The Galway to Dublin Cycleway will be the first inter-city greenway in a proposed national network. Stretching 276 km from coast to coast, this will be a world-class amenity for families, communities and tourists to enjoy, providing a cross-country route away from busy roads. From west to east the route passes through counties Galway, Roscommon, Westmeath, Meath, Kildare and Dublin. It will travel by rivers and through woods, along a disused railway line and old canal paths, and on well-signed, purpose-built cycle paths, offering rural tranquillity in a safe and traffic-free environment to everyone who uses it. Work on the cycleway commenced in 2013 with funding from the NRA and in collaboration with the local authorities. For more information see our website and map
5 great Irish cycles
Mind the Mayo tornadoes
On our first trip to Co Mayo we hired bikes and cycled part of the Great Western Greenway, a 38km round trip from Mulrany village to Achill town. My six-year-old – “a big boy now” – wanted his own bike; it was a long cycle for young kids but so much fun. We stopped for drinks and snacks along the way and enjoyed beautiful scenery. We had our packed lunch in a picnic area in Achill town, followed by a 99 from SuperValu. Read more
London commuters arriving stressed and late – unless they travel by bike
A poll of over 5,500 commuters across five major European cities has found that London commuters are late for work more often than those in any other major European city. This is despite a quarter setting off half an hour early each day in an attempt to guard against this. The majority of the city’s commuters also rated their daily travel as being more stressful than moving house. Read article
Four in five disqualified drivers holding on to licences
Almost four out of five drivers disqualified in court are failing to surrender their licence, figures from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) show.
These figures also show some disqualified drivers are continuing to drive and to commit motoring offences while they should be serving the six-month driving disqualification.
According to the RSA, 9,611 drivers were disqualified in court between October 29th, 2013 (when the RSA took over responsibility for driving licences) and a further 476 received disqualifications for accumulating 12 penalty points.
End of the car age: how cities are outgrowing the automobile
Cities around the world are coming to the same conclusion: they’d be better off with far fewer cars. So what’s behind this seismic shift in our urban lifestyles? Stephen Moss goes on an epic (car-free) journey to find out. Read article
Man given 6½-year sentence for causing death of cyclist
A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to six and a half years for dangerous driving causing the death of a 42-year old cyclist near Killarney.
Shane Fitzgerald of Knockeen, Meelin, Newmarket, Co Cork, had denied the charge of dangerous driving causing the death of father-of-four Paudie O’Leary (42) at Scrahan Fada, Gneeveguilla, near Killarney on July 1st, 2012.
Judge Thomas E O’Donnell, handing down sentence said the collision “blew Mr O’Leary off the road,” so much so that his body and his bike were some distance behind a hedge.
DUBLINBIKES USERS PEDAL 10 MILLION TRIPS — NEARLY 1 MILLION IN 2015 ALONE
An expansion of Dublin’s on-street bicycle rental system, DublinBikes, has led to a boom in use of the system, which has now reached the 10 million trips.
Three million journeys were undertaken in last nine months, Dublin City Council said today. Read article
Irish Cycling Show
We were pleased to meet so many cyclists at the Show. We took the opportunity to explain what we are trying to achieve for everyday cyclists among a mass of sports cycling types.
It was good to meet up with Phil Skelton of Stayin Alive at 1.5 who also had a stand at the Show.
It was interesting to note that we brought all the materials for our stand in the Dublin Cycling Campaign’s cargo-bike whereas all the other exhibitors came in trucks, vans and cars!
It was sad to see so few visitors arriving by bike judging from the small numbers of bikes secured to the racks in front of the RDS Main Hall entrance.
Highlighting road safety issues around large trucks
Large fleet operator – Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland, renowned city centre school – Belvedere College, An Taisce Green-Schools and Cyclist.ie, the Irish cycling advocacy network, will run a demonstration to highlight dangers of “blind zones” around Heavy Goods Vehicles(HGVs) for students at the Belvedere Sports Grounds on the Navan Road on 16 April 2015 (from 2 – 4pm).
Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland, the operator of a fleet of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) delivering to over 222 SuperValu and 465 Centra stores nationwide, together with Green-Schools, and Cyclist.ie, have organised the demo to raise awareness of an important road safety issue which impacts road users and pedestrians on a daily basis. Belvedere College is currently working on the Travel theme of the Green-Schools programme., which aims to promote sustainable and active modes of transport to school, including cycling
Green-Schools Travel
An Taisce has been working on the national Green-Schools Travel programme, which focuses on promoting sustainable travel on the school run, since September 2008. The Travel theme is funded by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and supported by the National Transport Authority under Smarter Travel Schools.
To date, over 1500 primary and secondary schools countrywide have taken part or are taking part in the Green-Schools Travel programme, implementing sustainable travel action plans in their schools. Since 2008 970 schools have been awarded the Green Flag for Travel, representing successful completion of the travel theme of the Green-Schools programme.
The ultimate aim of the Green-Schools Travel programme is to encourage students, parents and teachers to walk, cycle, scoot, Park ‘n’ Stride, use public transport or car pool instead of using the private car on the school run.
Cyclist.ie at Irish Cycling Show, RDS, 18-19 Apr
Cyclist.ie will have a space at the Irish Cycling Show at the weekend in the RDS. We’ll be chatting to punters about our work around recreating strong everyday cycling cultures all around Ireland. We also look forward to chatting to the other exhibitors about our work and finding out the latest trends in bicycle technology. Website