Monthly Archive for May, 2009

Serious vandalism in Laurel Lodge a concern – O’Gorman

Published on May 23, 2009 in Anti-Social Behaviour and Carpenterstown. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

Vandalism on Laurel Lodge Road

Vandalism on Laurel Lodge Road

21/05/09

 

 

Green Party Castleknock ward candidate, Roderic O’Gorman has highlighted a spate of vandalism to public facilities along the Laurel Lodge Road.

 

“Over the week, a bus shelter and a phone box on Laurel Lodge Road have been badly vandalised. Both structures were severely damaged, with a significant number of glass sheets shattered”, stated Roderic O’Gorman.

 

“These facilities are important – particularly the bus stop which serves the 37 route. I am calling for anyone who witnessed this activity to contact the Gardai. It is essential that whoever is engaging in this vandalism is stopped quickly, before they do further damage to public property”, concluded Roderic O’Gorman.

Congratulations to Scoil Choilm on its opening

Published on May 23, 2009 in Blog and Education. 0 Comments Tags: , .

 

I attended the opening of the new Scoil Choilm VEC national school yesterday morning.

 

It was a really fantastic ceremony with both Junior and Senior infant classes providing beautiful singing in a marquee decorated with their artwork.

 

The diverse nature of the new school was on display, with representatives of four churches and the humanists all partaking in the dedication of the school.

 

I wish all pupils, teachers and parents the very best in Scoil Choilm.

Fingal CC Development Plan meeting on Tuesday

Published on May 18, 2009 in Blog, Community Issues and Planning. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

You may know that Fingal County Council is currently beginning the process of reviewing the County Development Plan. The new Development Plan will last from 2011 – 2017.

 

The Council is beginning its public consultation process in the Dublin 15 area with a meeting in the Blanchardstown Crowne Plaza Hotel at 7:30 PM this Tuesday (19th).

 

The new Development Plan will have a huge influence on planning and all policies followed by Fingal County Council up to 2017. It’s hugely important that the residents of Dublin 15 get involved and have their say in this process.

 

Hope to see you at the meeting.

 

 

O’Gorman launches Safe Routes to School campaign

Published on May 16, 2009 in Community Issues, Education, Press Releases and Transport. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

 

14/05/09

 

Green Party Castleknock ward candidate, Roderic O’Gorman has launched his Safe Routes to School campaign. The Green Party candidate is pledging that if he is elected in June, he will seek to have a new section inserted into the County Development Plan outlining a major role for Fingal County Council is ensuring that kids can get to school safely.

 

“As I’ve been campaigning door to door over the last eighteen months, one complaint I hear regularly from parents is that they don’t feel they can let their kids walk or cycle to school because traffic is so dangerous. If I’m elected on 5th June, I will make amending the new Fingal County Development Plan to include a section on Safe Routes to School a key priority. This would place an obligation on the County Council to assist every school in Dublin 15 in drawing up a Safe Routes to School Plan”, stated Roderic O’Gorman.

 

“My main idea is that Fingal County Council should be bringing together all the interested parties for each school in Dublin 15 – parents, teachers, students, the Gardai and Council officials and engineers – and together these would draw up a Safe Route to School plan for each school. Initially they would assess the main access routes to each school and then determine what are the main dangers or obstacles faced by pupils who were walking or cycling”.

 

“The Council can then undertake initiatives such as improving pedestrian crossings, cycle lanes and footpaths in the vicinity of schools or even reducing speed limits and introducing a ban on heavy goods vehicles around school. The Council could also be involved in ensuring the provision of bike sheds in schools so students have a safe place to park their bicycles. There is money available to support Safe Route to School schemes through the Department of Transport which has allocated €2 million to support An Taisce’s Green Schools Travel programme”.

 

“Promoting Safe Routes to School has a number of benefits. It will reduce congestion during the morning rush hour period and children will be healthier from walking or cycling to school. Obviously there will be environmental benefits from taking cars off the roads”.

