Christmas lights

I've heard people complaining about the Christmas lights adorning Irish houses in recent years. Well, I'm not one of them.

Maybe it's because I grew up in the US where such decorations were standard, but I like them. When I was a young kid in Queens, NY I loved it when my father used to take us on a tour of the neighborhood to see all the lights. For whatever reason, Italian New Yorkers were always the most outlandish and, to my brothers and me, the best when decorating their houses.

On Christmas Eve I drove around Bray, Shankill & Ballybrack so my kids could see all the lights. It was great. I think their favorite was the big projection of Santa on a house on the Veevay Road.

Golf on Bray Head

Everytime I drive down the Southern Cross Route I see the new golf course on Bray Head and I think to myself "Thank God the protesters didn't stop that". The golf course is attractive in a way that new houses would never have been. And, development is inevitable - especially in a city growing as rapidly as Dublin.

Killiney Hill roundabout

I was witness to a 'near miss' when the car going up the Killiney Hill Road tried to do what they've probably been doing for years - keep their momentum going until they hit the crest of the hill. However, the new roundabout now gives the right of way to traffic coming off the Victoria Road (presumably - the word STOP is still painted on the roadway in the roundabout), and this traffic is not visible to those coming up the hill until they're entering the roundabout.

Two problems are immediately obvious.

1. Drivers coming up a very steep hill, urging their vehicle on will now have to slow and possibly stop on this steep incline.
2. The poor layout of the roundabout and the fact that the traffic coming from the right (as you climb Killiney Hill road) is out of sight until the last minute will mean that many, many fender benders are inevitable.

This roundabout has to be removed so that cars can safely maintain their momentum going up the hill.

Disappointment - Consumer Affairs

The Department of Consumer Affairs has told me that my complaint with Greenstar is outside their remit. They don't get involved with private contracts.

Killiney Hill

A few weeks ago I talked about the traffic calming measures in Killiney Village. At the time, the "traffic calming" measures were not completed and I didn't know what the final product would look like.

Well, they're still not complete, but now it's beyond doubt that they're (a) ridiculous and (b) dangerous. Two round-abouts have been added. One, near the Druid's Chair is so badly laid out and marked that most people seem to be driving over the curb.

I'm not a traffic expert. Maybe I don't have a firm grasp as to what round-abouts are for. I imagined round-abouts were to enable a good flow of traffic at an intersection.

This cannot be the reason for the Killiney Hill round-abouts. Yet, despite the fact I drive this road every morning & many evenings at the height of rush hour, I have never once perceived a need to change the flow of traffic. There was never a long line of cars trying to enter the road where these two round-abouts have been added.

Anyone in the area who I've talked to about these "traffic calming" measures instantly brings up the Avondale Road debacle. If you don't know, a few years ago the council installed high cement curbs between the road and what used to be the shoulder in order to make a cycle lane. These curbs made the road more dangerous and were removed after a few months. That's what I suspect awaits the Killiney Hill installations.

Dirtiest town in Ireland

Who knows if this is true or not? I never think of Bray as particularly dirty, but it sure is ugly. The sea front could be great. But, all those outdoor gin mills have got to go.

Why is it a homeowner cannot have his rubbish bin in his front yard, but a pub can have blaring music and serve cantankerous drinkers in front of their licensed establishments? The Gardai should enforce public drunkeness laws on anyone outside in front of a pub. - even on the pub's property.

Operation Freeflow

I'm not sure if Operation Freeflow extends out as far as Bray, but it does seem that the town has ensured that no unnecessary road works are blocking the roads. Instead, every cement footpath is being replaced with pricey looking bricks and, of course, the builders are disrupting traffic flows to make these essential footpath repairs.

Recycling

Just to set the record straight, I'm in favor of recycling. I'm very diligent about separating my garbage. In other areas the recycling collection was introduced in addition to the weekly refuse collection. That is a great idea. That's not what Greenstar want to do, however.

Also, most other waste collectors provide the customer with a separate recyclables bin. We have been given plastic bags. And, since they insist that the recyclables be dry, that eliminates storing these bags outside. Nobody in my neighborhood has a garage, so where do they think we'll be keeping all these dry recyclables? It's a joke.

Greenstar - 2004 changes

I'm sure that this will be a recurrent theme on this blog. Greenstar is the local refuse company. They are far worse than the previous refuse company we had — Noble Waste Management, who Greenstar bought out.

I wrote about the battles I had with them in September when they first tried to shaft us paying customers. They wanted to change one of our weekly collections to a recylcing collection. They changed their minds when enough people called to complain (and point out that you can't change a service after you've been paid for it).

Anyway, for the past month or so I've been trying on and off to find out what sort of service we'll be getting in 2004. Back in mid-October they sent around a notice asking customers to "renew" their subscription. To me, the word renew means that the service to be provided will be unchanged from the service you're currently getting. Well, that's not what it means to Greenstar. They told me — YESTERDAY — that after the end of January they will again be eliminating one of our weekly refuse collections (in favor of a recycling collection).

I've sent an e-mail to the Office of Consumer Affairs letting them know that I feel that this is sharp practice on Greenstar's part. I'll be following that up with a phone call (01-402 5555) on Monday.

I'll keep you posted about my progress (or lack thereof).

New blog

I decided that using the Irish Eagle for my comments on life in Bray was inappropriate. This will be strictly local.