Petition to Prioritise the Ring Road over the Central Access Scheme

catbear

Considering the Ballymun towers as progress at their time condemns the CAS scheme to the same fate. A unsympathetic unsocial truncation of the central core of the city which in time would have to be removed without reservation. unless of course there are progress hippies around begging for its retention with slogans like "you can't hold back progress".

All over Europe cities are being rejuvenated away from the car and in Japan they're tackling the problem of aging populations by clustering older people together in pedestrian urban centres to prolong independent living while providing access to essential healthcare facilities. Now that's progress.

Grats

linny wrote: »

finally some good news
http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/kilkenny-news/cas-bridge-contractor-on-site-this-week-1-6148779

Down the Quay today and can confirm that the works have indeed started.

Threadhead

Grats wrote: »

Down the Quay today and can confirm that the works have indeed started.

Thank God. I really need to get to the derelict mart site and Greensbridge is going to fall apart at any second and damn it, I just can't wait for the ring road to be finished. This is fantastic news.

redtelephone

Grats wrote: »

Down the Quay today and can confirm that the works have indeed started.

Bring it on. I just know the 5 new sets of lights will improve the traffic flow. It's great to see our money being well spent.:D

kikel

Grats wrote: »

Down the Quay today and can confirm that the works have indeed started.

Come on Grats. You're just coming on here trying to rise the situation. Give us some good reasons why this new bridge is needed.

hi5

What are the official reasons for its 'reason to be'?
Somebody in officialdom must have listed out the advantages and how it will change the current flow of traffic.
For instance, if I'm coming from the Ring Rd and I want to go to the Freshford Rd, what route will I take, do I go through Newpark over the speed bumps and take a left where I used to go straight on over Greens bridge, or do I go down past the primary school and take a right at the barracks lights
As people have said before, it's a bridge to nowhere.

Threadhead

It was developed concurrently with the handover of the Mart site. The development of the Mart site stalled in 2008 when the economy crashed but the funding for the road had been secured anyway. It leads directly to the old mart site and it seems like the Council's strategy is to build the road anyway and up the value of their derelict site. That's the only reason I can see for this road being built. And it's an awful reason.

Sorry, its official reason to be is 'traffic relief' to which any logical person's counter argument is 'Finish the ring road.'

Cabaal

Grats,
any chance of backing up your comments about Greensbridge?
see: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=91070281&postcount=318

Either back them up with a reliable source or we'll just assume you pulled them out of the air.

redtelephone

A new pedestrian bridge is to be built further away from the city than Greensbridge:

"A number of new linkages are proposed over the River Nore, connecting the existing pedestrian and cycle links,..... The Quay Link will connect Bateman Quay to John’s Quay, and the Greensbridge Way will provide a pedestrian/cycle crossing upstream of Greensbridge. " Kilkenny City Development Plan 2014-2020.

So there are NO plans to pedestrianise Greensbridge.

Cabaal

redtelephone wrote: »

A new pedestrian bridge is to be built further away from the city than Greensbridge:

"A number of new linkages are proposed over the River Nore, connecting the existing pedestrian and cycle links,..... The Quay Link will connect Bateman Quay to John’s Quay, and the Greensbridge Way will provide a pedestrian/cycle crossing upstream of Greensbridge. " Kilkenny City Development Plan 2014-2020.

So there are NO plans to pedestrianise Greensbridge.

Thought as much,
Greensbridge is completely unsuitable to be closed to all motorized traffic,

kikel

Ive noticed a lot about the pro CAS group both here and on Facebook. You ask them to give arguements, details or facts about why the CAS should be built and ive not got one genuine reply.

The anti CAS people have loads of alternatives.

Rantan

wow...really brings it home,,,sad picture...Canices provides a fitting backdrop.

Are the old mill building beside where the works are being demolished or preserved?

miece16

they were out protesting this morning at greens bridge entrance to the river by the kayak club. i hope they dont block the diggers from going in

catbear

miece16 wrote: »

they were out protesting this morning at greens bridge entrance to the river by the kayak club. i hope they dont block the diggers from going in

If they do this thing will ratchet up a gear. From here the protestors have got to come out strongly as pro congestion relief via ring road completion in national media coverage.

Hmm_Messiah

miece16 wrote: »

they were out protesting this morning at greens bridge entrance to the river by the kayak club. i hope they dont block the diggers from going in

I saw this this morning. I have not got a view either way on one versus the other - I presume they are being grouped together due " better way to spend the money" . But in all honesty my impression of the protest was that it seemed harmless.

It would not encourage me to investigate the rights & wrongs etc. I am not sure why - maybe the size of the protest, or the Kilkenny jerseys, or the young guy who was obviously embarrassed over something, my response driving past was to be amused

Supra lover 87

Biggest load of crap ever they should finish the ring road and forget about this cas.

What good is this road going to do id say next on the county council agenda is to knock the castle and black abbey church and put in a topaz garage and a centra.

Them pictures of the street signs is right there an eye sore and the filter light outside the court house to turn right into the dunnes carpark stays on longer than the green light itself.

