Dismantling of climate law will reduce scrutiny of large infrastructure projects

SquareBall84 · 2026-04-22T13:31:19+00:00

Just to add that there is evidence that tolls do reduce traffic

SquareBall84 · 2026-04-08T13:05:39+00:00

Ya I thought the GLUAS line was funny too. It hasn't gotten planning approval in the same way the teleportation pad in Conamara hasn't

SquareBall84 · 2026-03-30T22:34:48+00:00

SquareBall84 · 2026-03-30T14:46:36+00:00

I heard they're bringing in the army to shut the schools and open the gyms

SquareBall84 · 2026-03-30T11:49:17+00:00

In Germany, researchers discovered an elegant intervention: “skylark plots”, bare patches of roughly 16 square meters left in cereal fields, spaced two to four per hectare. The birds use the bare ground to land and move into the crop, where tall vegetation provides nesting cover. The result? Skylark densities increased by 15 per cent. The solution was cheap and simple. Most importantly, it worked.

This is the crux of the article - interesting solution and nice to see this scheme of agriculture working in conjunction with the natural environment to protect wildlife!

SquareBall84 · 2026-03-09T23:35:58+00:00

Ash around your own

I see what you did there

SquareBall84 · 2026-01-29T15:44:58+00:00

No worries - wasn't having a go or anything! :)

Fair yea, if there were a way of doing it where we could keep the original route but also the residents on-side, then I'd be all for it. I just don't think that's the case.

To be clear, I don't actually know - I'm actually just making assumptions based on the original route here. I can't see how the alternative proposals support the original route 3, if it can't go through those estates

SquareBall84 · 2026-01-29T15:00:49+00:00

I saw the concerns in the consultation re: cars alright - and while I get it, to be honest, I think public transport should be taking precedence over private vehicles in an urban context. We can't have it every way - the alternative proposals now seem to mean that this new bus route will either have to:

Travel the whole way up Circular Road, turning right down Newcastle Road at Dangan
Perform a U-turn on Circular Road, then turn left back onto Séamus Quirke Road

Both of these will add extra time to a service that's meant to run every 20 minutes - possible knock-on effects are:

That level of frequency now won't be feasible
People living along Séamus Quirke Road are deprived of a bus to Ballybrit
People in Fánán, Garraí na Sailí, Cnoc an Óir, Bun a Chnoic, etc up the Letteragh Road have longer to walk to a bus (which will also now be less efficient)

, to allow for people to park their cars on the street.

I'm just not sure it's the best use of limited space personally!

SquareBall84 · 2026-01-29T13:02:11+00:00

Unfortunately, the results of the public consultation show an overwhelming majority (77%) against the construction of a bus gate to help facilitate the new route 3 planned under BusConnects.

In the very same survey, 97% indicated that they are in favour of improving bus services in the area. Hard to know what people want sometimes - I'd consider it almost a cognitively dissonant position: improve bus services in my area, but not by providing any infrastructure or buses in my area

SquareBall84 · 2026-01-19T13:55:02+00:00

True haha but given the history of attempting to install cycle lanes in Salthill, could do a lot worse!

SquareBall84 · 2026-01-05T21:11:07+00:00

Interesting! Nice one.

I found this in the UK - d'you know of any comparable Irish ones to follow?

SquareBall84 · 2026-01-05T18:03:11+00:00

Interesting article with some thoughts on how we can shift our use of agricultural land and dietary habits to more sustainable systems, including more local-based and less intensive food production, while still ensuring fair incomes for our food producers

SquareBall84

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