Bicycles, Phoenix Park and traffic

tomasrojo

They way they announced this doesn't speak of enormous confidence in what they're doing though.

magicbastarder

it's a clear case of the urgent driving out the important.

tomasrojo

magicbastarder wrote: »

it's my own fault for following them on twitter, but i'm finding it hard to stomach green party supporters who are using this as further evidence that they were fools to go into government.
every step back is the GP's fault now.

I found the not inconsiderable number of Green Party supporter or members on Twitter snorting about selling out for "a couple of cycle lanes" when there was a homeless problem pretty bizarre. I guess they've either internalised all the right-wing media portrayals of Green issues, or else they share a common enough view on the left that cycling isn't a proper mode of transport, unlike buses, and is just the preserve of eccentrics and middle-class hobbyists.

KevRossi

Hurrache wrote: »

Patrick O'Donovan, the man responsible, on RTE 1 now. He actually mentions commuters from Longford and Westmeath, and he opened it to basically allow traffic use it. He's waffling something else, cannot be taking for his word, no timeline as to this new consultation process or anything. I guess that's that.

FF back a wet weekend and stroke politics is back.

O'Donovan is FG.

My heart sank when I saw he was made head of the OPW. He'll give them a carte blanche to do whatever they want, whilst running it as a personal fifedom for his supporters. This is just the beginning.

Hurrache

tomasrojo wrote: »

there was a homeless problem pretty bizarre....

It's often used a reason not to do anything by certain people.
- Let's build some great facilities for people to use in our country.
- Why waste money on that when there's homeless people?

The theme being that we can't better our country and facilities in any way until there's no more homeless people.

Hurrache

KevRossi wrote: »

O'Donovan is FG.

Yeah, but the understanding, for now, is that it was driven by Chambers who leaned on O'Donovan. Potentially a you scratch my back thing.

tomasrojo

Hurrache wrote: »

It often used a reason not to do anything by certain people.
- Let's build some great facilities for people to use in our country.
- Why waste money on that when there's homeless people?

The theme being that we can't better our country and facilities in any way until there's no more homeless people.

It's also leveraging an image of cycling as "a bit of fun" or a form of virtue signalling, when allocating space appropriately in the public domain is a matter of public and private health, public and private finances, and in many ways its own issue of social justice.

magicbastarder

the question now obviously is how much difference this will make.
one notion - why not open all gates but restrict access in different ways? e.g. open ashtown gate, the one near nephin road (can't remember what it's called) and the north circular gate, but not allow access from any of those gates to the main avenue?
or else, for several gates, only allow access a certain distance into the park, so they can be used for people accessing rather than traversing the park?

buffalo

magicbastarder wrote: »

the question now obviously is how much difference this will make.
one notion - why not open all gates but restrict access in different ways? e.g. open ashtown gate, the one near nephin road (can't remember what it's called) and the north circular gate, but not allow access from any of those gates to the main avenue?
or else, for several gates, only allow access a certain distance into the park, so they can be used for people accessing rather than traversing the park?

Open all the gates, but the only place you can get is the zoo carpark.

Weepsie

Hurrache wrote: »

Yeah, but the understanding, for now, is that it was driven by Chambers who leaned on O'Donovan. Potentially a you scratch my back thing.

Chambers strikes me as someone who is pretty simple. He's intelligent, in a very particular type of way, but not in a way that's he should have any sort of role in civic office.

I don't like FF, never voted for them, and doubt I will. But It's quite a fall in standard imo to go from Brian Lenihan to Jack Chambers.

If that's what they envisage as young, vibrant and different they're even more f*cked than I thought

magicbastarder

chambers did not get where he is today through natural political talent, this is not a secret.

Hurrache

Weepsie wrote: »

Chambers strikes me as someone who is pretty simple. He's intelligent, in a very particular type of way, but not in a way that's he should have any sort of role in civic office.

I don't like FF, never voted for them, and doubt I will. But It's quite a fall in standard imo to go from Brian Lenihan to Jack Chambers.

If that's what they envisage as young, vibrant and different they're even more f*cked than I thought

I agree, I think he's just awful.

It seems to me that he's basically just a figure head for FF in what's a permanent FF safe seat. The teams that worked with Lenihan are still there and propelled him into becoming a TD, like magicbastarder says.

