To keep you connected with my work on Cork City Council I have launched my own website www.emmetohalloran.ie . The site contains regular updates of what is happening in Cork City Hall that affects Turners Cross, news on what’s happening in the community & a monthly update of planning applications that have been submitted across the city for your information. There is also a facility that allows you to bring to my attention any issues or queries via my new online clinic.

In recent months the issue of traffic and parking has once again cropped up in Turners Cross. The proximity of the soccer pitch to Musgrave Park and the local funeral home continues to pose a nuisance to residents of the area. Whilst some parking controls are in place for Cork City and Munster games, there are no provisions for parking during lower profile games that attract an equal number of spectators. The opening of the Cork City Council Park and Ride at the Black Ash has also done little to alleviate this problem.
In the recent weeks I requested that the City Council Roads Department conduct a preliminary investigation into the accessibility of certain estates by the emergency services. The results of the study indicated that during peak parking times the current parking controls would mean the fire and ambulance services would be unable to get into certain estates.
I will be meeting with the Gardaí and the City Fire Service in the coming weeks to discuss this matter with a with a view to finding a practical solution to this problem.
In the meantime I would welcome any comments/observations on this issue.

At Cork City Councils 2010 budget meeting a proposal was brought before council to halve the hugely successful Environmental Community Maintenance Grant. This grant aims to support any community group that wishes to undertake clean-ups or tidy-town style events across Cork City.
In recent years Turners Cross Community Association has been a recipient of this grant using the money to undertake various “Community Clean-Up Days” and last summer offered free hanging baskets to local businesses in the area to help improve the appearance of the Curragh and Evergreen Roads.
I am delighted to confirm that after voicing my concern to the proposed cuts and outling the obvious benefits of the grants to local communities it was agreed that the overall budget for Community Maintenance Grants for 2010 be retained.

The Lough Community Association must be supported by Cork City Council in its efforts to clean-up the laneway behind the Lough Community Centre. The laneway behind has become extremely overgrown in recent years and now the Lough Community Association are willing to convert it into a community garden.
Whilst the laneway is small I believe that such an amenity would be of huge benefit to the community, especially as there is a lack of green space in the Greenmount area already. The restored laneway would remain gated in order to prevent anti-social behaviour but would give people in the Greenmount area somewhere quiet to go in the summer months to relax.

Housing allocations for the new social housing development that is currently under construction on Tory Top Road must give priority to people from the Ballyphehane and Greenmount areas who have already been waiting on the housing list for far too long.
The new development which will be called Hyde Park, Tory Top Road, will consist of 70 new units next to the Aldi Supermarket and it is hoped that work will be completed later this year.
The average waiting time for somebody who wants a house in Ballyphehane is currently five years. However there are some incidents where families are waiting for up to eight years. The new housing stock on Tory Top Road will go a long way to clearing the current backlog that exists in the housing waiting list for the Ballyphehane area.

Ballyphehane GAA club must be prioritised for extra playing space at the City Council’s new planned sports complex at Inchigaggin near the Model Farm Road. Currently the club which runs teams for both men and girls of all age groups has the use of just one pitch on the Tramore Road. This space is now unsuitable for the growing club and since my election to Cork City Council I have been working closely with club administrators to secure extra playing space for the club.
One possible solution to the problem would be the granting of additional playing space at the new facility in Inchigaggin. A larger pitch would no doubt allow the club to take the next step in its history by relieving the overstretched capacity on the current pitch on the Tramore Road. Ballyphehane GAA plan to use the new pitch for adult teams thus freeing up the existing pitch for underage games.
Ballyphehane GAA has contributed greatly to the parish throughout the years and I will be lobbying council officials hard to ensure that the club’s future is secured at these new playing facilities.

Earlier this month I tabled a motion to Cork City Council asking that the Tramore River Walkway be cleaned up to make it more attractive for the public to use. The walkway which has been very popular has become overgrown and unsightly in recent years. However there is now a huge potential to kickstart the regeneration of the Kinsale/Tramore Road area by cleaning up the river walkway.

 The walkway which stretches from Harvey Norman on the Kinsale Road to Togher has fallen foul to the high density of industry in the area. However under the new Cork City Development Plan, the Kinsale/Tramore Road area has been highlighted as an area for rejuvenation and I believe that the restoration of the walkway should be central to any future plans.

 At a time when green areas and public walkways are becoming somewhat of a collector’s item in the city, it is important that we move to ensure that we reclaim the Tramore River walkway by making it more attractive to the public as an amenity site