Ah, nearly the weekend!
Tally for tonight:
Facebook Group: 3238 members
Online Petitions: 886 signatures
Till tomorrow,
Lou x
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Parking Info
Hey all,
I've had a lot of questions about how much green area is going to be taken up by these new parking spaces. The truth is that no one knows yet. What's on view at DLRCOCO is a proposal. As per the information I have been provided about the 4 May meeting, the final proposal and drawings have yet to be completed.
What I do know for definite is standard parking dimensions. The proposed spaces are parallel, and will more than likely be at the upper limits of the standard space size, given that at least one space is going to be a disabled space.
You can see the full detail on the new Parking tab on www.savesandycovegreen.com, but we're looking at at least 250 square metres for the spaces and another 120 square metres for the new path. There isn't that much space on the existing path, not by a long way. So a significant amount of the green will have to be demolished to make way for the new construction.
There has to be a better solution than putting the car parking spaces on the green. If these spaces are really needed, then the Traffic Department must be able to come up with a better proposal.
Let's keep pushing for FULL PUBLIC CONSULTATION!
Thanks all,
Lou x
I've had a lot of questions about how much green area is going to be taken up by these new parking spaces. The truth is that no one knows yet. What's on view at DLRCOCO is a proposal. As per the information I have been provided about the 4 May meeting, the final proposal and drawings have yet to be completed.
What I do know for definite is standard parking dimensions. The proposed spaces are parallel, and will more than likely be at the upper limits of the standard space size, given that at least one space is going to be a disabled space.
You can see the full detail on the new Parking tab on www.savesandycovegreen.com, but we're looking at at least 250 square metres for the spaces and another 120 square metres for the new path. There isn't that much space on the existing path, not by a long way. So a significant amount of the green will have to be demolished to make way for the new construction.
There has to be a better solution than putting the car parking spaces on the green. If these spaces are really needed, then the Traffic Department must be able to come up with a better proposal.
Let's keep pushing for FULL PUBLIC CONSULTATION!
Thanks all,
Lou x
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Check In - 19 May
Evening,
Tonight's tally:
Facebook Group: 3,078
Online Petition: 859
Very happy we broke the 3,000 mark on Facebook, and also pleased to see some lively debate on the page. Lets keep it up!
Lou xx
Tonight's tally:
Facebook Group: 3,078
Online Petition: 859
Very happy we broke the 3,000 mark on Facebook, and also pleased to see some lively debate on the page. Lets keep it up!
Lou xx
On parking....
Some really great comments on the facebook wall today regarding illegal parking and the creation of new parking spaces, courtesy of Tara:
"Cars already enjoy a ridiculous monopoly in our cities, a monopoly that negatively impacts on safety, noise pollution, air polluion, and our urban spaces.
In a time when we should be encouraging cycling and the use of public transport for all the above reasons, removing public green space in order to facilitate on-street parking is just baffling.
The answer to illegal car parking is not rewarding such behaviour with more car spaces but increasing car ticketing efforts. Simple."
and
"Basic transport theory teaches that when suitable alternatives are provided, private car traffic is more like a gas than a liquid. I.e. the more space you make for it, the more it will expand to fill that space. Conversely, if you minimise the amount of space allocated to it, traffic will also be minimised - within reason, of course.
Adding more car parking would just encourage latent demand for parking in that spot and no doubt in a few years, the Council would be back for a few more square metres, pointing out how more cars are illegally parked than ever.
How interesting that DLRCOCO is part of the local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership and how ironic that they promote environmental awareness at the DL Festival of World Cultures that uses this very green!"
Amen Tara, thanks again for the insightful comments. :-)
"Cars already enjoy a ridiculous monopoly in our cities, a monopoly that negatively impacts on safety, noise pollution, air polluion, and our urban spaces.
In a time when we should be encouraging cycling and the use of public transport for all the above reasons, removing public green space in order to facilitate on-street parking is just baffling.
The answer to illegal car parking is not rewarding such behaviour with more car spaces but increasing car ticketing efforts. Simple."
and
"Basic transport theory teaches that when suitable alternatives are provided, private car traffic is more like a gas than a liquid. I.e. the more space you make for it, the more it will expand to fill that space. Conversely, if you minimise the amount of space allocated to it, traffic will also be minimised - within reason, of course.
Adding more car parking would just encourage latent demand for parking in that spot and no doubt in a few years, the Council would be back for a few more square metres, pointing out how more cars are illegally parked than ever.
How interesting that DLRCOCO is part of the local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership and how ironic that they promote environmental awareness at the DL Festival of World Cultures that uses this very green!"
Amen Tara, thanks again for the insightful comments. :-)
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Check In - 18 May
Hi all,
Here's how we've done today:
Facebook Group: 2,817 members
Online Petition: 831 signatures
Night night!
