The layout character and above all vision laid out for the docklands in the draft development plan was extremely welcome. The plan came very close to being able to deliver a European style compact, walkable community capable of attracting the best and brightest talent from around Europe and the world while also providing a significant portion of the very large number of homes we so urgently and desperately need in this city for people already living here.
While a large number of amendments (e.g. 1.237, 1.243 & 1.289) have made significant improvements to details it was disappointing to see that there was not an increase in the ambition to deliver this community more quickly and at greater density. As well as to fully embrace the concept of a car-free neighborhood to serve the majority of those already living in the sent city centre who are already living car-free.
In particular, I am dismayed at the prospect of the excellent traffic management plan presented in the draft plan being abandoned and the proposed linear park running along the route of Centre Park Road being instead transformed into an Arterial Road for general motor traffic. This is clearly at odds with the extremely well-thought-out and supported vision throughout the city development plan for compact walkable 15 minutes communities. This will significantly degrade the quality of life of those who will live or work in the new community planned as well as significantly damaging the competitiveness of Cork. For these reasons, I object in the strongest possible manner to Amendments 1.247, 1.254, 1.258 & 1.285