One hell of a ride!

Last weekend was yet another busy weekend right across the City and County.

The wonderful Waterford Walls, one of the BEST projects I have witnessed to date in Waterford City, and the Dunmore East Food Festival both attracted significantly large crowds to the City and village respectfully. And of course we also had the Iverk Show (actually in Kilkenny – but a great event none the less) and the Sean Kelly Cycling Tours.

Now I was lucky enough to get involved in both the Iverk Show and the Sean Kelly Tour, but in very, very different ways!

Mr Sean Kelly joins The Biscuits.

A number of weeks ago, whilst Chairing one of the Waterford Business Group weekly meetings, I agreed with Fiona Quilty (of Pamela Scott fashion outlet in the City Centre) to help her out with the fashion show that takes place during the Iverk Show. Little did I think that I would actually be called upon to take part? My call to participate in the Iverk Show happened last weekend and I duly shuffled the kids into the Mini and we shot up to Piltown, parked the car and reported for duty at 12:30 in plenty of time for my first foray onto the catwalk at 13:00.

The showground was heaving with visitors when we arrived and we found our way to the marquee that would hold the fashion show. There was a flurry of activity backstage in the compact and bijou dressing area. Unfortunately, my contact rider had clearly not been read as I saw absolutely no sign of my requested Yak’s milk refreshments, there were no bowls yellow only M & M’s, no deep fried Mars bars etc. The models were mainly ladies (as one would expect) ranging from teens to more “experienced” models. In terms of the male sex there were three teenagers, a couple of twenty somethings and the three older guys (including me) and we were all strangely the same age, 37 I believe!!!!

We soon realised that our clothes would not arrive in time for the 13:00 show so we had to sit out the first performance, but there was no rest for the wicked as 15:00 duly arrived, our clothes arrived and we were off and walking.

Mean & moody at the Iverk Show!

Two very quick clothes changes and two trips up and down the catwalk, with a wee twirl halfway down, and it was all over. Far too brief and yet very, very enjoyable but unfortunately there were no agents in the audience and so I can discount a future modelling career. My debut in London Fashion Week will have to wait another year.

From Piltown we jumped back into the Mini and we then shot off to Dungarvan to register for the Sean Kelly Tour Comeragh Challenge160km (the tough one!). Having pre-registered some weeks ago I, without any delay, collected my high-vis goodie bag which contained; a snazzy commemorative race jersey, a bottle of water, a couple of flapjacks, a wristband (for food stops) and a bike registration number sticker thing – a registration plate of sorts (Maria McCann take note!). I bumped into the great man himself Mr Sean Kelly at registration and it was so good to see such a high profile personality actually getting “stuck in”. As I returned to the car I had a feeling that I would need far more than a couple of flapjacks and one bottle of water to complete the daunting task that I would take on the very next day.

At precisely 07:45 I and ten other Biscuits set off from Dungarvan on an adventure that would test each and every one of us. Ahead lay 160 kilometres of hills, hills and more hills!!!!! Another packet of Biscuits set off slightly earlier and a whole tin of Biscuits set off slightly later to take on the 100km challenge.

As we shot up The Pike and veered left at Lemybrien we cycled for around 10km with the imposing Mahon Falls, shrouded by black low clouds, taunting us, teasing us and ultimately calling us knowing that we would have to cycle, walk or crawl up this wicked hill at around 120km into the route. It was as though the organisers had shown us a glimpse of the Coliseum before throwing us to lions.   

But our first real challenge would be a wee hill called “Tickincor” at around 55km. Now if you have never heard of this hill go out and find it and try to drive up it, and you will very quickly see just how steep it is and then imaging how hard it is to cycle up the damn thing. I encountered two small problems prior to Tickinor. My “toolkit-saddle-bag” had taken such a battering in the first 45km that the bracket snapped and my Kilted Piper mascot wedged himself in my brakes causing a rather rapid stop and some remedial works. Slightly further on disaster once again stuck as the “toolkit-saddle-bag” once again decided to fall to the ground and this necessitated yet another stop and a MacGyver type fix that thankfully lasted the remainder of the journey.

