Michael Moynihan: Future-proofing of Cork City can't be done at expense of the present

If a public toilet is so obscure that nobody knows it exists, is it even public?

A brochure from the council had a panel on the Bishop Lucey Park renewal plans which includes a provision for ‘a new pavilion and plaza to stage events’. If I were not a model of self-restraint I'd muse on the odd reference in the past few years to other plans. Plans for somewhere to stage events near Bishop Lucey Park. Picture: Denis Minihane

Like many other readers in the Cork City area, last week I got a brochure in the door from the local authority. Was away for a few days so I only came across it on my return, shouting up from the mat in the hall: OUR CITY IS CHANGING.

Bold title, all caps. Aerial pictures of the city. Stirring words for the future, the opportunities ahead, the challenges we face. The city is changing, and we all need to change with it. I felt like shouting back at the brochure BUT IS IT IMPROVING?, but I didn’t (I don’t talk to myself. Out loud).