Lou x
Here's how we've done today:
Facebook Group: 2,817 members
Online Petition: 831 signatures
Night night!
Lou x
Ups and downs, swings and roundabouts...
Hello all,
Well, yet another confusing day. I went onto the DLRCOCO Council website and obviously my ringing around has caused the various Councillors to contact the webmaster and make sure their details are reflected accurately. There are now FIFTEEN Councillors, not twenty-two, not eighteen. Although how long that stays the same will be anyone's guess! If anyone has a correct list of Councillors, please take a look at the website and let me know if it's accurate!
Out of the fifteen Councillors, the only one I haven't spoken to is Cormac Devlin (Fianna Fail). I have called him about twenty times and did actually get through to him once but was asked to call him back. I'm not terribly impressed, but I know by process of elimination that he also voted in favour of the parking spaces.
So we have details of all fifteen Councillors. I was wondering where to go from there, when I got sent a list of the three motions tabled at the meeting on 4 May. You can see the transcript of the motions at http://www.savesandycovegreen.com/ . Each of the three motions specifically mention residents parking. So the Council money (estimated to be at least €70k) will be spent housing 15 cars which are more than likely all going to be permanently used by residents. €4,500 per car. Is that really the best use of Council money? That's YOUR tax money.
Another thing to note is that the decision to put the parking spaces on the seaward side of Newtownsmith was taken by the Ward Councillors, the Traffic Manager and the County Manager. NO public consultation. NO application for planning permission. This is YOUR green. Shouldn't you have a say??
The Full Council meeting is on 14 June. Please keep inviting everyone to join the facebook group and to sign the petition. The more support we have by the meeting, the more likely that the decision will be overturned!
Thanks,
Lou xx
Well, yet another confusing day. I went onto the DLRCOCO Council website and obviously my ringing around has caused the various Councillors to contact the webmaster and make sure their details are reflected accurately. There are now FIFTEEN Councillors, not twenty-two, not eighteen. Although how long that stays the same will be anyone's guess! If anyone has a correct list of Councillors, please take a look at the website and let me know if it's accurate!
Out of the fifteen Councillors, the only one I haven't spoken to is Cormac Devlin (Fianna Fail). I have called him about twenty times and did actually get through to him once but was asked to call him back. I'm not terribly impressed, but I know by process of elimination that he also voted in favour of the parking spaces.
So we have details of all fifteen Councillors. I was wondering where to go from there, when I got sent a list of the three motions tabled at the meeting on 4 May. You can see the transcript of the motions at http://www.savesandycovegreen.com/ . Each of the three motions specifically mention residents parking. So the Council money (estimated to be at least €70k) will be spent housing 15 cars which are more than likely all going to be permanently used by residents. €4,500 per car. Is that really the best use of Council money? That's YOUR tax money.
Another thing to note is that the decision to put the parking spaces on the seaward side of Newtownsmith was taken by the Ward Councillors, the Traffic Manager and the County Manager. NO public consultation. NO application for planning permission. This is YOUR green. Shouldn't you have a say??
The Full Council meeting is on 14 June. Please keep inviting everyone to join the facebook group and to sign the petition. The more support we have by the meeting, the more likely that the decision will be overturned!
Thanks,
Lou xx
Monday, 17 May 2010
Check In - 17 May
Hi all,
Hope you've all been checking out the fb group - you should have received a mail from Save Sandycove Green. Don't worry, there won't be more than one message a fortnight unless there's something we have to tell you about urgently like if the diggers roll in!
A whole new stat to add for you all:
Facebook group: 2336 members
Online petitions: 731 signatures
Votes known: 14 of 18 Councillors
Look out for more progress tomorrow!
Lou x
Hope you've all been checking out the fb group - you should have received a mail from Save Sandycove Green. Don't worry, there won't be more than one message a fortnight unless there's something we have to tell you about urgently like if the diggers roll in!
A whole new stat to add for you all:
Facebook group: 2336 members
Online petitions: 731 signatures
Votes known: 14 of 18 Councillors
Look out for more progress tomorrow!
Lou x
What a day!
Hi everyone,
Well this morning I started my quest to find out what Councillors attended the 4 May meeting and which way they voted. Turns out the DLRCOCO website is wrong, there aren't 21-22 Councillors in the Dun Laoghaire area - there are 18!
Five voted against the car parking spaces:
Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Fine Gael)
Niamh Bhreathnach (Labour)
Denis O'Callaghan (Labour)
Carrie Smyth (Labour)
Richard Boyd Barrett (People Before Profit)
Unfortunately eight voted for car parking spaces to be put on Newtownsmith/Sandycove Green:
John Bailey (Fine Gael)
Maria Bailey (Fine Gael)
Donal Marren (Fine Gael)
Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
Jane Dillon Byrne (Labour)
Stephen Fitzpatrick (Labour)
Victor Boyhan (Independent)
There's one more Councillor who voted for the parking spaces, I'll update who that is tomorrow.