The “Powers The Pot” was the next hill at around 90km. Whilst grinding up the hill for what seemed like an eternity some comedian spray-painted 3km to go just to remind us how hard the bloody climb was. There was a collective intake of breath, and the odd swear word, when I and my fellow Biscuits crossed this marker and there was a collective realisation that there was a hell of a long way to go to get up this mammoth test of endurance. Up at the top of the “Powers The Pot” the Biscuits regrouped, posed for a few photographs and then we all set off for a quick food stop at Rathgormack before we headed towards the final challenge of the demanding Mahon Falls.

At the top of The Falls.

At around 120km The Falls called us like some cruel Siren would have called the Greek ships to come ever closer to their ultimate doom! Lowest gear selected and with some “Rusty Spokes” ahead of me to chase up The Falls, I dropped my head down, lolly pop in my mouth for energy and I was off. Some hellish 20 odd minutes later it was all over and a quick regroup with my fellow Biscuits, another photograph, and it was “all downhill” to the finish (or so they told me).

No it wasn’t! We still had the 6km or 7km drag up to the mast at the top of the Mama Road.

Mama Road conquered and now it was “mostly downhill” to the finish line in Dungarvan. We had enough in our legs to manage a wee sprint and top speed of 53kph on the borders of Dungarvan.

One final regroup and these 11 Biscuits crossed the line together in, dare I say, perfect cycling formation – it really was Tour de France stuff!. Our wee group had stayed together for 160km of torture, hell, fun, laughs, memories and a sense of accomplishment.

Looking good in Lycra!

Well done to ALL involved. A great event, great company, great event organisation, a great “Packet of Biscuits” and above all a great occasion for Waterford to be VERY proud of.

It was one hell of a ride! Cannot wait for the 2016 SKT.

Today’s Headline is Tomorrows..........

Waterford City's four local newspapers.

I am an avid reader and advocate for people reading, accessing and debating the content of our four local City newspapers. These are a wonderful way to access and keep up to date with ALL the local news headlines, interest stories, business news, charity news, and so on. You can even scan the local newspapers to see if you have been “snapped” by one of our infamous “local paparazzi”!

The role the local newspapers play in our day to day lives cannot be underestimated and with ALL the social media we access over the internet there is a growing threat that handling a newspaper may, in time, become a thing of the past. But at the present moment in time the local newspapers are here to stay and here to spark debate.

Last week our four local newspapers sparked plenty of debate across many a dinner table. With headlines that declared “Daylight Muggings”, “Happy Birthday Thomas Francis”, “Junkie City” and “Hospice Ball Run 2015 another rolling success”. Each headline in its own way trying to grab you the reader’s attention and persuade you to pick up the newspaper and read it cover to cover, and then hand on to someone else so that they can do the same.

Of course headlines are ultimately there to attract your attention and some would say that last week we even had “sensationalised” headlines.

When we do get the odd sensationalised local headline we often see and hear of reactions that spark further animated debate. Yet, I have over the last twelve months read an awful lot of negative national headlines and unfortunately watched national TV coverage of Waterford that has been far more damaging than what we read in our local newspapers last week. But the reaction to our national pillorying is at the very best muted and subdued and I often wonder why that is?

Take the very recent Vincent Browne TV show that showed Waterford City and County in a very bad light across several hours of national TV debate. And yet our response to this was very passive, almost dismissive and trivialised. In fact, I saw very little reaction to the “bad press” we ultimately received to this a TV programme that can be viewed by literally hundreds of thousands of viewers.

The headlines that grabbed most attention last week were of course “Daylight Muggings” and “Junkie City”. Both excellent pieces of investigative journalism and in many ways both articles were highlighting issues that we ALL know exist in the City, and we ALL know are issues that must be addressed in the short, medium and longer term if Waterford City is to flourish.

Whilst I cannot necessarily agree with the headlines, per say, we can all agree that in recent weeks and months we do have issues with drug use and muggings. These two headlines will hopefully encourage debate and ultimately help us find solutions that suit Waterford City.

