix it when it, not unsurprisingly, went wrong ten months ago.

rasper

Stan Nangle wrote: »

Then, come election day, the four County Councillors responsible for the state of the road are the first four elected.

Totally barmy!

I've totally lost all confidence with the Irish voter at the moment, and I'm sickened to think that 43% of the voting population in Tramore didn't bother their arse to even vote, there is utter contempt for the muppet in the street by the ruling classes but do ya know what we deserve it. No other country would put up with that deathtrap of a road, and taking the re-election (topping the poll) of Michael "the stroke" Fahy in Galway after serving time for fraudulent use of council funds as an indication of how corrupt and a flawed soceity we really are, Something is really fundamentally wrong with the Irish mentality, when we time and time again set ourselves up for the same old story.

Jim_Are_Great

Stan Nangle wrote: »

Let me rephrase...

Ah, you're talking about the sitting county councillors. Of course, my mistake.

Stan Nangle wrote: »

There are NO Councillors lobbying to have the job done properly

I'm as annoyed about the road as the next person, but can you really say that with certainty?

shabouwcaw

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/tramoreroad/index.html

theres an online petition here to get the road resurfaced. just to add another petition for the TC to consider xD

also, stan, what is the green party stance on tarmacadam? surely since asphalt is an oil byproduct it's evil in the same way as proper lightbulbs are? :P jk jk

Sully

shabouwcaw wrote: »

theres an online petition here to get the road resurfaced. just to add another petition for the TC to consider xD

also, stan, what is the green party stance on tarmacadam? surely since asphalt is an oil byproduct it's evil in the same way as proper lightbulbs are? :P jk jk

That is stans petition... Stan was probably the most vocal in terms of lobbying to get this done, but sadly, they will only do it when they want to and will do a similar job rather then the proper one.

shabouwcaw

well yes, i would imagine they would only do anything when they want to.

unfortunately the botched job came at a bad time, as there is no money around for anything. but hopefully something will be done about it.

i wasnt slagging stan off, i appreciate the work he has done in putting the petition together etc. i just think its hilarious that the green party (which hates things like cars, oil and pollution) would be lobbying to pour a load of asphalt for miles so lots of cars can drive in greater quantities.

Stan Nangle

shabouwcaw wrote: »

well yes, i would imagine they would only do anything when they want to.

unfortunately the botched job came at a bad time, as there is no money around for anything. but hopefully something will be done about it.

i wasnt slagging stan off, i appreciate the work he has done in putting the petition together etc. i just think its hilarious that the green party (which hates things like cars, oil and pollution) would be lobbying to pour a load of asphalt for miles so lots of cars can drive in greater quantities.

I would suggest that you are basing your understanding of the Greens on the propaganda put out by our political opponents.

I don't "hate" cars, far from it. I have owned BMWs for the last 20 years, and had a classic Mercedes 190e 2.3-16 Cosworth for a long time.

What I do hate is waste.

We use nearly three times as much energy per head of population as our European neighbours. We import 92% of our energy needs, compared to a European average of 50%. We could cut back down to the European average without much difficulty, by cutting out waste, and we could prevent a couple of billion of euro going out of the Irish economy - jobs here instead of in Saudi Arabia and Russia.

As for the Tramore road: It carries massive amounts of traffic. It should be surfaced to the highest possible standard. Tramore is a tourist resort, so it should have the highest standard of infrastructure to ensure people keep coming (back) bringing their money into the local economy.

There is also the fact that the Council plan on redoing the road using asphalt/macadam in three or four years - the tar and chip is an interim solution - but I am very conscious that there isn't going to be a whole lot of money for major resurfacing work in three or four years.

If we don't get it done now, it won't be done at all (and it was only done the last time because Martin Cullen was Minister for Transport).

James Mccartan

Any up date on the Tramore Road resurface job or is it a case that Election over no one cares and the 15th June start date was just to rob your vote

Gulamugas

They are definitely going to do it when they have finished the footpath out to Newtown Well james as you well know despite what the executive will tell the council meetings they will do the job when it suits them and if needs be tell whatever number of fibs they have to in the mean time to fob everyone off.

