An Eight-Year-Old Writes…

at

Spotted on Morehampton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, at the weekend.

It follows reports that up to 130 trees may be cut in Ballsbridge and Donnybrook areas to allow for roads to be widened for the BusConnects programme.

Related: BusConnects: 130 at-risk D4 trees festooned with red ribbons (Olivia Kelly, The Irish Times)

Previously: Someone Shout Stop

Thanks Edmund McCann

 

50 thoughts on “An Eight-Year-Old Writes…

  1. Jake38

    Nothing can be done anywhere in this country for the common good.

    We are in thrall to the vocal sectional interest every time.

  2. kellMA

    Catch 22… Widen the streets to make PT more efficient and therefore more used and reduce cars but then lose lovely trees. Maybe if they guaranteed a replanting of every tree felled in another location?

        1. Col

          Could we not reduce cars to make space for more public transport?
          Congestion charge to drive over the canals into town during rush hour or something?

  3. phil

    Lets keep the tree and introduce a congestion tax for driving within the M50 , wonder how that would go down with ppl

    1. Stan

      +1
      Yes please.
      Just back from flying visit to S. Korea and stop off in HK – two takeaways: in the latter, 90% of journeys are by public transport, which is cheap, easy to understand, and goes everywhere, all day and night. Much the same in the former with the added bonus (HK too) of cheap frequent trains from the airport. Bear in mind these are two of the Tiger economies we were supposed to be like, and then consider the fact that they seem to understand, in a way we don’t get, that transport (and housing – public provision in HK is one of the highest in the world outside China proper) are essentials, not cash cows.
      Dublin needs to ban all private vehicles from the city centre BUT ALSO build the metro, the Dart interconnector and do Bus Connect properly.

  4. Rob_G

    Yeah – fupp commuters out in west Dublin, because a kid in D4 likes a leafy view from her massive house…

    (I’m sure she’s a sweet kid, but syrupy personal appeals like this are not the way to decide on infrastructure projects)

      1. Rob_G

        No – my parents and teachers made all decisions based on my emotive appeals, rather than on what would be best for everyone, so no decision was ever made that would upset me in any way, no matter how beneficial to the wider society it would have been.

        1. Mickey Twopints

          She’s an eight year old child. A little girl.
          I feel sad for you on occasions such as this, Bobby.

          1. Rob_G

            I know, and it’s sad that she will feel sad about the trees, but life goes on, she will look back on the whole episode as character-building.

        2. realPolithicks

          “so no decision was ever made that would upset me in any way”

          That actually explains a lot robby.

    1. Spaghetti Hoop

      Agree. We’re an awful country for emotive decision-making. Worse than X-Factor.

      1. Nigel

        Appeasing the anger and frustration of single-occupancy motor vehicles doesn’t count as emotive decision making?

    2. Nigel

      They live there but the trees are being cut down to meet the demands of people who don’t but demand more space for the seconds it takes to pass through? I’ll take her syrupy appeal over appeals to motorist’s massive selfish enittlement to shape other people’s local environment for their conevenience.

  5. Cian

    Tell your parents to stop using their car then (as its almost inevitable they have at least one). Its cars or trees, not buses or trees.

    1. Rob_G

      Indeed – they could make the street one-way for motorised traffic. Loads of space for buses, trees, cars and bicycles then, and I’m sure the residents would not mind, at all.

  6. Billy

    Cut down the trees and make the roads safe for cyclists and motorists.
    Cut down the trees and make the footpaths safe for pedestrians.
    Cut down the trees, widen the roads and run an efficient bus service for workers and get more cars off the roads.

    Don’t cut down the trees. NIMBYISM from the wealthy who don’t give a blind damn about buses, bikes or pedestrians because they drive everywhere.

    A simple foil for this ‘don’t cut down the trees’ nonsense is to replant 100 trees in Coilte forests for every tree cut down in the Bus Connect initiative.

    I got a letter from Kate O’Connell (resident of Rathgar) stating she will oppose the NTA Bus Connect project. Wealthy looking after wealthy.

    1. Nigel

      It’s pretty clear the motorsts don’t care about quality of life on the street where these people live, why should the residents care about the quality of life of people who pass down it for a few seconds once or twice a day? Make the bus corridors by taking road space form cars. Add bycycle lanes where you’re at it. It’ll be lovely to coast down under the trees.

  7. Andyourpointiswhatexactly?

    They help us BREATHE, Luce. Come, now. What use oxygen when you can’t spell?

    1. paddy apathy

      8 year old in leafy Donnybrook drops an e and society goes apepoo.
      8 year old in treeless Finglas drops an e and society doesn’t bat an eyelid.

      1. kellMA

        Children should not be doing drugs, regardless of what side of the liffey they live :)

  8. class wario

    when those photos of homeless children in a garda station went viral last year there was a flurry of people trying to dox the family in question, trying to dig up the last ‘frivolous’ purchase by them etc in an effort to discredit them. can’t help but feel this won’t happen here!

    1. Rob_G

      In fairness, they just seem to want to save a tree from getting chopped down, I don’t think they are looking for a free house.

  9. edalicious

    Lucy should perhaps begin by asking her parents not to drive their cars. Trees aren’t being cut down for busses, they’re being cut down because selfish fuppers refuse to leave their cars at home.

      1. edalicious

        Maybe if more people were taking buses, people wouldn’t feel as comfortable peeing on them?

        1. Janet, I ate my avatar but I'm trying to stop

          they’d still put feet on seats, watch crap with no ear phones, sniff with no tissue for while trip, all of which should result in corporal punishment instantly

        2. Spaghetti Hoop

          Here edalicious – take a bus. Try the 40 and its entire route from Neilstown to Finglas. Then come back and share your thoughts.

  10. Mr. P

    These “fake” cutsey appeals get on my nards..
    Not written (or not written soley) by an 8 year old.
    It was put up by an adult so they could take a photo and post online to get “likes”
    Phoney as Phuck.

Comments are closed.

Broadsheet.ie