New design manual recommends steps stuch as getting rid of guardrails, providing more zebra crossings and ‘decluttering’ streets by removing traffic signage
The accumulated wisdom of two generations of road engineers grappling with traffic in towns has been turned on its head by the Design Manual for Urban Roads issued jointly by the Departments of Transport and Environment.
Professor Julia Verne, Director of the South West Public Health Observatory, said:
“While we realise there are some people who cannot engage fully in physical activity, the tool is useful in highlighting the scale of the impact of physical activity on health. Small increases in activity, even for those who can’t be fully active would still deliver big health benefits. Continue reading Inactive lifestyles kill an estimated 36,815 people each year
Damien Ó Tuama finds it difficult to believe the Dublin Cycling Campaign has been going for almost 20 years. Back in 1993 he and a few like-minded friends set it up more as a protest than anything else. Read article
Plastic shells keep our heads from coming open, but they also deter us from riding bicycles. And riding bicycles is good for people and Earth. 
Admonishing a teenager for smoking is commonplace. Reprimanding people for taking antibiotics when they don’t really need them is the next big thing. And giving people a hard time about biking without a helmet is still entirely in vogue. It’s because we care. But as we learned from the original food pyramid, sometimes good intentions pave the road to adult-onset diabetes. Read more
Mayor’s new plans for cycling in the capital could re-shape the way Londoners transport themselves for decades to come
Make no mistake, this is significant.
No sooner do I lament the lack of political vision over cycling in Britain, as seen at the inquiry set up by the all-party parliamentary cycling group, when someone else altogether steps in with something truly bold.
Press release (from the UK): 20’s Plenty for Us welcomes new DfT guidance on Setting Local Speed Limits
On 18th January Stephen Hammond in a written statement to the house said that the new guidance “incorporates recent changes that create more flexibility for authorities to implement 20mph limits and zones.” Continue reading “20’s Plenty for Us” (UK) welcomes new DfT guidance on Setting Local Speed Limits
Video clip; good example of very poor “cycle lanes”
A funding gap of €2.6 million to extend the DublinBikes scheme from Heuston Station and Phoenix Park to The Point in Docklands is to be bridged by the National Transport Authority (NTA), it was announced yesterday. Read article
Continue reading €2.6m for bike scheme to roll out extension
Cyclist.ie, the network for all the cycling campaigns in Ireland, has endorsed this week’s call by RGDATA, the umbrella group for local shops, for a levy to be imposed on car-parking at out-of-town shopping centres.
According to the cyclists a vibrant, locally-based retail sector is important if walking and cycling for transport are to grow and prosper. Cyclist.ie chair Dr. Michael McKillen said “we cannot expect people to walk or cycle to local shops that have been put out of business by unfair and uncompetitive parking policies. Out of town shopping developments by their very nature tend to be at locations that are too far or too difficult to reach by bike or on foot”. Cycle Campaigners and RGDATA have previously supported each other in calls for the retention or reinstatement of the Groceries Order banning below cost selling by large multiples. Continue reading Cyclists back RGDATA’s call for parking levy on out-of-town shopping centres’ car parks
