The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton T.D. today (Thursday the 24th of October) said:
The outcome for 2018 as reported by the EPA reinforces the importance of implementing the Climate Action Plan. Ireland has drifted off target and we must implement a decisive policy shift each year, every year. The 2020 Budget has been an important watershed.
Earlier this year, the government published the Climate Action Plan, which sets out the actions we need to take to ensure we meet our 2030 climate commitments, putting us on a trajectory to be net zero by 2050. I welcome the EPA’s support today for our Plan, which is our roadmap forward, to decarbonise and secure a sustainable, more resilient Ireland for future generations.
While the EPA’s statement today shows that emissions have fallen for a second year in a row, the decrease is too small and driven by temporary occurrences – primarily the temporary closure of Moneypoint. We still saw an increase in emissions from households, transport, and agriculture last year.
The figures released today reflect the position prior to the publication of the Climate Action Plan. I note the EPA’s comments today calling for the swift implementation of the Plan. This is our pathway forward and today’s results underline the urgency of implementing the actions in the Plan across government. We have a brief opportunity to act and we must act now. The government is determined to deliver.
The Climate Action Plan is the government’s plan to ensure Ireland reaches our 2030 climate targets, putting us on a trajectory to be net zero emissions by 2050. The far-reaching plan sets out over 180 actions, together with hundreds of sub-actions across every sector of society. Under the plan, we will deliver by 2030:
5 Times the amount of renewables connected to the grid
Full exit from coal and peat for electricity generation
10 Times Retrofit Activity
25 Times Current Electric Vehicle Uptake
5 Times Sustainable Energy Communities
500,000 Extra daily active / public commutes
440 Million Extra Trees by 2040
Key Actions in the Climate Action Plan include:
Eliminate non-recyclable plastic and impose higher fees on the production of materials which are difficult to recycle, implement measures to ban single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds
Establish a new Microgeneration Scheme, allowing homeowners to generate their own electricity and sell what they don’t use back to the national grid
Move to 70% renewable electricity by 2030, currently only 30% of our electricity comes from renewable sources
Bring 950,000 electric vehicles onto our roads, deliver a nationwide charging network, an electric vehicle scrappage scheme and legislation to ban the sale of petrol / diesel cars from 2030
Expand our network of cycling paths and “Park and Ride” facilities, helping ease congestion
Deliver an intensive programme of retrofitting to install 600,000 heat pumps in homes and businesses, replacing the existing carbon-intensive heating systems
Establish a system of 5 year carbon budgets and sector targets, with the relevant Minister responsible for delivering on the target, with penalties if they are not met. These targets will be underpinned by a new Climate Action Act. All major government investments and decisions will be carbon-proofed
Deliver reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture by creating new, sustainable opportunities for family farms
Deliver a new Retrofit Plan to retrofit 500,000 homes, with large groups of houses being retrofitted by the same contractor to reduce costs, smart finance, and easy pay back methods
Every public body will be given a climate action mandate by their line Minister to prioritise climate action and new letters of expectation will issue to semi-state bodies on Climate Action.
The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe has now presented Budget 2020. Prior to this, Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network, sought 10% of the Land Transport capital investment to be allocated to cycling. This was in accordance with the Dáil vote last January, the report by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change and the All of Government Climate Plan 2019. The reasons have been fully detailed in our Budget Submission 2020 and include climate change, congestion, health, pollution and sustainability.
Cyclist.ie notes that the government has allocated €1942 Million to the Land Transport capital budget and is perplexed that Minister Donohoe has announced only €9 Million for sustainable mobility. How much has been allocated to cycling? When will the government target on cycling be achieved? Either the government is unaware that there is a climate emergency or else they are releasing the good news in bite sizes.
Therefore, we await with interest from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport details of:
The allocation for Improvements and Maintenance of Roads (ref B3)
The Allocation for Public and Sustainable Transport (ref B8)
Proposed grants for E-Bikes for reasons outlined in our pre-budget submission
As the saying goes: Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are. We shall soon see where this government’s priorities are and if they are the same old, same old …
Clonakilty Bike Circus, which organises the repair and refurbishment of Clonakilty Town Bikes, among other activities, is inviting potential apprentices to apply for a comprehensive training course in bike repair and maintenance. The course is free to attend, but requires a significant time commitment. Check out the attached information sheet from the coordinator Jack Kelleher. And apply via the email address [email protected]. Jack and his team are also inviting you to be creative, and make your own bike from odds and ends!? They want this bike to be readily and easily usable, and are terming it the ‘VolksBike’, following on from the original people’s car idea. Can you build the ‘People’s Bike’? Its a real challenge with a €500 prize for the best built bike! Check out the attached information and get building your ‘VolksBike’!
Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network, has made a pre-budget
submission, asking for 10% of the transport budget to be allocated
to cycling.
We estimate that spending on cycling currently amounts to less than 2% of Transport capital spending. This year climate change has moved centre stage with the publication in March of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA) final report, the declaration in May of a Climate Emergency, and the publication in June of the government’s Climate Action Plan, all of which recommended that 10% of the Transport Budget should be spent on cycling.