What we do not want is people trying to find national solutions for our local problems.

As a relatively small City, Waterford does have its issues and when I hear and read about Waterford being compared to other cities or compared to this national average and that national average this makes my blood boil. To be very frank we should not really care about how we stack up against any other City as the only City that matters to us is Waterford. This is, after all, where we choose to live, work and play and therefore those who choose to compare us to other places I always see them as trying to gain some sort of promotional kudos or are in fact trying to simply flex their local wings.

Waterford needs to be mature enough and big enough to have and to hold sound reasonable debate on the issues that are clearly affecting our City. We must be able to take on all comers when it comes to tackling our City’s problems. Highlighting problems is a start and the fact that we now have these issues “outed” for public debate must surely be a good thing for our City to move forward.

I know that many of our City Centre businesses see on a daily basis that issues highlighted last week in the Munster Express and News and Star, and I know that those business owners and their staff and their customers wish to see creative solutions to our City’s issues. We need to see immediate social solutions to help those who clearly need help and we need to see zero tolerance solutions implemented for those who are freely breaking the law.

 

It is often said to me “Is what we have in Waterford City worth protecting and fighting for?”

Yes it is, and as I and many others have chosen to live, work and play in Waterford City we must come together to find solutions to our problems.

Finally, what we cannot do is gag, discourage or stifle our excellent local journalists from being just that. Remember that freedom of speech is a pillar of our democratic society and being able to communicate our own opinion, without censorship, is a headline worth shouting about.

Live Local, Love Local and Shop Local

Selfridges 2015 Christmas Shop!

As you read this article I hope that you, your family, friends, colleagues and business acquaintances have submitted your observations and comments to Waterford Council on the Waterford City Centre Urban Renewal Scheme. The deadline date for submissions was Tuesday 11^th August at 16:00.

I do wonder just how many of us engaged with the process and in fact how many actually made the effort and compiled a written submission, observation or comment?

I do know from the work of the Waterford Business Group that we penned a significant submission of circa 6,000 words that took into account the views, observations and concerns of people right across the City Centre, and also included a significant input from Ferrybank as well. As Chair of the WBG it was felt that we should make that extra effort and create a document that reflects the views of many businesses and citizens of Waterford City. The submission will, in due course, be available to view on the WBG website www.waterfordbusinessgroup.com and we would hope that you might find the time to read our submission.

As we look towards what we hope is a brighter future for Waterford City, and its immediate environment, we must remember that it is essential that we continue to Live Local, Shop Local and Love Local.

In fact we do need to work harder on this process?

Whether that is sourcing local suppliers for your businesses “meat and two veg” or finding a local supplier for your stationary, promotional items, your print, graphic design etc etc. The importance of sourcing locally cannot be lost on any of us.

I read with interests across several local newspapers last week stories and articles about local people who are trying to supply local businesses with their products and services. Whilst I do appreciate that people must find value for money there is often as much value for money to be found locally than there is further afield.

Eoghan Dunphy &
Waterford's finest spuds.

For example Dunphy’s of Annestown is a local grower and supplier of fruit and vegetables to the hospitality industry. The Waterford Viking Triangle has recently launched an “Eat Waterford” promotion with in excess of 25 restaurants and hospitality establishments. But how many of these businesses are actually buying and sourcing locally? In fact are how many of these businesses are even aware that there is a local supplier literally on their doorstep? Surely, more work has to be done on this and a simple awareness campaign to promote local suppliers needs to be put in place.

As an addition to this, I noted a post on social media from Paul Dower, from Waterford In Your Pocket, who recently posted that it would be fantastic to go into a local restaurant or eatery and see listed on the menu that the meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, cheese etc were ALL sourced locally and when paying for his meal Paul would therefore be directly contributing and supporting local indigenous Waterford businesses.

Sometimes it is hard to go down this route and sometimes you have to make that extra special effort if you really wish to make a difference to the community we choose to live, work and play in.

