Mullingar and Athlone are to be linked with a Greenway in 10 days time when the route is opened officially.
See also: Irish Cycle, Galway-Dublin Greenway & Westmeath CC
Category Archives: Irish Posts
Ireland, see also NI
Four out of five drivers escape conviction over penalty points
Four out of five drivers summonsed to court over penalty points offences are escaping conviction, new figures show.
Almost 150,000 drivers who were ordered to appear in court over the past two years were not convicted for reasons including not being served with a summons at the correct address, or claiming to have never received a fixed-charge notice in the post.
Pre-Budget 2016 submission from Cyclist.ie
Cyclist.ie, the network of the cycling campaigns and bicycle festivals on this Island, makes this Pre-Budget Submission 2016 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 unfettered motorised transport use and unhealthy lifestyles. National Budgets should be striving to support healthier and 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. Full document
Note we are also calling for the bike frame registration number to be recorded on the invoice/receipt for any bicycle purchased from now on under Revenue Bike to Work scheme in order to help combat bike theft
Free the Cycle Lanes
Follow #FreeTheCycleLanes
Hotspots: Rathmines, St. Andrews Street Contra Flow, Westland Row, Richmond Street South, Ranelagh
Fixed Charge Notices – Promotion by Gardaí & RSA
Today the above poster appeared on the Gardaí social media platforms. Such mixed messages and inaccuracies are not a good start to their promotion of Fixed Charge Notices which are due to be introduced from the end of next week. We have written to them outline the issues, as follows:
To : John Ferris (Garda Press Office)
Thanks once again for meeting us last week on the ‘On the Spot Fines’ issue. Much appreciated, and hopefully we can liaise regularly on issues such as this.
We have just seen the Facebook & Twitter image posted by yourselves, together with RSA (see attached) and we would like to point out that it is not technically correct. You might note that Items 4 and 7 on your list are virtually identical.
We are also disappointed that the issues of helmet wearing, hi-viz, and front reflectors, all of which are not mandatory, and do not incur a fine or are not illegal, are bound up with the agreed issues which are illegal – although not having a rear reflector, does not incur an FCN. We suggest that these need to clearly distinguished as not incurring any fine, or not being an offence.
In summary we are disappointed with the inaccuracy of the post and we suggest it be corrected as soon as possible, and that the non-mandatory items be removed from the post.
Feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss further.
Colm Ryder
Dublin Cycling Campaign / Cyclist.ie
Twitter: @dublincycling or @cyclistie – #CyclingFCN
Contact Us at Dublin Cycling Campaign or Cyclist.ie using a subject line of “Cycling FCN”
Meeting of Cyclist.ie delegation with Garda Press Office
- Cycling fines will be enforced by An Garda from Aug 1, for a range of offences, listed below.
- Cyclist.ie wants safer streets and roads and encourages all cyclists to observe the new rules and not contribute to the creation of a convenient revenue stream for the Exchequer. However, it does not believe the proposed legislation, and the attitude towards its enforcement has struck the right balance to achieve safer road conditions for cyclists.
- Cyclist.ie, at this meeting with An Garda on the subject, called for balanced policing which improves road safety for all road users. i.e. stricter enforcement of motoring offences which are hazardous for cyclists such as fly-parking in cycle lanes, safe overtaking distances, lower speed limits etc.
- Official government policy – as outlined in NCPF – needs to inform all traffic-related activities in the state.
Cyclist.ie and ‘Fixed Charge Notices’
Cyclist.ie respects the decision of the Minister for Transport Tourism & Sport (DTTAS) to introduce Fixed Charge Notices (FCNs) for a limited number of cycling offences. We submitted proposals to the Minister prior to the recent announcement and some of these were taken on board. However we wish to state clearly our ongoing position on FCNs below:
- We are not in favour of law breaking and dangerous cycling. The same reasoning applies to drivers of motorised vehicles. We understand the need for a deterrent to bad cycling behaviour that puts other road users at risk, but deterrents already exist in law and merely require application/enforcement of that law.
