Councillor chastised over choice of language
A councillor found himself chastised for his use of sensational language this week when he said any additional loss of parking on Fermoy's main thoroughfare, Patrick Street, would be 'over his dead body'.
Cllr Frank O'Flynn, FF, used the florid language during a discussion of long-awaited resurfacing and safety plans for Patrick Street. However, a senior council engineer said the phrase was 'unfortunate' and 'ridiculous' in the context of a discussion about pedestrian safety on the street at this week's Fermoy MD committee meeting.
"The contention that we can't lose any car parking, and the phrase 'over my dead body' is unfortunate, because we may well end up with a fatality," senior engineer Brendan O'Gorman retorted to Cllr O'Flynn. "Safety is paramount and we can't just say 'no loss of parking, over my dead body.' That's a ridiculous statement in this context."
NEW CONTROLLED CROSSING CALLED FOR
The committee was discussing a proposal for a new controlled crossing to be installed at the site of the current uncontrolled crossing from Dealz to Hanna’s Restaurant. An uncontrolled crossing means pedestrians are often emerging onto the crossing from between cars. A controlled crossing would mean the loss of approximately six parking spaces, Mr O'Gorman told councillors.
Cllr O'Flynn was adamant that 'no loss of parking' was acceptable and called for a public consultation to see if people felt an additional controlled crossing on the street was necessary.
"This may be the time to get the views of the people of Fermoy on if we should go down the route of one proper, recognised pedestrian crossing or more," he said. "We could consider consultation, but over my dead body will they take away any more parking from the street. We have people complaining about nowhere to park as it is."
LONG-AWAITED
Earlier, Cllr O'Flynn had received an update on long-awaited plans to resurface the N72 along Patrick St in Fermoy town.
The preparation of tender documents for the appointment of a Technical Advisor on the project is underway, with construction expected "in quarter four of 2023 or quarter one of 2024," he was told.
But Cllr O'Flynn urged that the upgrade be complete before the end of 2023 in time for the Christmas season.
"I welcome the reply, and the most important thing is that we’ve got the funding for it," Cllr O'Flynn said. "Maybe we can keep on the pressure, and see that the work be done before the lights get turned on at the end of the year? It’s the main shopping thoroughfare and a very busy street."