There has always been a misapprehension that buying locally is a byword for having to pay extra for a products or services. I can honestly say that I see tremendous value for money at the moment across many, many industry sectors here in Waterford City and in fact I would go further and say there is currently better value for money locally than there is regionally and nationally.

As we start to see the night’s drawing in and our thoughts start to turn towards Christmas – yes it is just around the corner and as Selfridges in London has opened its Christmas shop it must be true – we must for the last four and a half months of 2015 make a concentrated effort to do our bit and support local suppliers and support local businesses.

The back half of 2015 will be a struggle for our businesses as we see footfall numbers to the City Centre continue to be extremely disappointing and we see a lower disposable income spend across the whole South East region in general.

There can be no better time to get out and pin your colours to the mast and give local businesses your support. During the last few weeks of work with the Waterford Business Group, on the Waterford City Centre Urban Renewal Scheme, we have met significant numbers of worried and concerned business people who fear that we are potentially changing the very fabric of the City Centre for the wrong reasons. If we are to see a brighter future for the City Centre then we ALL need to play our part and we ALL need to get into the City Centre and GET involved.

Of course that means going that extra mile and that means working slightly harder to keep your business local and this of course takes time and effort.

But if it can be done in Dublin, Cork and closer to home in Kilkenny and Wexford why can’t we do the same here in Waterford City?

Waterford Business Group submission link is as follows; www.raincloudwebdesign.com/WBG_Urban_Renewal_Submission_FINAL.pdf  

Is the art of volunteering still alive and well in Waterford?

2014 Run for Life.

On Thursday last (30^th July 2015) I was very fortunate to be involved in the launch of the Solas Centre 2015 Run and Walk for Life. Yes, there will this year be two events in one this year! Both events will take place simultaneously on Sunday 11^th October with a sharp 12:30 start time.

There will be the now traditional 10-mile run and for the first time ever there will also be a 5-mile walk. The 5-mile walk has been introduced to bring the event back to the people, if you like, and this much easier option will encourage many, many more people to get involved.

More importantly the 5-mile Walk for Life will allow many clients, their families and their friends of the Solas Centre to take part. Both routes have been designed to get all the participants back into the People’s Park, the finishing line, at roughly the same time. This will ensure that there are more people than ever enjoying the post event activities in the Fun for Life.

During the launch event there were a number of speakers and without doubt the short speech from Fiachra Ó Céilleachair summed up what the Solas Centre and its most important fundraising event the Run for Life is all about. You could have heard a pin drop as Fiachra retold his family’s story of their fight against cancer and the important role the Solas Centre played and is still playing in his family’s life. Fiachra was delighted to let the gathered audience know that he and his three children would be completing the Walk for Life in the memory of Siobhan.

2014 Run for Life.

Fundraising for bricks and mortar are of course much easier than the continuing fundraising needed for additional services required for a project such as the Solas Centre and without a dedicated band of enthusiastic and committed volunteers it would be impossible to continually set a higher and higher bar and raise increased funds to allow expansion of services. Without a committed volunteer force then it would have been impossible to service the 200 plus clients who have visited the Solas Centre it the first 6 months of 2015.

During the Run and Walk for Life dozens of volunteers will be needed to help marshal the route, marshal crossing pints and of course service water and food stations. Without these volunteers the events simply would not happen and our volunteers require the acknowledgement of us, the public, as without their tireless work ethic the continuation of Solas Centre services would not be possible.

Another organisation I am involved with, on a voluntary basis, is of course the Waterford Business Group, now in its third year of operation. In 2015 at the first AGM we increased the committee numbers from 12 to 14 and we now see 14 good men and women giving up their time and their family time for the betterment of Waterford City and the people of Waterford.

As an example of the tireless work this committee are carrying out on our behalf. You only have to look up at the buildings around the City Centre to see the riot of colour that is part of the annual City in Bloom. This operation takes months of planning and coordination and will continue possibly right up to early October, weather permitting.

City in Bloom 2015.

