New Pedestrian Bridge over Nore

Cabaal

Threadhead wrote: »

We should definitely build nice things. But it would be nice to build nice things that we actually need.

I'm sure when the first bridge was built it wasn't actually really needed, especially given there was far more poor people back then.

I'm sure we can say the same for lots of stuff build in every city, country around the world. There's always something else the money could be spent on. It doesn't mean we shouldn't do these things.

Sky King

Agreed.

You could say we don't need the M9 because apparently it's not even worth tolling.

I still like being in Dublin in an hour though, and I bet you do too.

Dymo

Lets build a bridge to Dublin

Sky King

No lets not build any piece of infrastructure ever again because Kilkenny is a medieval city so we should all be driving horses and carts.

road_high

Sky King wrote: »

No lets not build any piece of infrastructure ever again because Kilkenny is a medieval city so we should all be driving horses and carts.

This is it. You can't destroy the "medieval character of Kilkenny" all the while the city is choked with traffic, but lets ignore that little fact.
Any other town or city would be delighted with a new pedestrian bridge and new investment but not in Kilkenny, lets stay in a time-warp.

catbear

Sky King wrote: »

No lets not build any piece of infrastructure ever again because Kilkenny is a medieval city so we should all be driving horses and carts.

The bridge to complete the ring road looks to be going ahead, happy?

Sky King

Ecstatic. I love bridges so i do.

catbear

Sky King wrote: »

Ecstatic. I love bridges so i do.

Good, now get over them!:D

m4rkiz

is it just me or is it a little odd that lads that "took my money in taxes" and went shopping for a €0.6 million (or 0.4 mil, not sure) bridge are given all the credit with grand opening, photographs, press, radio coverage etc. so they can be elected again?

what i mean is that lads which actually built the bridge have nothing like it (one can say that it is what they get paid for, guess what...) same goes for all those that actually designed it or paid for it with household tax, road tax or whatever tax money were used to fund this...

i do understand that it is kind of tradition to have opening ceremony, but I'm bit annoyed with them petting themselves at the backs when all they did is that they went shopping and spend half million euro from people taxes for piece of steel across the water

catbear

m4rkiz wrote: »

i do understand that it is kind of tradition to have opening ceremony, but I'm bit annoyed with them petting themselves at the backs when all they did is that they went shopping and spend half million euro from people taxes for piece of steel across the water

I've worked on major infrastructure projects and didn't feel any way put out for not been around at the ribbon cutting, I was usually already working on the next project when that was happening.

The key to having elected reps cut the ribbon on anything is that ultimately it is they who have to constantly appeal and appease to the fickle public to keep their job. They're the ones who direct the taxes and it is they who lose their job if the public isn't happy, Fianna Fail were culled at the last election because their property bubble took out the economy.

Politics is war by other means. So if you feel cutting ribbons is your due then you'll have to take the blame along with the praise.

Bowlardo

1. Who is ultimately responsible for that bridge?
2. who signed off on it?
3. Whoever designed it?

it is ****ing shockingly grim looking yolk.

road_high

It needs linkages. One end is a dunnes car park. The other that are around the library with nothing there. And yes its ugly and wrong looking.

Cabaal

I think the bridge would look far better if it was black, at the end of the day ALL the other railings up and down that area are black but then the bridge isn't. imho the design isn't that bad,

redtelephone

Bowlardo wrote: »

1. Who is ultimately responsible for that bridge?
2. who signed off on it?
3. Whoever designed it?

it is ****ing shockingly grim looking yolk.

It's an example of what the Borough Council regard as progress. They obviously think its beautiful and appropriate so we can look forward to lots more new infrastructure of the same quality in the future.

JohnMc1

Cabaal wrote: »

So we shouldn't build nice things in the city then?

There are nice things and then there is that cheap piece of tin that the Council had built just so they would have brag about when they start going door to door again to seek re-election [and you know that dumbass Andrew will] and pocket whatever was left over to make the bridge.

Einhard

JohnMc1 wrote: »

There are nice things and then there is that cheap piece of tin that the Council had built just so they would have brag about when they start going door to door again to seek re-election [and you know that dumbass Andrew will] and pocket whatever was left over to make the bridge.

I hate this BS. Yeah, bash politicians all ye want. A lot of them deserve it. But this cr@p about corruption and brown envelopes and widespread siphoning off of public funds is nonsense, and really just lazy. Just because you have a gripe against politicians doesn't mean they're all crooked. Indeed, I'd safely say the majority of them are not in the least corrupt.

Cabaal

JohnMc1 wrote: »

There are nice things and then there is that cheap piece of tin that the Council had built just so they would have brag about when they start going door to door again to seek re-election

Yeah and how is that the councils fault?

If people will vote for a councilor because he says he got a bridge built rather then somebody more meaningful, that's not the fault of the councilor that's the fault of the idiotic voter.

Its upto people to educate themselves on a TD/councilor, they shouldn't just accept whats written on a leaflet or told to them at the door.

Every councilor/TD has good and bad points regardless of what party they are involved in.

Cabaal

Einhard wrote: »

I hate this BS. Yeah, bash politicians all ye want. A lot of them deserve it. But this cr@p about corruption and brown envelopes and widespread siphoning off of public funds is nonsense, and really just lazy. Just because you have a gripe against politicians doesn't mean they're all crooked. Indeed, I'd safely say the majority of them are not in the least corrupt.

Spot on,

Corruption does exist no doubt but not with everyone and certainly not on every level.

Ireland is very very far from the worst in the world for it also

http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results

redtelephone

Einhard wrote: »

I hate this BS. Yeah, bash politicians all ye want. A lot of them deserve it. But this cr@p about corruption and brown envelopes and widespread siphoning off of public funds is nonsense, and really just lazy. Just because you have a gripe against politicians doesn't mean they're all crooked. Indeed, I'd safely say the majority of them are not in the least corrupt.

