The Sprawling Octopus of an Elevated Highway

In 1968, B.K.S. Traffic Consultants proposed an elevated highway for Cork city, with over 90 acres of demolition estimated for parking clearances in the central island area. The £16.5m construction, which was due to stretch from the Port to the Courthouse, Patrick’s Hill to Barrack Street, would have seen the city surrender to the motorcar. Michelle Delea’s film interviews former architects of ‘The City Seventy Planning Group’, which emerged from the pioneering class of the Crawford School of Architecture. This group, supported by journalist Mary Leland, successfully campaigned against the B.K.S. Traffic Plan, preserving the character of the city as we know it today.