Sully

They seem to be working on a new footpath at the Riverstown roundabout (beside the pedestrain lights).

Those traffic cones on the Tramore Road are possibly more dangerous then the road itself. Scary when your driving at night and all of a sudden you see a cone in the middle of the road.

Jim_Are_Great

http://joeconway.webs.com/apps/blog/show/1302625-tramore-road

Stan Nangle

I'm surprised Joe is openly posting on his blog that he is ineffective as a County Councillor and the Officials are running rings around him already.

We have enough Councillors with serious qualifications in that department as it is.


Come on Joe. Do something creative, and get the road fixed.

The Council destroyed the road by bringing 100,000 tonnes of capping out to the Landfill from the Bypass excavations.

You can see where it is breaking up the whole way out from Ballindud now. It needs to be properly resurfaced using multi-layer surfacing techniques, or by this time next year it will be like a cart track.

We are talking a couple of million euro, and Dungarvan are not interested.

My point is that they should have factored in the cost of resurfacing the road when they were planning to haul all that material out from the bypass (using 8x4 tippers which have a very rudimentary suspension).

Gulamugas

Stan, that's a bit unfair to Joe. He asked the question got an answer, that he obviously is not happy about, and posted it. What's he supposed to do drive the machine himself?

rasper

Gulamugas wrote: »

Stan, that's a bit unfair to Joe. He asked the question got an answer, that he obviously is not happy about, and posted it. What's he supposed to do drive the machine himself?

And thats the kind of attitude that has left the road for almost a year in that state, nobody is blaming him but I had to read the blog 3 times to read what was said and wondered why HE was saying it.
Our elected representatives should not take this crap from the county council, if this involves a protest, a walkout, a boycott , whatever but fix the road before someone gets killed its gone on too long. This country is fast going down the drain and that sh*t of a road and the 60k Tramore lily are a perfect example of what has gone and is wrong

Gulamugas

rasper wrote: »

And thats the kind of attitude that has left the road for almost a year in that state, nobody is blaming him but I had to read the blog 3 times to read what was said and wondered why HE was saying it.
Our elected representatives should not take this crap from the county council, if this involves a protest, a walkout, a boycott , whatever but fix the road before someone gets killed its gone on too long. This country is fast going down the drain and that sh*t of a road and the 60k Tramore lily are a perfect example of what has gone and is wrong

The fact of the matter is and the sooner people cotton on to it the better. THE JOB WILL BE DONE WHEN THEY DECIDE TO DO IT and that F*****that. No amount of protest, walkout, boycott is goin to change that. That kind of action will only go to alienate you from them and you as a councillor will get nothing done. Take them on at your peril, they will always have the last shot. I bet you when they run out of excuses for the weather they will probably cite health and safety.There is a town council meeting tonight lets see what new excuse they have.

rasper

Sounds like you're saying our system is crap and doesn't work but don't try and fix it because thats the way it is and you'll only rock the boat.
Is that how you really feel, but sadly I do feel thats how a fair proportion of the voters (who actually make the effort to vote) feel

Stan Nangle

Gulamugas wrote: »

Stan, that's a bit unfair to Joe. He asked the question got an answer, that he obviously is not happy about, and posted it. What's he supposed to do drive the machine himself?

I didn't intend to be unfair to Joe.

My point was that he is now a County Councillor, in effect a Non-Executive Director of that Organisation. His job is to oversee the running of that Organisation and ensure that the management are acting in the best interests of the public (the shareholders, if you will).

I can ring up Council Officials and get the latest version of the story, and I can whinge when I am misled or am given the run-around.

A County Councillor, on the other hand, should be operating at a higher level, and should be able to hold Council Employees to account for their words and their actions. That is what they are paid to do, and that is what we elected them to do.



My latest information from a Council source is that the work is due to start next week. If you are in the windscreen business, prepare for lots of overtime

Stan Nangle

Latest update from a reliable source in the Council:

The current delay is due to humidity levels!

Go figure! :cool:

Gulamugas

I don't want to be an " I told you so " but they will do it when they want to do it or when they run out of excuses!