You're in a minority there. From the Irish Times today :
"81 per cent of people in Ireland say they think corruption is widespread in the country, 5 per cent above the European Union average of 76 per cent."

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/government-must-do-more-to-counter-corruption-1.1677810

We've seen in the past that it's almost impossible to prove corruption, but because we can't see it doesn't mean it's not there, and describing peoples concerns as lazy is just insulting and trite.

Sky King

Cabaal wrote: »

I think the bridge would look far better if it was black, at the end of the day ALL the other railings up and down that area are black but then the bridge isn't. imho the design isn't that bad,

Apparently it was to be painted but to me it still looks like the same manky colour it was before it went in - which we were told was a base coat / primer.

Is this in fact the final colour or are they going to come along and paint it?

It would be *so* much better if it was black.

hi5

The bridge in Carlow is painted black, it looks a lot better.

1984baby

hopefully it will be painted black, it would look nicer. But if they dont its not the end of the world. We'll all be used to it in a few months.

Einhard

redtelephone wrote: »

You're in a minority there. From the Irish Times today :
"81 per cent of people in Ireland say they think corruption is widespread in the country, 5 per cent above the European Union average of 76 per cent."

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/government-must-do-more-to-counter-corruption-1.1677810

We've seen in the past that it's almost impossible to prove corruption, but because we can't see it doesn't mean it's not there, and describing peoples concerns as lazy is just insulting and trite.

And I'm happy to be in the minority. That kind of stat just illustrates how little people actually think about things. it's easier to give knee-jerk, lazy, unthnking responses rather than actually consider an issue. That's illustrated in the same article. 81% of people believe corruption to eb widespread, yet only 3% of people ever gave or were offered a bribe, or know someone who did. So much for widespread corruption! That perfectly encapsulates my point.

Sky King

I would personally say that very little of the traditional brown enveloping goes on these days.

These days it's all about racking up enormous milage expenses, employing your relations and giving your mates jobs on state boards, and making a complete balls of projects funded by public money with zero accountability and widespread shoulder shrugging by everyone.

Maybe all that doesn't fall into the category of corruption though

Mocadonna

Einhard wrote: »

And I'm happy to be in the minority. That kind of stat just illustrates how little people actually think about things. it's easier to give knee-jerk, lazy, unthnking responses rather than actually consider an issue. That's illustrated in the same article. 81% of people believe corruption to eb widespread, yet only 3% of people ever gave or were offered a bribe, or know someone who did. So much for widespread corruption! That perfectly encapsulates my point.

The report deals with all forms of corruption, including patronage, nepotism and in fact "any abuse of power for personal gain". But you just looked at bribery to illustrate a point, so lets take that narrow definition and look at it another way. 3 percent (4% EU average) of people have responded yes to being asked to pay a bribe (no mention in the report of people giving bribes or of people they know bribing as you state above, as the figures are going to be so skewed by under reporting they would be worthless), yet 13% (EU average 5%)say someone in their company was asked to pay one at least once. Now, either they're interviewing a hell of a lot of people from the same companies, or there is more under reporting going on here which is always a problem in studies like this, so lets even assume they've weighted it to allow for this. We're still 8% above the average on bribery alone with these figures, without mentioning the nepotism or anything else which we've all read about with appointments to state boards etc. Looking at it this way, it's possible to come to the conclusion that Ireland is above the EU average on corruption. If you yourself have first hand experience of it, as perhaps the above poster has you're much more likely to look at the 8% above than the 1% below.

This is hardly a knee jerk, lazy or unthinking response, but I've arrived at that conclusion. Just because someone doesn't share the same point of view as you it doesn't mean they're lazy or haven't thought about things as much as you, and the only knee jerk is you assuming this. They may have experienced things very differently to you and for you to dismiss that as BS is insulting.

redtelephone

Einhard wrote: »

And I'm happy to be in the minority. That kind of stat just illustrates how little people actually think about things. it's easier to give knee-jerk, lazy, unthnking responses rather than actually consider an issue. That's illustrated in the same article. 81% of people believe corruption to eb widespread, yet only 3% of people ever gave or were offered a bribe, or know someone who did. So much for widespread corruption! That perfectly encapsulates my point.

I can assure you that those of us who are lifelong taxpayers give careful consideration to all of these issues. I wish I could live in your world where people admit to giving or being offered bribes! Just look at what happens whistleblowers in this country. Surely you don't seriously believe that 3% figure. Is that you you Bertie?

catbear

The gas thing is we probably all know someone who asks "what are you going to do for me" of prospective candidates at election time, with what's in the common interest being of secondary importance.
That cliantist mandate may be a corruption of the common wealth but it can't be denied that it is the will of a good portion of the electorate who believe that government is their means to live at everyone else's expense.

Cabaal

That didn't take long for idiots to start littering the new bridge with crap

http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/kilkenny-news/love-lockdown-on-city-s-new-bridge-1-5868356?WT.mc_id=Outbrain_text&obref=obinsite

kikel

Cabaal wrote: »

That didn't take long for idiots to start littering the new bridge with crap

http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/kilkenny-news/love-lockdown-on-city-s-new-bridge-1-5868356?WT.mc_id=Outbrain_text&obref=obinsite

I think ya need a good ride. :D

** Probably not as funny as I thought it was originally.

I actually like it. I love how I can park in Greenwood and be in High St in a couple of minutes. And I don't think it's ugly - it's contemporary. It's great to stand on the middle of the bridge and look up and down the river at our lovely city. I hope they hang flower baskets on it in the spring, and yea - it might be nicer if it was painted a different colour but it's not a big issue for me.