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
Tag Archives: Events
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Cyclist.ie in Brussels for the “Cycling for Growth” Roundtable
Cyclist.ie – the member for Ireland of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) attended the “Cycling for Growth” round-table seminar in Brussels yesterday (Invitation here) . Damien Ó Tuama, National Cycling Coordinator made the trip over on behalf of Irish cyclists. The event was organised by ECF to mark the publication of three new studies demonstrating how cycling is good for the economy and job creation.
The studies recommended three main points:
- We need more investment in cycling, stimulated by EU subsidies for cycling measures
- We need to integrate cycling into growth plans
- We need to improve fiscal benefits for cyclists.
On this last point, we learned the astonishing statistic that, on an EU basis, tax subsidies for company cars lead to direct government revenue losses of €54 billion according to a paper published by the European Commission. ECF and Cyclist.ie strongly recommend that we need a level playing field for all modes of transport throughout Europe, including those that have a positive impact on public health and the environment.
According to the ECF report “Jobs and job creation in the European cycling sector”, there are more than 650,000 full-time jobs linked to cycling today in Europe. This number is estimated to increase up to 1 million jobs by 2020 if cycling modal share doubles, as ECF vision supports.
More details on the studies can be found on the ECF website
Finally, while Brussels itself – and the “EU quarter” in particular – is still a long way off what you might call bicycle friendly, it is great to know that the European Cyclists’ Federation is lobbying at the highest levels so as to centre the bicycle in transport policy … just as Cyclist.ie is doing in an Irish context.
Invitation to ECF round-table on cycling promotion
Dear MEP
I am writing to you in your position as MEP representing a constituency for Ireland.
With unprecedented levels of overweight/obesity in our society among young people everyday cycling is a major public health-related activity, and of interest to many people in your EU constituency, particularly in relation to Greenway development. ‘Cyclist.ie – The Irish Cycling Advocacy Network – would like to invite you to register to participate with other MEPs and the new Transport Commissioner in the first round-table of the ‘Cycling Forum Europe’, which takes place in Brussels next Thursday 4th December.
Cyclist.ie is the member for Ireland of The European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), which invites you to take part in a high-level round-table on ‘Cycling For Growth’ on Thursday 4th December from 13:30 to 17:00 h. More information.
Continue reading Invitation to ECF round-table on cycling promotion
Collaborations with Colleagues in the UK: CycleNation, CTC and The London Cycling Campaign
Irish campaigners were well represented at the annual conference of Cyclenation UK and CTC held in London at the weekend. The event was hosted by London Cycling Campaign in Lambeth Town Hall. The Irish contingent was made up of Dr. Mike McKillen (Chair of Cyclist.ie), Damien Ó Tuama (National Cycling Coordinator, Cyclist.ie/An Taisce), Michael McKenna (Cyclist.ie & Skerries Cycling Initiative), Alita Rivera (Dublin Cycling Campaign) and David O’Brien.
There were over 100 delegates and over 10 speakers on the line-up which included the CEO’s of the three organising bodies as well as engineers, urban-designers, politicians and academics.
While the accents differed a little, the issues faced across the water are exactly the same: bicycle users still rank way down the priority list in England, Scotland and Wales. Many roads are dominated by heavy goods vehicles, buses and cars with cyclists given the bread-crumbs at the table. Far too many motorised vehicles are giving far too little space to cyclists. However, change does appear to be afoot, in London particularly, as the Mayor plans a new generation of cycle superhighways and many of the largest companies are London strongly supporting plans as Chris Keynon from Cycling Works explained. Meanwhile CycleNation UK has published Making Space for Cycling and this sets out to explain to local authorities what existing and future cyclists really need. Furthermore, and similarly to Ireland, we heard that new cycle design guidance has recently been published in Wales and the new London Cycle Design Standards are due out soon. This should mean that the standards for providing for cyclists will improve.
All in all, there are some positive signs that transport planning in the UK is changing so as to recognise the massive public health and economic benefits that accrue when cycling is taken seriously. Like Ireland though, it is still decades behind the more progressive Continental cities in terms of taming the car and making towns and cities liveable for all.
By travelling to these conferences, we forge stronger links with UK cycle campaigning organisations and bring home good ideas that can help us in our work of transforming Irish towns and cities to become really bicycle friendly. Keep in touch with us in Cyclist.ie as we look ahead to the Velo-city Cycling Planning Conference taking place in Nantes in June. We have already started discussions with our colleagues in CycleNation about cycling from Cherbourg to Nantes en masse! Watch this space.