Because so many Fine Gael and Labour Councillors voted for the parking spaces, I started emailing their parties first. Emails went to Eamon Gilmore of Labour and Sean Barrett of Fine Gael on Friday.
To their credit, both TDs came back to me today. Eamon telephoned and advised he'd be speaking to the Labour Councillors about the vote, and Sean advised via email that he would do the same with the Fine Gael Councillors. I really hope they will look at the campaign website and petitions and see how important this issue is to everyone and that the issue needs to be revisited.
What I believe we need is for the current vote to be overturned, and for a full Public Consultation to be instigated before any changes are made to Newtownsmith/Sandycove Green. This will ensure that the needs of the whole borough are taken into account, rather than just a few residents. The green belongs to everyone!
But in order for our voices to be heard, everyone needs to contact their Councillors. They are all listed on the http://www.savesandycovegreen.com/ website. Tell them this is an important issues for you, and it's one that you'll take into consideration when selecting your Councillor in the next election. These are our democratically elected Councillors, they have to act in a democratic way!
Thanks,
Lou x
Well this morning I started my quest to find out what Councillors attended the 4 May meeting and which way they voted. Turns out the DLRCOCO website is wrong, there aren't 21-22 Councillors in the Dun Laoghaire area - there are 18!
Five voted against the car parking spaces:
Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Fine Gael)
Niamh Bhreathnach (Labour)
Denis O'Callaghan (Labour)
Carrie Smyth (Labour)
Richard Boyd Barrett (People Before Profit)
Unfortunately eight voted for car parking spaces to be put on Newtownsmith/Sandycove Green:
John Bailey (Fine Gael)
Maria Bailey (Fine Gael)
Donal Marren (Fine Gael)
Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
Jane Dillon Byrne (Labour)
Stephen Fitzpatrick (Labour)
Victor Boyhan (Independent)
There's one more Councillor who voted for the parking spaces, I'll update who that is tomorrow.
Because so many Fine Gael and Labour Councillors voted for the parking spaces, I started emailing their parties first. Emails went to Eamon Gilmore of Labour and Sean Barrett of Fine Gael on Friday.
To their credit, both TDs came back to me today. Eamon telephoned and advised he'd be speaking to the Labour Councillors about the vote, and Sean advised via email that he would do the same with the Fine Gael Councillors. I really hope they will look at the campaign website and petitions and see how important this issue is to everyone and that the issue needs to be revisited.
What I believe we need is for the current vote to be overturned, and for a full Public Consultation to be instigated before any changes are made to Newtownsmith/Sandycove Green. This will ensure that the needs of the whole borough are taken into account, rather than just a few residents. The green belongs to everyone!
But in order for our voices to be heard, everyone needs to contact their Councillors. They are all listed on the http://www.savesandycovegreen.com/ website. Tell them this is an important issues for you, and it's one that you'll take into consideration when selecting your Councillor in the next election. These are our democratically elected Councillors, they have to act in a democratic way!
Thanks,
Lou x
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Check In - 16 May
Evening all,
Hope you had lovely weekends and that you're not too depressed about the prospect of Monday tomorrow. I'm not, but that's only because I have a list of councillors numbers that I'll be calling all day - hopefully we can have details on all of the votes by Tuesday, when this campaign will be a week old.
Even for five days we're doing so well, here are the latest figures:
Facebook Group: 1916 members
Online Petitions: 605 signatures
Hopefully we can get a few more signatures, but still, what a great result in five days! Here's to next week being as successful!
Also, the logo for the campaign is officially in the works so look out for it!
Night all,
Lou xx
Hope you had lovely weekends and that you're not too depressed about the prospect of Monday tomorrow. I'm not, but that's only because I have a list of councillors numbers that I'll be calling all day - hopefully we can have details on all of the votes by Tuesday, when this campaign will be a week old.
Even for five days we're doing so well, here are the latest figures:
Facebook Group: 1916 members
Online Petitions: 605 signatures
Hopefully we can get a few more signatures, but still, what a great result in five days! Here's to next week being as successful!
Also, the logo for the campaign is officially in the works so look out for it!
