Category Archives: Irish Posts

Ireland, see also NI

Pre-Budget 2015 submission from Cyclist.ie – The Irish Cycling Advocacy Network

Cyclist.ie, the network of the cycling campaigns and bicycle festivals on this Island, makes this Pre-Budget Submission 2015 in an attempt to encourage fresh thinking about the purpose of a taxation system in relation to decreasing the societal impacts and latent costs to the Exchequer from motorised transport use and unhealthy lifestyles. Budgets should be striving to support healthier, cost-effective modes of transport with benefits across health, community and the environment sectors. Investment in cycling promotion is one of the most cost-effective actions that any government can make.

  1. Full submission
  2. Learning to cycle again: Examining the benefits of providing tax-free loans to purchase new bicycles
  3. Report on the Cycle to Work Scheme Tax Incentive

Message sent to Road Safety Authority

Message sent on Wednesday 6 August to Road Safety Authority by Cyclist.ie – The Irish Cycling Advocacy Network in response to RSA press release issued Friday 1 August regarding rise in vulnerable road user fatalities


Michael Rowland (Director of Research)
Brian Farrell (Director for Communications)

Dear Michael and Brian

As a leader of a group of vulnerable road users, who are at all times in traffic (unlike pedestrians, and who generally choose when, where and how they cross our roads) could I plead with the RSA to alter its ‘blame-the victim’ approach to getting its message across. While I commend you for the generally better content and tone of the latest press release issue last Friday the RSA could do more to place the main responsibility on motorised drivers, particularly those who drive large vehicles – buses, coaches, HGVs, SUVs/4x4s.

Let’s be blunt about the fact: it’s the one tonne plus metal projectile with its driver that is the killer and maimer. We know from the international research literature that in the case of cyclists the majority of RTCs take place at junctions. The causal factor is driver miscalculation/error in approx. 90% of those analysed in Europe. Continue reading Message sent to Road Safety Authority

Irish Bike Importers / Industry Supporting Cyclist.ie

EuroCycles logoCyclist.ie – the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network, wishes to acknowledge the generous support of cycling business / importer Eurocycles

Cyclist.ie’s work is succeeding in changing transport policy and practice so that the bicycle sits centre-stage in the thinking of transport planners and traffic managers. See Report to ECF for more information on our work. But we have much more to do!  We look forward to collaborating with more players in the Irish cycle industry over the coming months and years.

Local Authority election 2014 on-line survey

This is an analysis of the small number of responses to the Local Authority election 2014 on-line survey. There were only 50 usable responses (some did it twice!) out of 1,922 candidates. We were unable to reach lots due to not having contact email address and poor party HQ cooperation in getting the invitation out to candidates. Independent/non-party candidates are particularly difficult to reach. This means we can’t draw too much from such a limited response. We are disappointed that party HQs quite clearly failed to forward the email invitation to their candidates.

Party affiliation

  • 19 Green
  • 8 Independent/non-party
  • 8 Labour
  • 9 People Before Profit
  • 2 Sinn Fein
  • 3 Fine Gael
  • 1 Fianna Fail

Continue reading Local Authority election 2014 on-line survey

Limerick Smarter Travel Infrastructure – update

After years of consultations, documents, PR etc. it is good to see some bollards on the ground at last

The flagship project is the river / canal path between the city and the university – 3/4km; but the road route is also in for improvement; the key impediment for cyclists on this route are two of the largest roundabouts in Limerick.

Below are some pictures of the work-in-progress on one of these roundabouts; a few things worth mentioning: 1) a key idea is to improve the (currently narrow) bi-directional pedestrian / cycle path on the city – university route 2) two 3-lane approaches to the roundabout are being reduced to 2-lane 3) the roundabout diameter is being increased

To be somewhat cynical about it, you could say this work is really a partial roll-back of the excessively car-centric infrastructure built in an earlier time

This is a report I did for LCC on this roundabout – which deals with these issues and more: Groody Roundabout Cycle Audit

Related post: Council slammed over Smarter Travel

Lane reduction 1 Lane reduction 2 Widening pedestrian & cycle lane 1 Widening pedestrian & cycle lane 2 Widening pedestrian & cycle lane 3

Cycling Campaigners Launch Promotional Videos

As part of hosting the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) annual delegate conference, the largest gathering of cycling experts and advocates from around Europe in 2014, the Dublin Cycling Campaign, in partnership with Dublin City Council, has launched a series of cycling promotional videos.  The Dublin City Manager, Mr. Owen Keegan, launched the videos at a reception at the Wood Quay Venue at the Civic Offices in Dublin at 18:30 h.

A series of five promotional videos have been produced to promote everyday cycling as a normal way of life in our city. See example: http://www.dublincycling.ie/videos/dublin-cycling-stories-paul Continue reading Cycling Campaigners Launch Promotional Videos