Ireland, see also NI
IRELAND may get its first “traffic light-free” city centre if the ideas being pitched this week by a UK campaigner come to fruition.
Equality Streets is the brainchild of Martin Cassini who believes that replacing the constraints of traffic light systems with common sense and courtesy will lead to less congestion, fewer carbon emissions, improved road safety and billions of euro in savings. Read more
INADEQUATE PUBLIC transport has pushed Dublin down the rankings in a table of Europe’s top shopping cities according to a survey published this week.
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Globe Shopper City survey found that while Dublin performed strongly when the number of shops was considered and did well on the length of its sales seasons, the city scored poorly in terms of public transport and this pushed it into 14th place out of 33 European cities.
OPINION: THE PRIORITIES set out in the Government’s Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012 – 2016: Medium-Term Exchequer Framework report of supporting enterprise, health and education are absolutely laudable. In a time when exchequer revenues are outstripped by expenditure, needs must.
But when one examines the transport stratagem against the three objectives it becomes clear the proposed investment does not deliver, nor on one other key criterion: maximising value for money. Most especially it will not promote public health, something that is increasingly linked to our level of active travel, to the best possible degree.
IN the grand plan of things the Cycle to Work Scheme can hardly be described as world changing but in its own small, quiet, effective way it has been revolutionary and eye-opening. Read more
MORE THAN 2.5 million trips have been taken on Dublin Bikes since the bike rental scheme was launched two years ago this week – and the latest figures show just more than 93 per cent of these journeys were free. Read more
The Bike to Work scheme has flooded the streets with expensive bicycles that can be stolen in less time than it takes to lock them properly. Read more
PRESS RELEASE From Cyclist.ie – Ireland’s National Cycling Lobby Group
Cyclists say consultants’ cycle-lane claims need careful interpretation and action by roads authorities if numbers of cyclists are to be massively increased in line with government target of 10% of commuting trips made on bikes by 2020
The joint AECOM and TCD (Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering) consultants’ report for Dublin City published this week attempts to show, using a cycling infrastructure preference survey methodology, what measures and policies are required in order to persuade many thousands more commuters to switch from car to bike use for their daily commutes. The context for this survey was the setting by the previous government of an ambitious target in its National Cycling Promotion Policy Framework (NCPF) of 10% of commuting trips nationally to be made by bike by 2020. We are way off that target already in 2011. Continue reading Press release from Cyclist.ie – A consultancy report on cycle lanes released this week may not be what is needed to boost commuting cyclists numbers for 2020
A NEW study of 2,000 commuters, commissioned by Dublin City Council, shows that more and better cycle lanes – not shared with buses – will be needed to get people back on their bikes. Read more – Irish Times – FRANK McDONALD, Environment Editor
Have your say – what do you think?