Night all,
Lou xx
The FB group is gathering pace
We're nearly at 2,000 members! It's great that we're getting so much traction on the group, before it's even a week old... :-)
One thing I need to work on is the petitions, there are two and while we've broken 600 signatures today, we're still lagging behind the facebook page, and it's likely that the council will lend more weight to the petition. The petitions are here, please sign and forward the URLs to your friends and family. I'll be doing some more petition promotion this coming week!
www.ipetitions.com/petition/savesg
www.ipetitions.com/petition/savesgreen
Lou x
One thing I need to work on is the petitions, there are two and while we've broken 600 signatures today, we're still lagging behind the facebook page, and it's likely that the council will lend more weight to the petition. The petitions are here, please sign and forward the URLs to your friends and family. I'll be doing some more petition promotion this coming week!
www.ipetitions.com/petition/savesg
www.ipetitions.com/petition/savesgreen
Lou x
Saturday, 15 May 2010
Check in - 15 May
Inebriated greetings to you all...
Making serious progress:
FB Page: 1,580 Members
Petitions: 583 Signatures
Look out over the next week for details of your councillors and how they voted...
See www.savesandycovegreen.com for more details!
Thanks for helping us break 1,500 members...
Lou xx
Making serious progress:
FB Page: 1,580 Members
Petitions: 583 Signatures
Look out over the next week for details of your councillors and how they voted...
See www.savesandycovegreen.com for more details!
Thanks for helping us break 1,500 members...
Lou xx
Friday, 14 May 2010
Check In - 14 May
Another great day everyone!
Facebook Page - 1203 Members
Online Petitions - 540 Signatures
So pleased we've broken the 1,ooo threshold on the page and the 500 threshold on the signatures on the same day! This campaign was only started last Tuesday, 11 May, so it's a fantastic achievement and I want to thank you all again... :-)
Damien Rice has lent his support to the campaign! Please see the website for the statement in full
I've spoken to Senator David Norris who has agreed to sign our campaign.
Emails have been sent to Eamon Gilmore of the Labour Party and Senator Eugene Regan and TD Sean Barrett of Fine Gael, urging them to support us.
I've also started reaching out to some local media, including The Right Hook and The Last Word radio shows, and some local papers.
I will be speaking to Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit tomorrow and will hopefully gain his support.
Night all,
Lou x
Facebook Page - 1203 Members
Online Petitions - 540 Signatures
So pleased we've broken the 1,ooo threshold on the page and the 500 threshold on the signatures on the same day! This campaign was only started last Tuesday, 11 May, so it's a fantastic achievement and I want to thank you all again... :-)
Damien Rice has lent his support to the campaign! Please see the website for the statement in full
I've spoken to Senator David Norris who has agreed to sign our campaign.
Emails have been sent to Eamon Gilmore of the Labour Party and Senator Eugene Regan and TD Sean Barrett of Fine Gael, urging them to support us.
I've also started reaching out to some local media, including The Right Hook and The Last Word radio shows, and some local papers.
I will be speaking to Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit tomorrow and will hopefully gain his support.
Night all,
Lou x
Tappity Tappity...
Hi guys,
Phew - I have done a LOT of typing today!
I have updated http://www.savesandycovegreen.com/ with details of all the DLRCOCO Councillors and the detail of their votes where I know them. I'll be calling them individually over the next few days and hopefully will be able to have details of all of the votes and absentions by the end of next week.
Please call your local Councillor and tell them that you support the campaign - hopefully this will help them change their minds!
Thanks,
Lou x
Website Up and Running
Hurray! The website is officially up and running.
The URL is www.savesandycovegreen.com - please take a look and let me know what you think. It's a work in progress so please check regularly for updates!
Lou x
The URL is www.savesandycovegreen.com - please take a look and let me know what you think. It's a work in progress so please check regularly for updates!
Lou x
Facebook Promotion
The group was only set up on Tuesday - I can't believe we've broken 1,000 already! But I want to make sure it's enough so as well as asking all the members of the Save Sandycove Green page to invite their friends I'm also trialling facebook ads. I'll be providing some stats info in the next couple of days and letting you if it's helping...
This is what our ad looks like! Thoughts?
This is what our ad looks like! Thoughts?
Lou x
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Check in - 13 May
Hi all,
So we're doing really well on the campaign I think!
Facebook Group: 850 Members
Online Petitions: 407 Signatures
The Greens published a press release stating their support for us which you can see on our website here...
Look out for more news over the next few days!
Lou x
So we're doing really well on the campaign I think!
Facebook Group: 850 Members
Online Petitions: 407 Signatures
The Greens published a press release stating their support for us which you can see on our website here...
Look out for more news over the next few days!
Lou x
We have been experiencing some slight technical difficulty...
Right, well we've had a few issues with the iPetitions website. Bascially they've got some technical issues whereby if you edit your petition, it can disable it...
So anyway I have asked them to bring it back up again and I have promised never to edit it again. All updates will now be here!
Sorry for all the confusion, but we should be back to normal now.
Lou x
So anyway I have asked them to bring it back up again and I have promised never to edit it again. All updates will now be here!
Sorry for all the confusion, but we should be back to normal now.
Lou x
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