 

“Over the course of the local election campaign, I am going to meet parents at local schools and discuss my proposal with them. I think the new County Development Plan gives us a fantastic opportunity to see Fingal County Council take a lead in ensuring that children can walk or cycle to school in safety. If I am elected on 5th June, I will work with all the stakeholders to make this a reality”, concluded Roderic O’Gorman.

 

Ends

 

 

Further Information

Roderic O’Gorman: 087 417 9777

 

How will a Safe Routes to School Scheme work?

 

Step 1: Amend the new Fingal County Development Plan to include a requirement for a safe route to school scheme for every school in Dublin 15

Step 2: Bring together parents, teachers, the Gardai and Fingal County Council to plan a safe route to school strategy for each school.

Step 3: Improve pedestrian crossings, cycle lanes and footpaths in the vicinity of schools

Step 4: Reduce speed limits and introduce a ban on heavy goods vehicles on the roads around schools

Step 5: Ensure the provision of bike sheds in schools so students have a safe place to park their bicycles

 

O’Gorman calls for action on abandoned site at Laverna

Published on May 16, 2009 in Carpenterstown, Community Issues, Planning and Press Releases. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

14/05/09

 

 

Green Party Castleknock ward candidate, Roderic O’Gorman has called on Fingal County Council to take action to restore the abandoned green space beside Laverna estate.

 

“Many residents of Laverna estate have raised their concerns with me about the failure of Fingal County Council to do anything with the green area separating Laverna Grove from Oaktree Green. The area has been abandoned in a disgraceful state since the estates were built, and no footpaths have been installed to link Laverna to Oaktree or along the Carpenterstown Road”, stated Roderic O’Gorman.

 

“In 2007, a ‘special contravention’ of the Fingal County Development Plan was implemented whereby the zoning on this site and another in Laverna was changed to enable houses to be built. Planning permission was given for 1 house at the end of Laverna Dale and 4 houses at the end of Laverna Grove. The majority of residents in the estate agreed to this in exchange for which, the developer was meant to improve the green space between Laverna and Oaktree”.

 

“I recently had a question put to the County Manager to ascertain whether the developer would be building the houses and also implementing the improvements to the green space. The Council has replied that no commencement notice has been received and as such, there are currently no plans to develop the site. The planning permission lasts until 2013”.

 

“As in the current climate, it is highly unlikely that the developer will be building anytime soon, I believe the Council needs to step in and take remedial action on the green. It is deeply unfair that the residents of Laverna and Oaktree Green have to look at this unsightly mess, and are denied a proper footpath”.

 

“If I am elected on 5th June, I will work within the Council to have the site landscaped to a proper finish and have footpaths installed”, concluded Roderic O’Gorman.

 

 

Ends

 

Further Information

Roderic O’Gorman: 087 417 9777

 

 

 

Fingal County Council

 

 11th MAY, 2009

 

ITEM NO. 3

 

LAVERNA ESTATE

 

 

QUESTION:  Councillor J. Corr

“To ask the Manager for an update on the status of planning permission F07A/0496 at two sites in Laverna Estate, Dublin 15, which was granted in July 2007 as a material contravention of the County Development Plan?”

 

 

REPLY:

The decision of Fingal County Council to grant planning permission was appealed to An Bord Pleanála who granted permission on 26th February, 2008 for (1) A single two-storey four bedroom detached house and associated site works, boundary walls, etc., all on 0.052 hectare site to north of number 32 Laverna Dale and at Carpenterstown Park East, (2) four number two-storey four bedroom semi-detached houses and associated site works, boundary walls, etc., all on 0.179 hectare site at Laverna Way, all at Carpenterstown, Castleknock, Dublin.

 

A Commencement Notice has not been received and a recent inspection revealed that works have not commenced on site.  The planning permission for this site will remain valid until 26th February, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Register to Vote!

Published on May 12, 2009 in Blog and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

 

I’m calling on all   those residents of Dublin 15 who have not already registered to vote to do so by 18th May.

 

Registering to get onto the Supplemental Register is easy – just download the form (RAF2) from the Fingal County Council website, get is signed in a Garda station, and get it back to the Register of Electors in Fingal County Council by next Monday, the 18th May.