- We are not convinced that the ‘risk’ element associated with these proposed FCN offences has been properly assessed in the context of overall national road safety policy. Do cyclists kill other road users? What level of injury/offence is caused by cyclists in comparison with motor vehicles? What quantum improvement in road safety will be achieved through the introduction of these FCNs? We have yet to see real analyses / figures, or be convinced by anything other than anecdotal comments.
- The overall thrust of road traffic policy should be the safety of all road users. To this end the continued investment in, and development of, high quality infrastructure for both cyclists and pedestrians and 30km/h speed limit zones needs to be accelerated in line with national aspirations, as enunciated in the National Cycle Policy Framework, and in various Local Authority development plans. Present investment in cycling related infrastructure is totally disproportionate to the investment in general roads infrastructure.
- The media stories on the proposals for FCNs were leaked on the Monday of National Bikeweek, which is coordinated by the Smarter Travel Unit of DTTAS. Bikeweek is meant to be a celebration of all things ‘bike’, and yet another arm of DTTAS felt fit to leak this issue to the press, which in turn raised a negative ‘storm’ about cycling, directly during the week when the Department is supposed to be encouraging cycling!
- Dublin Cycling Campaign are working on the possible roll-out of a ‘RESPECT’ Campaign, to encourage all road users to be aware of, and respect other road users. We feel that at this point in time a positive national initiative such as this, to encourage better behaviour by all road users, would serve as a constructive counterpoint to the FCN approach of penalising cyclists.
- Ireland needs to catch up with the rest of Europe in promoting cycling by introducing standard initiatives such as contra-flow cycling and red light initiatives
- While noting the above we are satisfied that FCNs have been introduced at the lower rate of €40, but we need to see an agreed monitoring and reporting strategy put in place, so that any ‘benefits’ of the approach can be properly assessed.
In Summary
- We feel that the introduction of FCNs at this point in time was premature and reactionary, and may in the long term negatively affect the government’s sustainable transport initiatives.
- We urge the Minister to:
- Actively promote positive and respectful behaviour by all road users
- Introduce a monitoring and reporting strategy to assess the impact of these FCNs
- Seek the introduction of European standard initiatives such as contra-flow cycling, and red light initiatives for cyclists
- Immediately increase direct investment in the improvement of cycle and pedestrian facilities.
Give the green light to cyclists at junctions
Galway Cycling Campaign is calling for all traffic light systems to be rectified so that they give the green light to cyclists at junctions.
Sensors at many junctions in Irish cities are turning green for motorists, but not for cyclists. Read more
Kilkenny Exploits Cyclists during Bikeweek!
The Kilkenny Cycling and Walking Campaign (KCWC) wanted to find away of getting people back on their bikes, but at the same time find out what was keeping from cycling in the City. We needed to find out what were the views of pedestrians and drivers of the behaviour of cyclists. How could we do this, while at the same time communicate our findings easily and effectively to the decisions makers in the County Council and other stakeholders such as tourism, the chamber of commerce and the general public? Free bikes and cup cakes was a good place to start!
Using funding through LA21 and the County Council we organised 4 bike rides around Kilkenny city of 30 minutes duration during bike week. The routes were to show the types of infrastructure available in the city, and the short cuts that are only available to cyclists and pedestrians in a city with a medieval fabric. Getting a free bike tour with a cup cake came with the price of giving feedback on cycling in Kilkenny by a voxpop. We were successful in attracting cyclists of all levels of experience, age and gender to participate doing 2 trips for novices and 2 trips for experienced riders. We even got some tourists to come along, and we ended up doing 5 trips in the end.
We got a vast amount of feedback on people’s experiences to help identify the barriers to cycling in Kilkenny, but also the views of shoppers and tourists who are the core of the city’s economic life.. We are editing it all into a 6-7 minute clip which we will then circulate and hopefully help influence the decisions and attitudes of the Council and Chamber of Commerce in future infrastructure development
Contact KCWC @kilkennycwc
Proposed quantum of monetary fine for cyclists’ traffic law offences
Dear Minister,
I am writing to you on behalf of Cyclist.ie – The Irish Cycling Advocacy Network – to express my concern about the high quantum of monetary fine mooted (€50) by your officials to deal with road traffic law infractions being made by some cyclists – as compared with the fines faced by those driving motor vehicles – but please note that we do not oppose the concept of a fixed-fine regime for cyclists.