In addition to the wonderful floral displays around the City Centre you cannot have helped but notice the live musical acts that are playing in John Roberts Square every Friday and Saturday afternoon. These FREE musical sessions are without a doubt bringing much needed increased footfall back into the City Centre.

The Waterford Business Group also does so much more unseen work. Whether that again is giving up free time to attend meetings, representing members on strategic policy committees, lobbying on behalf of members, meeting political representatives to lobbying for increased funding for the City.....and I could literally write and fill a whole years worth of blogs with the unobserved and unnoticed work this tireless group of 14 carry out on our behalf.

I am also involved in the 1848 Tricolour Celebration committee who voluntarily give up a huge amount of their time and their family time to deliver a feast of events, every March, that celebrate Thomas Francis Meagher's "creation" of the Irish tricolour flag which was of course raised for the first time at the Wolf Tone Confederate Club on 33 The Mall, in March 1848. As a footnote the Committee also celebrated TFM's birth date on Monday 3rd August with a new Muldoon cocktail called a "Montana" - most enjoyable and refreshing! 

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday last you could not but help notice the plethora of volunteers helping out with the Spraoi Festival. On Sunday evening in particular I witnessed firsthand young volunteers soaked to the skin, and no doubt hypothermic, on Barronstrand Street doing their bit for Waterford.

From my first hand knowledge I can honestly say that the voluntary organisations I am involved with will always give far more than they are perhaps credited for. And the people who volunteer for these organisations are the unseen and unobserved heroes of many an event and festival that takes place here in our wonderful City. I suppose that key thing that we all must do is dig a wee bit deeper to see that what we are supporting “does exactly what is says on the tin”.

Summer in the City 2015.

There are some organisations, events and no doubt festivals that rely on a huge voluntary support network and yet there are some “paid people” involved in such organisations, events and festivals. And yes some of these people in particular certainly give the impression that they are doing their bit for Waterford but not on the voluntary basis they many well promote. It is up to us, as supporters, to decide who we should support and who we should not support. I suppose the trick is that we need to do a wee bit of homework to ensure that we are supporting those that actually deserve our full support. The question of remuneration does of course play its part in this process and like some very recent high profile press coverage of charity executive salaries we need on a local level to make sure we are supporting "the cause" and not the administration costs of an organisation, event or festival.  

So, the question I posed at the start does on the surface appear to be a “YES”. But you must always look a wee bit closer to see the real value of volunteers and the groups that they support.

Don’t Leave It All To The Loudmouths!

Loudmouth - we all know one or two.

The City’s Urban Renewal Plans are now available for everyone, and I mean everyone, to view and more importantly they are accessible for every one of us to comment on. The Council have literally opened their doors so that they can engage with the People of Waterford on the renewal of their own City. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

It is such a landmark consultation process that I heard one senior Council official commented that “We are going to go to a lot of trouble to consult with the public”, so we have heard it from the proverbial horse’s mouth that we as Waterford citizens have been invited to play our part in the whole process.

From all the publicity reported by our excellent local newspapers and the snippets I have heard on WLR FM it appears on the surface that this is a genuine invitation to ALL Waterford citizens and it really is an opportunity not to be missed.

But actually how many of us will go that extra mile and make the effort to attend the briefing sessions, consult the Council website, engage with our local Councillors and just how many of us will submit a written report or written observation or express a reservation for that matter?

Too long in the tooth.

I may be too long in the tooth to really believe that there will actually be a full, frank and open public consultation process because in the real world this never ever, ever happens. The process of consultation is itself flawed and self-fulfilling as only the people with an interest in the project will actually come forward with their own views and opinions. It is almost certain that the majority of people and businesses who may be adversely affect by any proposed developments or street alterations will be the lone voices that speak up. The rest of us may take a passing interest but more often than not there will be an absolutely tiny percentage of the population that will submit their or their pier groups’ combined observations and concerns. 

Only those who can actually be bothered to get their arse in gear will in reality make an effort to engage in this process.

R. Lee Ermey.

This is course is NOT what we should be doing!!!!!