I think he's an outlier on his policies and opinions for someone in his age group, which is why I'm more convinced that they're not really his. He's seems to be out of touch with his generation, he's never had a 'proper' job, never finished college, and never lived outside of his parents home. It's bizarre.

beauf

magicbastarder wrote: »

the question now obviously is how much difference this will make.
one notion - why not open all gates but restrict access in different ways? e.g. open ashtown gate, the one near nephin road (can't remember what it's called) and the north circular gate, but not allow access from any of those gates to the main avenue?
or else, for several gates, only allow access a certain distance into the park, so they can be used for people accessing rather than traversing the park?

I think is a straw-man to think the problems with the park are solely due to Commuters and through traffic. But even if it was, there are simple solutions to that. A toll for example. Parking fines.

tomasrojo

Micheál Martin seems to be less of an oddball than his party by and large is now. The FF politicians were significantly hostile to marriage equality and the repeal of the Eighth. Averil Power quit the party after the marriage equality referendum because she found the FF members so dismissive when she sought their help in the campaign.

Anyway, I haven't paid that much attention to Chambers, but he seems to be an old FF hack's idea of what a young person should be.

magicbastarder

what's o'devaney gardens like these days? there's a plan now to redevelop the site, isn't there?
too late to utilise the site for parking for the zoo, i guess.

tomasrojo

magicbastarder wrote: »

what's o'devaney gardens like these days? there's a plan now to redevelop the site, isn't there?
too late to utilise the site for parking for the zoo, i guess.

I haven't been there in a few months, but it was totally levelled then. But they are supposed to be building a lot f accommodation there.

tomasrojo

Bit off-topic, but often wondered where people got the reclining-lady statuette that adorned so many windows there. And here's the answer:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/lady-on-the-rock-dublin-statue

tomasrojo

magicbastarder wrote: »

it's my own fault for following them on twitter, but i'm finding it hard to stomach green party supporters who are using this as further evidence that they were fools to go into government.
every step back is the GP's fault now.

Not a Green Party supporter doing it (not someone famous for being one anyway), but pretty much the same argument:
https://twitter.com/UnaMullally/status/1281494836747673600

beauf

tomasrojo wrote: »

Bit off-topic, but often wondered where people got the reclining-lady statuette that adorned so many windows there. And here's the answer:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/lady-on-the-rock-dublin-statue

Someone should make one with xmas lights, they'd make a fortune.

Hurrache

tomasrojo wrote: »

Bit off-topic, but often wondered where people got the reclining-lady statuette that adorned so many windows there. And here's the answer:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/lady-on-the-rock-dublin-statue

Interesting. Gotta laugh at the artist dismissing the taxi drivers criticism of them as snobbery and claiming they're a working class badge of honour.

tomasrojo

At least on the side I used to pass all the time, I think nearly every window in O'Devaney's Garden had one. And a lot of the houses opposite too. And down towards Arbour Hill too. Amazingly omnipresent.

tomasrojo

https://twitter.com/johnmeaghermuso/status/1281578240948211714

Probably just a blip. I mean they *asked* drivers to be respectful.

tomasrojo

At least someone's getting a bit of grim fun out of it:
https://twitter.com/Dublin_cars/status/1281582728752910341/photo/1

beauf

tomasrojo wrote: »

https://twitter.com/johnmeaghermuso/status/1281578240948211714

Probably just a blip. I mean they *asked* drivers to be respectful.

I'd be curious whats the attraction of military road for car users. What is their
route and destination and how would you stop through traffic on military road.

magicbastarder

i thought military road was closed to traffic anyway? is it not the road from near st. marys to the back of the magazine?

Stark

beauf wrote: »

I'd be curious whats the attraction of military road for car users. What is their
route and destination and how would you stop through traffic on military road.

Slalom track.

MojoMaker

The S-bend barriers are up so any traffic 'tearing up' Military road has literally nowhere to go.

beauf

Stark wrote: »

Slalom track.

So not commuters or rat running. Just simply racing.

When they close the Ave for summer weekends it diverts a lot of traffic down these roads, normally. I never thought that made much sense. But people seem to think it was worth it to have a section of the Ave closed.

tomasrojo

Yeah, to be fair, I've no evidence that tweeter is accurate in what he's saying.

tomasrojo

https://twitter.com/Pidge/status/1281621235865190406

Pretty bad really.