Cycling and Bonding in Sofia with our Continental Colleagues
Cyclist.ie – the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network is one of eight national organisations taking part in the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) Leadership Programme. This means that – along with the national organisations of Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Greece and Austria – Cyclist.ie is recognised as one of the most effective and rapidly-growing European advocacy organisations.
Last week, all eight groups took part in a training programme in Sofia, kindly hosted by the Bulgarian Cycling Association. Cyclist.ie was represented by National Cycling Coordinator, Damien Ó Tuama. This training aimed at helping us to plan ahead, improve our lobbying, organise more effective campaigns, increase members and fund-raise – all with the bigger aim of creating strong cycling cultures in our countries.
At the meetings, we came to realise that it is not just in Ireland that car-centric transport planning still dominates or that government departments do not yet fully see the potential that cycling offers to solve congestion, public health and other problems. Equally, national cycling organisations across Western, Central and Eastern Europe face very similar challenges in transitioning from operating just with volunteers to also having a paid professional dimension to campaigning. There is so much work we need to do, yet we are all over-stretched and need more funding and volunteering energy in order to thrive.
The meetings and training sessions in Sofia helped to build stronger alliances between all eight national organisations. They also mean that when we organise future Skype or phone calls amongst ourselves so as to collectively advance various issues, these conversations are more meaningful and productive when we have met each other in person and cycled the streets of Sofia en masse!
A big thanks to Kevin and Elina in ECF, and Evgeny and colleagues in the Bulgarian Cycling Association for a very successful meeting! Photo below taken by Andrzej Felczak from www.radlobby.at
For more on the Cyclist.ie participation in the ECF Leadership Programme, see ECF.
Call for co-ordinated plan to combat soaring bike theft
Bicycle theft in Ireland has doubled in Ireland since the introduction of the Bike to Work scheme in 2009. Almost 4,500 bicycle thefts[1] were reported in Dublin in 2013, but the actual number of bike thefts is likely to be in the region of 20,000 in 2013 according to Irish household surveys[2] and international experience[3,4]. The chances of a bike thief being caught is low, with a conviction rate of only 2%[5] or reported thefts. Approximately 230,000 bicycles are imported into Ireland each year[6]. “Bike theft is a low-risk, high-reward crime. If cars were being stolen at this rate there would be uproar.” Says Keith Byrne, Chairperson of the Dublin Cycling Campaign. Continue reading Call for co-ordinated plan to combat soaring bike theft
Gathering of Greenway and Rural Cycleway Groups in Ireland Sat 18th Oct
Saturday 18th October 2014
Tailor’s Hall, Back Lane, Christchurch, Dublin 8
13:30 for lunch / 14:00 start / 16:30 finish / informal socialising afterwards
Hosted by Cyclist.ie – Irish Cycling Advocacy Network Continue reading Gathering of Greenway and Rural Cycleway Groups in Ireland Sat 18th Oct
Nantes – Velo-City 2015, 2 – 5 June
After Seville in 2011 and Vienna in 2013, Nantes Métropole has been chosen by ECF to host the 2015 Velo-City conference at La Cité, Nantes Events Center. Nantes was selected for its investment in terms of cycling policy. Nantes will seek to meet four key objectives:
- Create a replicable model dedicated to regional cities
- Build on the strengths and weaknesses of the Nantes experience and other French cities
- Reach out to the world
- Create a future inspired by cycling
More information: Velo-City 2015 website and Conference Information
ECF Delegate Conference and Local Authority Seminar – Presentations
The following are the presentations from the recent ECF Delegate Conference and Local Authority Seminar hosted by the Dublin Cycling Campaign
- Bernhard Ensink
- Joe Seymour
- Kevin Mayne
- Michael Aherne 1 of 2 & Michael Aherne 2 of 2
- Mike McKillen
- Orla Corrigan
- Seamus MacGearailt
Other presentations
Local Elections
With the local elections looming (23 May) and candidate selection almost complete, Cyclist.ie sent out today its on-line survey questionnaire to all the party HQs and Directors of Elections seeking their cooperation in getting the link to each candidate and asking them to take the trouble to complete the survey. Continue reading Local Elections