update?

hmm. I have too many blogs these days, but still see value in this one so have plans for developing it into a wider forum with other contributors and guest editors. We also hope to use blip.tv for report hosting. In the meantime, huddling for shelter in the face of the gale force winds and storms that are battering our little city.

all quiet on the western front?

Time is a precious commodity these days, and finding the odd few minutes to write up new blog postings seems to have been problematic. I've given priority to my other blogs of late, but just wait for the New Year resolution to kick in! :-)

dreich (Scots word - look it up)

27 successive days of rain constitutes record according to the City Tribune. It has been spectacularly awful weather of late, even if I did manage to avoid a week of it by leaving the country. Storms and lashing rain. On the prom last week the waves were very impressive and gardners could have helped themselves to fresh seaweed simply by driving a open topped truck or trailer along the coast a it flung through the air with the occassional breaking wave cascading over the pavement.

Once again the issue of the light rail system hits the local headlines, despite the emphatic "no" from the Minister for Transport, it probably is still worth campaigning for, Though with the Compulsory Purchase Orders now having been released for the city bypass road and the maps of the route detailed in the press (and looking like a huge scar across some of the more scenic parts of the city's surroundings) the delusion of more tarmac and more traffic as the solution to the problem of too much traffic seems firmly entrenched in the minds of the local planners.

I'll be popping down along the riverbank past Menlo castle to take some photos for the historical archive before the bridge is built and perhaps even try some sound recordings of the country noises before they too are submerged by the ever present rumble and roar of cars and trucks. Noise pollution seems not yet an issue to folk in Ireland.

trams, trains and buses...the Berlin way

Back from a week in Berlin in which I overindulged in public transport. From airport express trains to the city centre costing only 2euro (+10 cents, to be honest) to buses, trams and underground - a complete binge. Of course, its a massive city and no comparison to our humble little coastal village, but surely there's then an even greater shame that we can't get our act together? After all what does it really take to provide an adequate transport system that will wipe out the ridiculous car obsession that this country is saddled with?

A privatised bus service such as that being proposed by a certain political party as the solution to Dublin's public transport would be a disaster. I well remember the situation in Glasgow when "deregulation" was introduced - streets clogged with smelly, polluting minibuses that were suitable only for the scrapyard. OK, so there were strong contractual requirements placed on the companies, but then you need people to police these things. Anyway, after years of confusion and chaos (in which people migrated to cars!) the situation finally settles down, to a nice (for the shareholders) private monopoly holding the major routes and one-bus companies trundling between the shopping centres and the housing schemes.

Isn't it time we put the silly ideological nonsense of the dinner-party set behind us and just focussed on the best. most straightforward way of addressing the issue collectively? Without always having an eye on the chance of turning a quick profit. It's not about entrepreneurialism, its about a basic public service that will fulfil a wider, urgent need to tackle the wider environmental implications of increasing car use. Let's leave "the market" for shopkeepers and take a concerted, collective responsibility for the basic services and supports we need in our day to day lives.

transport and harbour

(1) This week's City Tribune describes ambitious plans for a new Harbour development in Galway. A major project which will result in contruction work over at least a 10 year period, but with the aim of dramatically enhancing the facilities for cargo, fishing and cruise ships whilst yielding the present harbour to yachts and pleasure boats. Of course the issue is whether it will make its way into the National development plan for 2007-2013. What the broader impact might be on quality of life for local inhabitants and the cost/benefit have not been fully spelled out so far other than through the attraction of greater leisure use of the harbour.

(2) The paper also draws attention (again) to the issue of car use, revealing that the vast majority of traffic in the city is single person occupied vehicles. Most respondents to a survey indicated their support for car pooling should such a system be established. It's disappointing that there hasn't been more spontaneous local creation of these types of schemes, but rather an expectation that it something the council should deal with. Still at least there is positive support. Whether it could be extended to increased public transport and a real push for a proper network of buses, trams and cycle lanes is another issue.

(3) The Council's submission to the NDP in May this year is now available online. It contains a wealth of interesting statistics and information about the city and surrounding region.

space for play

It is ironic that here in the midst of the beauty of the natural landscape of the West of Ireland the issue of urbanisation, soulless housing estates and the lack of communal green space should raise its head. But there is no escaping this consequence of inflated land valuations - the more houses you can squeeze per hectare, the more the financial gain. No worries about sustainability, lack of community, services or even that most basic requirement - space for children to play safely and informally with their friends near home. Organised sports clubs and shuttling across town to friends' parties don't substitute for the simple spontaneity of children's play. Indeed, the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child, states that children should have "full opportunity for play and recreation".

When the supply, design and planning of housing is in the hands of private developers it is hardly any suprise that profitability is the only guiding factor. The building of community (whatever that is can wait to another time!) and neighbourhoods with adequate social provision is an investment that only pays off in the long term with improved quality of life, less mental-health problems, better environmental sustainability, reduced crime and greater social inclusion. Putting a monetary cost on this of course isn't easy, but the question is why should we? Isn't it time that social cost got the upper hand over economic gain?

In Scotland, the Executive (ie the government) has announced plans to ensure that local authorities protect green spaces. Robin Harper MSP, leader of the Greens in the Scottish Parliament writes a brief guest column in this week's Sunday Herald on the issue and draws, the inevitable, comparison with Scandinavia. What of Ireland? We already have problems with access rights to the countryside never mind the growing urban blight.

interesting resource

I have always supported the idea of public transport being free, or at least at as nominal a cost as possible for social and economic justice reasons, but I see that some have argued this case as perhaps a means of incentivising its use. Not so, according the the Public Transport Users' Association of Melbourne, as you can find out in their interesting web page on Myths about transport. Although this line is challenged by The Age as reported in Melbourne Indymedia.

What about Galway? Free buses? Or how about just more buses and greater frequency?

Incidentally, for those of you who missed it earlier this summer Michael D. Higgins tabled a question in the Dáil asking about the proposed light rail system for Galway. The answer, unfortunately, stated that since it wasn't in the Transport 21 plans it basically wouldn't be supported.