Footpath renewal work called Gaza destruction project that is active travel.They just do not want this place turned into a building site for Green Party or whatever kind of EU mindless bureaucrat cycle lanes put in here, said a local objector, Morris Sheehan, who was interviewed on RTE Radio Ones Today with David McCullagh earlier this week when the show covered the Cork Citys Knockpogue Avenue and Knockfree Ave active travel project.But a majority of councillors with only three of the 31 being Greens have stood by their decision to continue work on the project. Cork City councillors unanimouslyapproved the amended Part 8 planning for the project in April 2023, and in recent weeks, motions to pause the work were defeated. It is also understood that no city councillors are employed as EU bureaucrats, and at a national level, active travel is supported by all the main political parties.A Facebook group being used to organise opposition is called Save the Knockpogue, Knockfree Avenue & Surrounding Areas Trees, but, as reported by this website yesterday, the amendment of adding extra car parking along the active travel project led to an increase in the number of trees to be cut down.The majority of trees along the road will not be removed, and the council said that new semi-mature trees will be planted to outnumber those felled as part of the work. There are 22 trees to be removed, an increase from around 10 in the original plan, but more than 40 new trees are to be planted.GoFundMe for legal battleSheehan has set up a GoFundMe page seeking 20,000 for legal advice and a possible legal battle against the project, which makes a number of unsubstantiated claims about the legal procedure used.The process used called Part 8 includes public consultation with statutorily defined periods for it to run, and outlines how the results of such consultation are provided to councillors. The Part 8 process is much admired by councillors across Ireland, as it gives them legal powers to fully reject or amend projects. It is preferred by councillors over the now more often used Section 38 of the Road Traffic Acts, which gives more powers to the council officials. Those powers have also now been tested in the Courts. Sheehan claims in the GoFundMe that the people in the area are the latest victims of the forced on you (no right to object appeal or otherwise be involved in the process) council -NTA active travel plan. But there is a statutorily prescribed objection process, and judicial review can be sought after councillors approve the scheme. Judicial reviews, however, must be taken in a timely manner. According to citizensinformation.ie, an application for leave to apply for judicial review shall be made within 3 months from the date when grounds for the application first arose but with the Knockpogue Avenue and Knockfree Ave project, 33 months and 4 weeks have passed since it was approved by councillors.Sheehan also claims that the legal powers which may themselves be illegal under irish constitutional and or European law but he gives no reason for this belief. The Part 8 process has been in place for decades and has been well tested in the courts.Sheehan, on the GoFundMe page, added: If you can help to fund a legal battle it would be greatly appreciated and if unused it would be entirely refunded to this who contribute.Other claimsIn a video posted by Sheehan, he refers to the works as the Gaza destruction project that is active travel. He goes on to claim that the footpaths, which are being dug up, are perfectly good but Cork City Council outlines that the footpaths are in poor condition, and a check using Google Street Views confirms this. Street View shows that the footpaths dug up in the video were cracked and pot-marked. Throughout the scheme, the footpaths are in varying conditions, but with regular cracking, unevenness, and wear.On large sections of footpaths, the surface treatment used to prolong the life of the concrete footpath is now showing widespread cracking. The work is also planned to remediate short-term patching by Irish Water contractors as part of the recent water main replacement works. In another video, Sheehan complains about the footpath and carragway repairs after the Irish Water water main replacement being left up to the active travel project, but this approach is seen as best practice as it reduces the need to dig up streets a second time. Filming outside the Sam Allen Sports Complex, Sheehan claims that the purpose here is to turn that into a raised road for bicycles, but the councils drawings for the project show that a footpath is maintained seprate to the planned cycle track.