Extra city street plates so everybody knows their name

IF YOU don’t know your Sober Lane from your Elbow Lane then help is on the way.

Cork City Council has agreed to invest €70,000 in the installation of 130 new street nameplates at key locations across the city centre.

Councillors agreed to roll out the programme after a report from city manager Joe Gavin said a survey had identified the need for the additional bilingual signs.

He said members of the public and visitors had also raised the issue on a number of occasions.

“Traditionally nameplates were provided at either end of streets, but when a street is entered from a side street, there is no indication of the street name in many instances,” he said.

Among the first areas to benefit will be streets around Parnell Place, and streets off the South Mall and Oliver Plunkett Street.

Some councillors raised concerns that the story behind some street names would get “lost in translation” into Irish.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Tim Brosnan said he was disgusted with the translation of Cook Street as Sráid Chúch.

“That translation demeans all language,” he said.

“If you go to Paris, you see Boulevard McMahon. But here in Cork we have Mahoney’s Avenue translated as Abhinne Uí Mhathúna.”

He said the example of the Grand Parade — translated as Sráid an Capaill Bhuí — should be the model used across the city.

PD Cllr Mairín Quill agreed. “There are some outrageous translations which are an insult to the language,” she said.

But Mr Gavin, who often has to direct councillors back on the right path, assured them that the new plaques will not be renaming streets or using new translations.

They will use existing street names and will be an addition to the streets’ existing signs, he said.

The new nameplates have been designed along similar lines as existing nameplates and have been ordered. They will be erected over the coming months.

Consultation has already begun with property owners on whose premises the signs are to be erected.

“Following the completion of this programme this summer, all streets within the city centre will be readily identifiable by visitors and the general public which will add to the user- friendly environment of the city centre,” Mr Gavin added.

Labour Cllr Catherine Clancy welcomed the move: “I congratulate the manager on this initiative. The city is changing so much and it will be of great benefit to the people of Cork, as well as to our huge immigrant population.”

Fine Gael Cllr Jim Corr also welcomed the new programme but said city officials should also examine the road signs around the city centre.

“Good road signs are essential for ease of mobility,” he said.