 

Anyone ordinarily resident in Dublin 15 and not registered elsewhere is entitled to register and vote in the Local Elections. This includes people who are not Irish citizens. Citizens of countries that are members of the EU will also be entitled to vote in the European Elections, held on the same day.

 

Fingal County Council deals with a range of issues, from planning in the Dublin 15 area, to the management of waste collection, the maintenance of roads and the upkeep of parks and green spaces. Voting in the Local Election allows you have your say in how you want to see your community develop. If you haven’t already registered, make sure you send off the form by the end of the week.

 

 

Time to make cycling a genuinely safe option

Published on May 4, 2009 in Blog, Cycling and Transport. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .
Green Party Castleknock ward candidate, Roderic O'Gorman

Green Party Castleknock ward candidate, Roderic O'Gorman

 

 

Today I am setting out a range of proposals that I will implement if I’m elected to Fingal County Council on 5th June to make cycling a genuinely safe option.

 As someone who has recently taken up cycling again, I can see at first hand the problems that cyclists face every day. While Dublin 15 does have cycle lanes in certain places, these are not provided in any sort of planned manner. Many junctions in the area are highly unsafe for cyclists. There are big gaps in cycle lanes, particularly through Blanchardstown and Castleknock villages. I raised this latter issue in my recent submission on the Blanchardstown Village Development Strategy.

 

Despite the risks faced by cyclist every day, there has been an 8% increase in the number of people cycling to work between 2007 – 2008. Indeed, there has been a 34% increase in the number of cyclists since 1998. Those people who make the choice to cycle should be assured that they can do so in safety. While at national level, the Government is playing its part through the Bike Scheme tax break and investment in cycle lanes, I believe that Fingal County Council has a responsibility, but also a real opportunity to make cycling genuinely safe.

 

I have set out a range of proposals that I will work on if elected to Fingal County Council to ensure that we make cycling genuinely safe. These include ensuring that cyclist are represented on Fingal County Councils Transportation Strategic Policy Committee, appointing a Cycling Officer for Fingal County Council like in Dublin City Council and drawing up a Safe Cycling Strategy for Dublin 15.

 

On the roads, I will work to ensure that a review is undertaken of the safety of existing cycling lanes, especially where these intersect with roads or where they finish abruptly. I also will fight to see that the margins of roads are kept clean and smooth in places where cycle lanes are not provided.

 

While out canvassing I am regularly asked by cyclists why Fingal County Council are not doing more to support cyclists. If I am elected to the Council on 5th June, making cycling a genuinely safe option for commuters will be one of my key priorities.

 

 

 

Proposals that Roderic O’Gorman will enact if elected to Fingal County Council to make cycling safe

 

-          Give cyclists representation on Fingal County Council’s Transportation Strategic Policy Committee

-          Bring Fingal County Council and cyclists together to draw up a ‘Safe Cycling Strategy’ for Dublin 15. This will allow cyclists engage with the Council to identify black-spots for cyclists and the remedial works which need to be undertaken on these.

-          Employ a Cycling Officer for Fingal County Council, like in Dublin City Council – to oversee that the planning and engineering of roads considers the needs of cyclists.

-          Undertake a review of the safety of existing cycle lanes, particularly where they intersect with roads or where they abruptly finish.

-          Ensure the upkeep of the margins of roads in places where cycle lanes are not provided

-          Examine junctions to see where Advanced Stop Lines (ASL’s) would be beneficial for cyclists

-          Investigate the feasibility of developing a cycle path along the banks of the Royal Canal to provide a safe route for cyclists linking them to much of the north inner city.

-          Improve bike parking facilities at locations like train stations, major bus stops, Blanchardstown Library, and local shopping centres.

Speech on local authorities and making cycling safe

Published on May 4, 2009 in Blog, Cycling, Transport and Video. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

 

Below is a speech I made to the Green Party National Convention earlier this year on the topic of making cycling a genuinely safe option.