Here something has to be done about the footpaths around cork city specifically Patrick’s street, half moon street, opera lane etc am I the only one sliding about the place when it’s even mildly wet or icy it’s the worst ground to walk on, I can’t imagine what it’s like for elderly people!
I have noticed it's not all of the paving slabs. On Grand Parade, Patrick Street and Cornmarket Street, there is a brigter, reddish marble looking slab used at random. That to me is what causes the most slipping. It's lethal when wet. Meanwhile, the entire grey paving on Oliver Plunkett Street, Pemrboke Street and Winthrop Street is always slippy, as well as Half Moon Street and Opera Lane. These were all done around the same time
All new paving no longer has this slippiness. Walk from Tuckey Street to Grand Parade and you can feel the difference. The issue is the slippiest streets are the main ones people are on. Pembroke Street's footpath was recently widened, and they used the same paving, so I have no faith they have any intention of replacing the slippy pavings anytime soon, sadly
Exactly this. Certain stones are worse, most notably the marbley, slick finish stones.
Step on them and you’re slipping.
It’s like playing hopscotch
See weirdly it’s the opposite for me! I slip mainly on the opposite streets! The grey ones are the worst for me and I’ve realised how they have a few marble slabs thrown in here and there for design or whatever but THOSE are the ones that get me here and there, they’re very glossy and a different material.
maybe I need to invest in more grippy shoes but I’ve heard many other people complain the same about the main streets and the new ones
I’ve slipped everywhere maybe I’m not good at walking but for me the main offender is the new paving 💀
Type of Shoes can make a huge difference. I'm often wearing work safety boots that have an anti slip rating and they have incredible grip even on oily surfaces.
Wait I realised I miss read your paragraph, we are in fact making the same point, the marble looking slab is the offender! I thought you were on about a different street with purely red paving
Marble is terrible when wet! It is in lot of places in Italy and city halls get tons of lawsuits from people falling.
It’s not marble in Cork. I think it’s granite
The light pink slabs are marble. They are very smooth and I have seen 2 people falling on them just today.
Came here to say this. The decorative marble slabs were the worst design feature, Who gave the green light on this?? Absolutely lethal and even in dry weather they have machine that cleans from the Merchants Quay end of Patrick St down as far as ECCO shoe store also making the paving extremely slippy. I work on Patrick St and I literally feel dread when I see it wet in the morning. It would turn me off going into town if I didn't have to work there.
Have had near misses on Oliver plunkett and opera lane so many times! Also the loose bricks near Krispy Kreme after heavy rain can absolutely soak you.
YES! the amount of looney tunes slipping moments I’ve had in the city is actual insane never been in a more slippery city in my life
Its those crappy surfaces that were put in years ago during the 'improvement '. They are the worse thing to walk on whenever its wet and not to brilliant during a dry spell ( a Wednesday in June maybe 😉😊)
I don’t know if it’s an urban legend but apparently that red marble paving that seems the most slippy was acquired cheaply from a Spanish city that had a load of surplus from a similar urban paving project. It’s fine for hot/dry climates but it’s absolutely lethal in Ireland. I genuinely avoid town because of it when it rains. When I first moved to Cork, I bought new shoes with better grip twice before I realised, ah- City Council incomptency is the issue
Patrick Street was redesigned by a Spanish architect who chose what materials to use. It's pretty much accepted she didn't plan for the climate and that's why we have slippy footpaths.
Beth Gali. She also wanted to move the Father Matthew statue to somewhere better "suited" as far as I recall. 🙄
They should have sued her.... she really did not plan for the environment of cork. It's really terrible. I have osteoporosis and terrified and falling and breaking something..... again
It’s granite I think and it looks awful. Like cat food or something
cries in mobility issues
I can't even imagine how it must be for those with mobility issues and the elderly. I'm mid thirties and I feel like I'm taking my life in my hands on my morning commute these days 😩
Exactly 😭😭😭
Yup the paths are letal enough when there wet Let alone ice had a few slips heading to the mercy
I noticed today they recently paved a section of the Christy Ring bridge. They didn't match the stone, the new one is a much brighter, almost white marble that felt way slippier than the old grey stone (maybe marble?). It's so odd as it's just one big patch of new paving. It looks bad and it is so so so slippy. It was just a bit wet yesterday, but I could feel a huge difference between the new and old.
Edit: As well as that, I think the christy ring bridge was only repaved entirely within the last 3/4 years. With the new 30m long cycle lane.. And they've already dug some up and put in marble that doesn't match.
The stone they used has a waxed coating that stops water from getting absorbed as a consequence the water sits on top when it rains and freeze on top with the cold making it extremely slippery. Whoever picked those stones should have to walk on them with leather sole shoes daily....
Eh, I'm not buying that.
A wax coating is not going to last decades on stone with people trodding on it. Certain stone chosen for the paving is just not porous and shouldn't have been used in our damp and cold climate.
Beth Gall the Spanish Architect who designed the street just messed up in her choices.
It has nothing to do with ice. Its like this even when its wet. It just gets 10x worse with ice