Galway City Council Disappoint with the Martin Roundabout Traffic Scheme
We urge all our supporters to let Galway City Council know that they need to up their game in designing for Cyclists and bus transport. Based on the proposed scheme for the Martin Roundabout which is out for public consultation till 4pm on Monday 12th August, the City Council and its consultant designers, do not appear to have studied the relevant guidance manuals! The proposed scheme is available here
But, while the basic idea, from the proposal, of improving safety for all users at the roundabout is to be commended, the detailed design is of a shoddy quality that leaves a lot to be desired. Check out our DRAFT submission below and feel free to copy part or all of it and make your own submission. The more people who point out the issues with this proposed design the better for public transport users and for cyclists.
Submissions should be made by 4pm on Monday 12th August directly to [email protected]
1 Introduction
Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network (ICAN), is the Federation of Cycling Advocacy Groups, Greenway Groups and Bike Festivals on the island of Ireland. We are the Irish member of the European Cyclists’ Federation. Our vision is that cycling will become a normal part of transport and everyday life in Ireland.
We broadly welcome this proposed intervention in the change of design of the Martin Roundabout from a roundabout to a signal controlled junction, which will undoubtedly help to make the area safer for all users. The public notice states that the proposed measures at the upgraded signalised junction include: provision of public transport priority measures, as well as provision of cycling facilities and associated pedestrian enhancements and traffic calming measures.
However, we are unhappy with the proposed detailed design elements, particularly in relation to cyclists and public transport, which merit review. In our submission below we have a number of comments to make on some general and specific design elements, which we suggest will improve the overall design and the safety elements of the proposed scheme, and encourage an increased rate of cycling and public transport enhancement.
2 Design Issues
2.1 General
2.1.1 Context
Galway has a growing population of cyclists, and congestion and private car use is a major everyday problem for the City and its health and economic wellbeing. The growth of everyday cycling, as well as visitor cycling, needs to be encouraged. But the scheme as advertised is lacking in basic context. How does it link with existing road design? How does it fit within the overall transport context of Galway City? What is the overall purpose over and above improving safety at the Martin Roundabout and improving access to the Galway Clinic? Greater explanation of this context needs to be supplied and the exhibited material should have included a full Design Report.
2.1.2 Publicly Available Materials/Drawings
The scheme as advertised has 2 exhibited drawings, both nearly identical, with the same title, but one with a slightly greater extent than the other. No Design Report, cross sections, or visual mock-ups are supplied, which make it nearly impossible to gauge the quality of parts of the design. It is difficult to understand why no cross section details are supplied at this public consultation stage, and this is unacceptable.
2.1.3 National Cycle Manual Compliance
Due to the paucity of exhibited material it is not clear how this proposed scheme complies with the guidance of the National Cycle Manual (NCM). But in particular it appears to ignore the basic needs of cyclists as outlined in the NCM. The NCM outlines in Section 1.2 the critical ‘5 needs of cyclists’ when designing for the bicycle. These five needs are outlined as:
Safety
Coherence
Directness
Attractiveness
Comfort
It is not clear from the exhibited material how these issues are dealt with in the proposed design? All of these issues need to be addressed in a comprehensive Design Report.
2.2 Specific Design Issues
While this proposed scheme is a small step in meeting the requirement of greater safety for road users, a number of basic design elements for safer cycling, and for public transport priority, appear to have been ignored in the proposed design:
2.2.1 Cyclists Sharing with Pedestrians
The principle of bikes sharing with pedestrians is one that is not recommended by the NCM as a first option. As no Design Report has been included in this consultation it is impossible to know what other design options were considered here. The NCM clearly states that ‘Shared facilities between pedestrians and cyclists generally result in reduced Quality of Service for both modes and should not be considered as a first option’. We note the extensive sharing areas proposed at the main junction and we are unhappy with these proposals, which could be very easily upgraded to an acceptable standard.
2.2.2 Junction Design
At the new Martin junction cyclists are asked to revert to pedestrian mode, by sharing (ill advisedly) with pedestrians and to wait for pedestrian signals, and are not being facilitated to cross with main traffic green lights as recommended by the NCM. This is clearly not in line with NCM guidelines and we refer the designers to Section 4.4 of NCM – for further advice. This needs to be altered.
2.2.3 Cycle Track Widths and Segregation
The width of the proposed cycle routes should conform to the recommendations of the National Cycle Manual; this is impossible to determine from the drawings exhibited, and, due to no cross sections being included, we are unsure if the cycle facilities proposed are segregated from pedestrians and traffic, or proposed as on road cycle lanes. The drawings exhibited indicate cycle lanes, which would normally refer to on-road facilities rather than segregated. In the context of traffic levels in this area and the apparent 80kph speed limits this would be non compliant with the NCM, and unsafe for cyclists. Segregated cycle tracks are required, not ‘cycle lanes’.
