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2 year action plan to revive the city centre

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    #62
    lisasimpson
    Registered Users Posts: 1,853 ✭✭✭lisasimpson


    Living in cork 11 years and only felt uncomfortable twice in the city. Once was a Thursday evening last year after work when meeting a friend for a bite to eat walking along oliver plunkett st there were a number of drunks older men, id say homeless been rowdy and then teenager drinking up by the liberary. maybe it was a dull dark evening that added to the feeling. then another time was a Saturday was in dunne stores and a big fight started outside with a number of teenagers but the gardai broke it up quick enough

    The city would probably do with more of garda presence but that's not really up to the council, its to do the department of justice and the limits on the number of graduates coming from Templemore

    As part the two year plan, I would love to see some sort of a scheme to try and track down the owners of rundown sites and buildings. Past through Barrack St over the weekend, the amount of abandoned, rundown buildings along the road. Should be no excuse for the number of them considering the closeness to town, colleges
    Also some scheme to encourage landlords to convert the upper floors of buildings in the centre to apartments instead of the lying un-used
    O an extention of the park and ride scheme to other parts of the city to bring people in


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    #63
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    Honestly I think Ireland needs to actually enforce dereliction orders against people who sit on properties like that (including NAMA).


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    #64
    lisasimpson
    Registered Users Posts: 1,853 ✭✭✭lisasimpson


    SpaceTime wrote: »
    Honestly I think Ireland needs to actually enforce dereliction orders against people who sit on properties like that (including NAMA).

    Too true for example its ridiculous the fine family size homes left sitting there along Boreenamma Road not far from town, on the route to a major employment centre in mahon.


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    #65
    Loire
    Registered Users Posts: 2,034 ✭✭✭Loire


    This suggestion won't be popular I know, but to level the playing field regarding the city centre vs the retails parks, perhaps it's time to start charging for parking in the retail parks? (The other option is to reduce parking charges in the city centre, but pigs might fly).


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    #66
    namloc1980
    Registered Users Posts: 18,288 ✭✭✭✭namloc1980


    Loire wrote: »
    This suggestion won't be popular I know, but to level the playing field regarding the city centre vs the retails parks, perhaps it's time to start charging for parking in the retail parks? (The other option is to reduce parking charges in the city centre, but pigs might fly).

    Eh how can you force private car park owners to charge?


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    #67
    Subpopulus
    Registered Users Posts: 837 ✭✭✭Subpopulus


    lisasimpson wrote: »
    As part the two year plan, I would love to see some sort of a scheme to try and track down the owners of rundown sites and buildings. Past through Barrack St over the weekend, the amount of abandoned, rundown buildings along the road. Should be no excuse for the number of them considering the closeness to town, colleges

    The city council actually seem to be fairly pro-active on this - they spent something like 1.25 million re-paving Barrack street and they also put together a grant scheme with a few 10s of thousands euro to spruce up the facades of several of the buildings. They've also just finished taking applications for a similar grant scheme on North Main Street.

    But there's a limit as to how much they can do - they don't have the resources to take over the property and do it up themselves. Also, I'm not sure how high the demand is on Barrack Street for retail units. The footfall isn't massive... It will pick up gradually though - the council are also planning big stuff for Elizabeth Fort, which will draw more people to the area.


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    #68
    lisasimpson
    Registered Users Posts: 1,853 ✭✭✭lisasimpson


    yes the paving looks good ill hand them that but an area like that also needs residence to bring it too life to the area during the day and evenings, the same can be said travelling along Shandon st heading to blackpool shopping centre.. We are all aware of the accommodation suitation it doesn't just effect Dublin...Barrack st is a central area with good renting potential and would also help business along there (don't need many retail units just a few cafes, maybe barber shop etc) and in the centre.

    Another thing id love to see in the plan is to do something about some of the awful shop signage around. It is possible just look at the various cities around Europe esp in their old towns


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    #69
    flo8s967qjh0nd
    Closed Accounts Posts: 879 ✭✭✭flo8s967qjh0nd


    Some nonsense being spouted on here regarding gangs of marauding junkies stealing babies or some such. I've lived in Cork most of my life and have never experienced the levels of anti-social behaviour some commentators would have us believe is happening. Bad things happen everywhere. Cork City Centre is certainly a very, very safe place to be based on any reasonable measure.

    As others have noted, a fair bit of padding in this plan but some decent stuff too. The timescales seem awfully slow - 2016 to start planning for Bus Rapid Transport. 2016 to start plans for new City Library. Why not start now?

    One bug bear of mine is that Cork City Council really isn't maintaining the investments they are putting into the city. For example:
    • At least twice in recent years CCC have invested in new signage for motorists and tourists in the City Centre. Why are we doing it all over again in this plan?
    • How much was spent on the wonderful St Patrick Street paving? I see chunks of it now missing, loose, tarred over. IS this ever going to be replaced?
    • After massive investment in public realm improvements of the Coal Quay it is now a wonderful, beautiful, expensive carpark due to lack of enforcement.