I just want to know whos pockets are going to be filed with this crap idea.

They started clearing trees up by there last week

obezyana

Is the new road from the bridge on the old mart side going directly towards the mart or whats the story? I was over that way yesterday and it seems as if it is. I have to say I always was of the impression that the bridge would be a positive thing now I'm not so sure, I didn't think it was going to be that detrimental to the area on the mart side of the river. It would seem that area is not exactly suited for more traffic.

After more thinking and looking around the area I'd kinda have to side with the anti cas side.

catbear

@obezyana, I think people will come to realise that CAS is actually not a solution for relieving congestion. BTW years ago I was open to the project too but having attended hearings when it was being touted primarily for the development of the old mart site I could clearly see how private interests were served but failed to see any public benefit. Back then there wasn't much criticism of the proposed project as general society was severely smacked off its head on the fumes of credit fueled affluence to even notice.

There's a lot of false pretexts being exposed as people become more aware of the real longterm impact and poor return of this project.

So who benefit's? Who makes money off this CAS but wouldn't benefit by the completion of the ringroad? It's not the construction sector as they'd do well off either project so infrastructural progress isn't a factor. Is there demand for more retail in the development of the old mart site because if there is then surely private money would contribute towards the CAS which as far as I aware is currently a completely publicly funded development.

logically that leaves us with land sale as the main influence. So who benefits from the sale of land requisitioned for CAS and how are they linked to the public representatives pushing this project against growing public disquiet?

The only pubic support I've heard for the CAS project is sentiment for general progress which is assured with the ringroad completion. CAS is being mis-sold regularly with announcements for tangental job creation projects near the CAS but never is there committed private or public funding involved with these chimeras. These announcements are only useful as imaginary carrots to divide public opinion and distract from the only guaranteed outcome, a few will get rich from the public purse and we'll end up with a traffic jam closer to the city.

In pushing this project the CAS proponents are defrauding themselves and the public and wasting valuable resources that could be used to actually relieve congestion in the city and the surrounding environs.

Threadhead

For example, if a local politician and his family had bought up land around that location they could make a fortune from the commercialisation of the mart area.

Hypothetically speaking of course.

Bowlardo

So who does own the old mart site? Who will benefit from it? Will it be the council in relation to revenue or it is privately owned by some one in the council or with connections to the council

catbear

Bowlardo wrote: »

So who does own the old mart site? Who will benefit from it? Will it be the council in relation to revenue or it is privately owned by some one in the council or with connections to the council

If I remember correctly the owners had suspended their interest in developing the site in 09/10, it's in their interest to talk it up as they could offload it onto another sucker but they haven't committed to any of CAS cost so I'm inclined to think they not pushing it. Who owns the rest of the land, especially on the eastern environs that's needed for the roads?

Threadhead

A bit of digging may confirm a (no longer hypothetical) scenario in which a local politician bought up land near the site. That's just grapevine chatter and I'm not informed enough to say it's fact but it's what I've heard.

Fact is, anyone with land around that site and around the proposed route for that road is going to make a lot of money from it being built. If those people have any sway, it makes sense as to why we're dealing with a situation where an unnecessary road is being built for the sake of 'Ah shur, we have the money ring fenced and if we don't use it we'll lose it.'

obezyana

I was in favour of it as having a good second bridge seems a good idea but like I said after seeing the exact location and thinking a bit more about it the bridge whilst a good idea maybe it would be suited further away and it would then give better access further down the river.

I suppose the work had started it's only a matter of waiting and see how it turns out.

bloopy

Are the pics of the new bridge posted a few pages back the actual design, or are they a piss-take mockup?

kikel

They are supposedly the design. A number of people are trying to get into city hall to see a mock up of what it will look like but they don;t seem to have one. You'd think this is something they would have before making such a big decision. Have the council really done their research about the impact of this?

foxcoverteddy

Well what a sorry state of affairs, have we got to the stage where the majority of Kilkenny people are against the CAS? Whilst "Boards" doesn't speak for the people, there is a good indication all is not well with the council ignoring the ring road completion.
The new council appears no better than the old school, it seems you will have the CAS like it or not, perhaps someone is suggesting a large retail unit could be going into the old mart site, like one we have not got in Kilkenny.
The new footbridge might be of use but it's design leaves a lot to be desired, however if the intention is to knock all that is old, so well and good, why spend money on the Talbot Tower, the Mayors walk has been truly f'd up, the courthouse likewise.
Why traffic is allowed down the High Street is another mystery?
Only time will tell, with luck perhaps all of our politicians will run to Brussels.
Have a nice day

Formosa

Threadhead wrote: »

For example, if a local politician and his family had bought up land around that location they could make a fortune from the commercialisation of the mart area.

Hypothetically speaking of course.

Sounds like a case for the PAC???

Sky King

Lol!

catbear

Formosa wrote: »

Sounds like a case for the PAC???

kikel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJnq9c3036g&list=UUi47xmVKUReUllNWum9agRg