2.2.4 Speed Limit Reduction Possibilities
We are delighted to see the proposed reduction in speed limits to 60kph on the approaches to the proposed junction along the R446/N67. This is a logical and welcome feature. However, we do not see any concomitant proposal to reduce the speed limits on the Old Dublin Road or the access road to and from the Galway Clinic, where cyclists are being facilitated by a new proposed cycle lane or track. The logic of this omission escapes us, when considered together with the R446 speed reduction proposal. The proposal to apparently retain the 80kph limits is unacceptable and out of line with the recommendations of the NCM. There is a need to review the speed limits on both of these junction legs.
2.2.5 Bus Lane Improvements
Public transport will play a continually greater role in the future of transport here in Ireland, and Galway. While it is good to see some improvements in the proposed bus lanes along the R446/N67 and the Old Dublin Road, they do not go far enough in ensuring that buses get clear access right up to the junctions, and are given clear priority through the junction. The design as outlined for the bus lanes is unacceptable in the context of where we need to go in relation to public transport improvements. We refer the designers and Galway City Council to some of the developing designs for the Dublin Bus Connects project
2.2.6 Limits of Scheme
The proposals, as outlined in the limited documentation available, show the proposed scheme terminating abruptly on the Old Dublin Road and on the Galway Clinic access road, as illustrated in the clips below taken from the scheme Drawing Number 5186221 / HTR / DR / 0101.
Despite the obvious links needed on the Old Dublin Road into a busy junction with the Doughiska Road, and obvious links on the eastern side to the Galway Clinic, the scheme has been terminated in ‘open country’ at both ends, making no sense in the context of desired links, and encouragement to use the facilities. These ‘terminations’ are a shoddy piece of design.
Scheme Drawing 5186221 / HTR / DR / 0101
2.2.7 Permeability
The proposed scheme, particularly on the Old Dublin Road, lies right beside a major housing estate, Renmore. The opportunity to open walking and cycling links into this estate have not been availed of. This should be examined when this scheme is being reviewed critically.
3 Summary/Conclusion
While we in Cyclist.ie welcome the conversion of the Martin Roundabout to a signalised junction, we are overall disappointed with the quality of the detail as shown in the very limited exhibited drawings. In essence:
The drawings and material exhibited are not sufficient to enable a proper assessment of the proposed scheme. There is no Designer/Engineer’s Report and no cross sections or visualisations of the proposals.
The proposed scheme does not appear to comply with the guidelines of the National Cycle Manual in a number of respects and needs to be completely reviewed in that context.
The Bus Lane provision is limited and poor and does not conform to best practice.
The proposed scheme has physical boundaries, which appear to bear no relation to the broader context of travel in the area, with stark unacceptable endings at both eastern and western ends that do not encourage greater cycling levels, and do not link into obvious destinations.
There is a need for consistency in the proposed application of speed limits, which is not shown in these proposals, as outlined above.
We wish to see a comprehensive review and design report for this scheme, to place it in context and to demonstrate compliance with national design guidelines. We in Cyclist.ie would be happy to meet with the designers and Galway City Council at any stage, to discuss any of the points raised above.
At long last on 21st June 2019 State funding of €3.5 million for a 10.5km extension of the GST from the Limerick/Kerry Border to Listowel plus a further €3m for the 10km Tralee to Fenit Greenway has been announced.
There is also recognition that the Tralee to Listowel old railway will be incorporated into the GST the future.
Major Health Bodies support call for Active Travel to be an integral
part of the forthcoming All of Government Climate Action Plan
The Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society, Diabetes Ireland, Irish Doctors for the Environment, the Association of Health Promotion Ireland, Professor Donal O’Shea (National Clinical Lead for Obesity and Hon. President of Cyclist.ie), and the Irish Pedestrian Network have signed an open letter from Cyclist.ie to the Taoiseach asking for concrete measures to facilitate active travel to form an integral part of the forthcoming All of Government Climate Action Plan.
The Department of Transport’s walking and cycling budget is increasing this year, but planned expenditure comes nowhere near the 10% level demanded by Cyclist.ie for cycling in its Pre-Budget Submission 2019 and endorsed by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA). The ground-breaking report by the JOCCA makes a very strong case for active travel with the statement – “active travel measures are also among the most cost-effective emissions reduction strategies”. Our particular focus is how this needs to happen on health grounds. There is overwhelming evidence that lack of physical activity is a contributory cause in a host of debilitating chronic illnesses, including heart-disease, stroke, some cancers and diabetes. Hence the endorsement of the letter by all of the above health bodies. The forthcoming Climate Action Plan presents an opportunity to set targets for active travel which will contribute to reducing emissions and promoting health.
On Friday 5th April 2019 the head of the Irish Government, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (5th from the left), and his entourage visited the Great Southern Trail Greenway tunnel at Barnagh; 7km West of Newcastle West on the N21 road.
The route for a 5km cycle path along the river Liffey in Dublin has finally been selected by the National Transport Authority (NTA) seven years since planning for the project began.
The segregated cycle route from the Phoenix Park in the west to the Tom Clarke Bridge in the east is expected to cost more than €20 million and will run on both sides of the river.
More than 100 car parking spaces and 33 trees will be removed to facilitate the track, but unlike previous plans, cars or buses will not be diverted from the quays.