    I'm all for investing in the City Centre but lets maintain what we have too.
    Finally, the plan mentions something about a "shopping centre -type manager for the city centre". One of the biggest mistakes a City Council could ever make is imagining that Cork City Centre is merely a centre for shopping and retail.


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    #70
    Subpopulus
    Registered Users Posts: 837 ✭✭✭Subpopulus


    Kara Silly Wimp wrote: »
    The timescales seem awfully slow - 2016 to start planning for Bus Rapid Transport. 2016 to start plans for new City Library. Why not start now?

    Because funding has to be gotten; because the planning contracts have to be tendered; because the planners have to work through the various stages to reach the design level. It's not as if you can just start designing these things when the mood strikes you.

    In any case they already have started. The city and county councils have spent time this year putting together an application for NTA funding to undertake the feasibility plan, and the design for the new City Library is already being worked on AFAIK.


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    #71
    cgcsb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,571 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    will be interesting to see how they route the BRT and what provision will be me made for replacing it with luas in the future.


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    #72
    namloc1980
    Registered Users Posts: 18,288 ✭✭✭✭namloc1980


    cgcsb wrote: »
    will be interesting to see how they route the BRT and what provision will be me made for replacing it with luas in the future.

    Preliminary study a few years ago already set out the route options. There won't be much provision for future conversion to tram other than the BRT will be segregated from other traffic as much as possible so that a future tram would also. In reality though BRT is as much as we can expect to get.


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    #73
    cgcsb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,571 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    namloc1980 wrote: »
    Preliminary study a few years ago already set out the route options. There won't be much provision for future conversion to tram other than the BRT will be segregated from other traffic as much as possible so that a future tram would also. In reality though BRT is as much as we can expect to get.

    Well utility diversions would be a must for a luas line, that could be done while building the BRT, to save yourself disruption in the future.


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    #74
    flo8s967qjh0nd
    Closed Accounts Posts: 879 ✭✭✭flo8s967qjh0nd


    Subpopulus wrote: »
    Because funding has to be gotten; because the planning contracts have to be tendered; because the planners have to work through the various stages to reach the design level. It's not as if you can just start designing these things when the mood strikes you.

    In any case they already have started. The city and county councils have spent time this year putting together an application for NTA funding to undertake the feasibility plan, and the design for the new City Library is already being worked on AFAIK.

    Agreed, but a BRT has been in the pipeline for a couple of decades at least. Am I alone in being disappointing that things go so slowly?


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    #75
    CHealy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,800 ✭✭✭CHealy


    Kara Silly Wimp wrote: »
    Agreed, but a BRT has been in the pipeline for a couple of decades at least. Am I alone in being disappointing that things go so slowly?

    Welcome to Cork.


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    #76
    namloc1980
    Registered Users Posts: 18,288 ✭✭✭✭namloc1980


    CHealy wrote: »
    Welcome to Cork.

    Welcome to Ireland. Many projects got shelved over the last number of years due to the economic crisis. Not just a Cork thing.


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    #77
    D'Agger
    Registered Users Posts: 13,385 ✭✭✭✭D'Agger


    SpaceTime wrote: »
    I'd add : I lost my wallet in the city centre a few weeks ago with about €200 cash, all my cards etc inside...

    My phone rang. A totally normal, friendly guy found it and contacted a number for my gym membership card.

    Their receptionist rang me, he arranged to meet me with my totally unstolen wallet.

    I insisted on giving him a voucher for lunch somewhere decent (happened to have an Orso voucher in the wallet). He refused several times saying anyone would do the same.

    Cork's such an uncivilised place!

    Glad that worked out for you, my brand new wallet with €80 in it fell out of my pocket coming out of a busy cinema in mahon point & some díckhead didn't hand that in or look to contact me given there were a few cards that'd allow for it

    I'm fine though....I'm fine....totally over it :pac:


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    #78
    Ludo
    Registered Users Posts: 5,015 ✭✭✭Ludo


    namloc1980 wrote: »
    Welcome to Ireland. Many projects got shelved over the last number of years due to the economic crisis. Not just a Cork thing.

    Welcome to reality. Infrastructure plans like this come and goo all over the world and only a small percentage of them make it to construction phase. As usual..not just an Irish thing.


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    #79
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    lisasimpson wrote: »
    yes the paving looks good ill hand them that but an area like that also needs residence to bring it too life to the area during the day and evenings, the same can be said travelling along Shandon st heading to blackpool shopping centre.. We are all aware of the accommodation suitation it doesn't just effect Dublin...Barrack st is a central area with good renting potential and would also help business along there (don't need many retail units just a few cafes, maybe barber shop etc) and in the centre.

    Another thing id love to see in the plan is to do something about some of the awful shop signage around. It is possible just look at the various cities around Europe esp in their old towns

    Quite a lot of nice and quirky signage in Cork too.
    The issue is actually more with international chains than local ones. Many of them could make a bit more of an effort.


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