If Waterford City is to be redeveloped for the benefit of Waterford, its People and the better economic benefit of the South East we ALL need to start getting involved in the Urban Renewal Plans and I would recommend that people start that process NOW!

To be fair to our Metropolitan Councillors, at their last meeting, they to a man and a woman were very engaged in the process and debated very strongly with the Council Executive. Whilst, being told on the one hand that the Council did not really have to consult with anyone on plans that involved road changes or road alterations. They all expressed concern at the lack of information that was being feed to them and to a certain extent they were all very aware that information was “going public” without their knowledge.

This of course puts our Councillors in the unenviable position of possibly being asked questions about plans they know nothing about, which will make them look silly through no fault of their own. At the very least if the People of Waterford are being asked to connect with the process then our Councillors must be forearmed and forewarned with ALL the necessary information and they need to be brought up to speed through a series of in-house workshops. This I hope will happen as I have no doubt our Councillors will have an increased workload to facilitate this process.

The bottom line is that we the citizens of Waterford City need to make our voices heard and we all need to make a commitment to at the very least view the proposed plans so that we can be educated as to how any changes will alter the very foundations of our Medieval City.

As I see it we need to ask ourselves some very basic questions;

• Will these modern plans really fit the fabric of what is after all an ancient City with an ancient road network and an ancient foundation/layout?
• Are changes being made for the sake of making changes?
• Will the changes drive footfall up in the City Centre and therefore allow businesses to flourish and increase employment?
• Will the changes encourage the people of Waterford to come back into their City Centre?
• Should we develop the Michael Street Shopping Centre and its environs first and then reassess any future development plans?
• Is the additional traffic calming and the removal of a significant numbers of off-street parking spaces a solution to bringing more people into the City Centre?

It really does not matter if you agree with the above questions or not. The simple fact is that if you are concerned about the City’s future NOW is the time to voice your opinion.

Do not leave it to the people who shout the loudest as they a more often than not wrong!

Mayor's Walk proposition.

Waterford Council website details on Urban Renewal is as follows: www.waterfordcouncil.ie/en/Resident/Planning/Forward,Planning/Urban,Renewal/

Have we misplaced our shovel?

Don't hold your breath. 

Waterford City Centre was literally buzzing last weekend and this in part could be attributed to the current promotional programme that is “Summer in the City” and of course the good weather helped also.

This is a cooperative effort by the Waterford Council, Waterford Chamber and the Waterford Business Group who have combined with the Council’s Art Department to organise a series of free entertainment events every Friday evening and Saturday afternoon right through until Saturday 12^th September. In addition there will be a concurrent ArtBeat project that focuses on young emerging local talent playing in New Bailey’s Street.

These two projects are truly a collaborative approach to making the City and its Centre a viable and attractive place for us Waterfordonians and our many summer visitors to congregate and enjoy some excellent entertainment. ArtBeat is also an “edgier” option for the younger members of Waterford at explore budding talent and New Bailey’s Street is certainly swinging to a different beat every Saturday afternoons right through until 29^th August.

It is by working together that we will move Waterford forward and create a product that we can all be proud of and to a certain extent we can all shout about in a positive manner.

But like so much positive news stories there is always a wee word of caution.

Whilst the City Centre is busier at the weekends we are seeing the start of the week becoming increasingly quieter. This is a concern to the many businesses and employers around our City Centre. The need to get increased footfall into the City Centre has to be a priority and increased footfall on the weekends cannot be at the detriment to the start of the week. This imbalance of peak shopping times needs to be looked at and, dare I say, we need to incentivise shoppers to come into the City Centre at the start of the working week.

In fact we need to incentivise shoppers to come into the City Centre on every day of the week!

With another large development about to open in Ardkeen Shopping Centre we will see further erosion of the possible market share for the City Centre and there can be no doubt that this will have an adverse effect on the footfall. We know that there are so many people who have simply gotten out of the habit of venturing down the Dunmore Road or down the Cork Road or coming across the bridge to access the City Centre and this has to be of immense concern to everyone.

