Friday 28th Feb is the closing date for making submissions on the government’s sustainable mobility policy (SMP). This covers public transport (urban and rural) and active travel (i.e. walking and cycling). Details of the process including background papers can be read here

We urge all of our members and fans to send in submissions to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) stressing the need for a radical change in policy – to be emailed to [email protected] by 17:30 this Friday 28th Feb. You can use the material in the two links below, and add in your own observations also.

• Our draft submission summarising our core points on sustainable transport overall
• our draft submission on active travel only

If you are under pressure and have time only for a super short submission, we suggest you stress the following points in your submission (with subject title – Public Consultation on a Review of Sustainable Mobility Policy) and reword/edit in your own style as appropriate

1. The balance of investment between active travel and public transport on the one hand, and carbon intensive modes on the other hand needs to change radically in favour of the former. Our position is that, once essential maintenance is provided for, and existing contracts honoured, there should be zero allowance for growth in car-based modes and the budget needs to be allocated to walking, cycling and public transport.
2. Road space needs to be reallocated to allow a shift to more efficient modes of travel by installing high quality segregated cycling infrastructure and improved facilities for pedestrians on both urban and rural roads. A special emphasis needs to be given to making junctions safe for all ages and abilities – in too many cycle schemes over the last 20 years, improvements were made to the links, but not to the junctions themselves (the location of many collisions). 
3. Secure and high quality cycle parking facilities need to be provided at all public transport stops, stations and interchanges to facilitate intermodal journeys. In the case of major stations (such as Plunkett in Waterford, Kent in Cork, Colbert in Limerick, Céannt in Galway, and Heuston, Connolly and Bus Áras in Dublin), there is a need to provide high capacity state-of-the-art cycle parking facilities as can be found in cities such as Utrecht and Malmo. 
4. Create immediate ‘Quick Build’ projects in the interim to improve the cycling experience, while waiting for the major projects to be completed.
5. Create an institutional structure to coordinate and oversee the implementation of all active travel measures. We would maintain that the structures recommended in Chapter 06 of the 2009 National Cycle Policy Framework (NCPF) are still broadly relevant. A major weakness with the implementation of the NCPF over the last decade was the lack of advancement of critically important actions such as 17.2 (establishment of a National Advisory Forum) and 17.4 (Creation of a Network of Cycling Experts). Compared to the institutional structures created to look after the roll out of Ireland’s motorway network, the structures created to coordinate cycling interventions were not in the same league.