Are we now inadvertently creating our own City Centre doughnut and are we ever so slowly strangling the life out of the City Centre?

I would be concerned that we are not creating enough incentives for people to come into the City Centre and this always brings us back to the age old problems and fiery topics of car parking and retail mix. When we hear and read about proposal to spend money on the North Quay and other areas “outside” the actual City Centre we must ask the question would such large sums of money not be better spent addressing the South Quay car parking. Is not the solution staring us in the face?

We need to “take back” the South Quay and reinvent this space/area as public realm space thus allowing us, our visitors, our tourists and alike to actually access this wonderful piece of real estate. I am sure the costs involved in claiming back these areas would be much less than any investment into the North Quay and would an attractive South Quay ensure an accelerated development of the North Quay. This proposition along with a radical solution to cheaper and more affordable car parking would drive up footfall in the City Centre and encourage a better retail mix. After all no big retailer will invest in an area that does not have the creative potential to deliver ever increasing numbers of shoppers and therefore income. 

Yes, the proposed Michael Street development will help our retail mix but just how long will this project take to come to fruition and will it come on stream in time to help boost the footfall to the City Centre. A North Quay development will also help in attracting “business people and suits” to the City but again just how long will we have to wait for this development, and judging by how long it has taken to knock down the old mills I would not be holding your breath.

Groundhog Day.

Surely, we need to be acting now and we need to be acting collaboratively to get our City Centre re-energized once more and the clock is ticking extremely fast and if we and the powers that be are not prepared to act in an accelerated manner surely it will be too late. And in years to come will we all be lamenting that we “should have done this and we should have done that” way back in 2014 and 2015.

Well, we are now halfway through 2014 and still we waking up to the same “Groundhog Day” issues and concerns that have been dragging on for years and years. Surely, we no longer need to wait for another consultants report or another enquiry. Rather we need to act now and we need to act radically once and for all to get the people of Waterford and our visitors back into our City Centre.

The very heart of Waterford’s future plans has to be the City Centre and if we are serious about positioning the City as an economic driver of the south east, as a future University City, with a University Hospital and so on, then we need to be proactive in our solutions in tackling the falling footfall in the City Centre.

Why can’t we introduce a creative car parking solution and give free car parking to support promotions such as “Summer in the City” to attract even more people into the City Centre? Why can’t we have reduced car parking rate rates at the start of the week and so on? Why is taking back the South Quay off the agenda?

Only three possible suggestions, but suggestions that will have real economic impact and at a time when all we will be hearing in the run up to the next budget and next general election is “this will create REAL economic impact” then that economic impact needs to hit Waterford pretty fast and very hard.

You don’t have to dig too deep to find those creative solutions. Maybe we have just misplaced our shovel?

Road to ruin for your car or bike!

For those who have been reading this blog for some six months now will know that in the last year I have quite openly come out and I am now a MAMIL (Middle Aged Man In Lycra)!

Yes, I have taken up road cycling with the Waterford Biscuit Club and I have somehow now become one of those people on a bike that one way or another seem to infuriate some of our vehicular brethren.

I have read and heard about cyclist hating drivers’ texting, emailing and commenting on programmes such as Deise AM, in recent weeks, and also passing sentencing on cyclist in line with Minister Donohoe’s new fines for us MAMIL’s.

Readers who know me more intimately will know that I am a self-confessed petrol head and I have raced XR2’s around Knockhill and also owned all manner of interesting cars from a 1964 Mini Cooper S, Triumph Dolomite Sprint, MKII Escort Mexico, Escort Turbo, Astra GTE and so on right through to my current generation one Mini Cooper S – I really have had the whole gamut of boy racer cars and some say I am still driving one today (midlife crisis maybe)!

Whilst, I do agree that there are some poor cyclists on our roads I see proportionately far more very bad drivers who still insist on using their mobile phones, I see children not suitably restrained in the front and backs of cars, people who treat a roundabout as a “squareabout”, people who ignore the speed restriction signage and above all I see lots of very angry people in vehicles who are quite plainly one hoot of their horn away from a serious road rage incident!

The fact is that everyone who is entitled to use our roadways and laneways should do so with the utmost respect for other road users. And yes this might mean having to lift the occasional hand to say sorry rather than flicking one or two other digits at an offending road user. Life is far too short to be Mr Angry all the time and to be honest it does take far more effort and concentration to be the ubiquitous “I don’t believe it!” grumpy Mr Victor Meldrew rather than a Mr Happy.

All local road users share the same tarmac or in the case of the roads in Waterford City I would imagine we share some of the worst road surfaces in the whole of Ireland!

I travel in and out to the City Centre on most days of the week in my wee Mini Cooper S and due to the hard suspension and low profile tyres I feel every bump and hole in the patch work quilt that we now call the Dunmore Road. Yes, I understand that the roadwork’s are a necessity and that at some time in the very far, far future the surface will allegedly be remedied but we all know that the surface will NEVER be returned to resemble what is was prior to the road works starting. We will end up with a rubbish surface that needs and demands constant future attention and expensive Council resources.

However, I did not quite realise just how bad the Dunmore Road surface had become until I had the misfortune of cycling up it last Sunday with fellow Biscuit Ian. I would describe the experience similar to hiking in the Alps or Munro bagging in Scotland. To justify the surface as a “road surface” is to say the very least stretching the boundaries of the definition of both of these words. To make matters worse I have recently upgraded my “shite bike” and now ride a thoroughbred steed and naturally enough I wish to look after this bike and I believe that sometimes the road surfaces around the City must be damaging my bike, my car and me!

 

From the People’s Park to Ardkeen roundabout is patchwork quilt of varying surface materials, lots of very big lumps and some huge bumps, sharp edges that will tear at tyres and alloy wheels, gravel and loose material that has simply been swept into the cycle lane, drain and form edges that stand proud of the road and a whole myriad of other issues that should be of concern to every vehicular and cycle users alike.

I cannot for one minute accept that what we are currently being asked to navigate on is tolerable to any road users and you have to wonder if the people in charge of this engineering catastrophe actually use this road for their daily commute. And as for the radio adverts asking people to find alternative route well I am sorry but this is Waterford and not London and there are NO alternative routes especially when school term time is upon us and the airing of these advert seems to be a simple box ticking statutory exercise.

Also, remember that this road is THE gateway to our coastal villages and sandy beaches and in many respects our shop window to and from the City. This is one of the main arteries that feeds our City and brings commerce into and out of the City Centre. The Dunmore Road is also the main access route that cuts a swath right through the City Centre to access all parts north, northwest and east of Waterford City.

During these summer months and weeks just how many visitors, tourists or cruiser liner visitors will travel this route in and out of our City Centre and wonder if they are in fact travelling on some sort of third-world dirt track road when they should be one of the smoothest surfaces available to vehicular traffic?

This the wrong impression we will be giving the very people who we need to come to Waterford to spend their money directly into our local economy? As we are lagging so far behind other tourism destinations do we not have to be ahead of the game and constantly be better than our competitors.

If we are collectively promoting a positive message around our wonder coastline, our heritage, our culture and so on, the very least we can do is ensure that the roads that people need to travel on to access these attractions needs to be up to par and unfortunately they are not.

Is it acceptable that at the height of our tourist season we are willing to accept the “Boys from the Blackstuff” finish? Albeit a temporary finish, we are told, but as temporary finishes go this has to be atrocious, appalling, inexcusable and is it in fact an intolerable surface for any of us to use?

As our shop window to the City and the County the Dunmore Road is at the moment the worst window display you will ever see and we have to ask just what are we saying about our City if we find this surface appropriate?

I have a feeling that just as Minister Donohoe’s new cycling fines will see lots of Lance Armstrong’s now living in the City the Dunmore Road will remain a navigational nightmare until such times as the whole road is resurfaced perfectly.

We really have such a long way to go to get the simplest of things right.