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cyclist.ie Highlights & Achievements – 2019 & 2020

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Cyclist.ie has had an intensely busy and fruitful period of campaigning over the last two years. In the text below, we list many of our highlights and main achievements in 2019 and 2020. It is broadly divided into Campaigns, Submissions, Presentations, International Advocacy Work and Organisational Developments. 

It is certainly not exhaustive, but will give a good sense of our core campaigning work. In summary though, our advocacy work has had a significant impact on national policy, on funding for cycling, and in supporting cycle campaigning at a local level which, in turn, is helping to shape the approaches of Local Authorities and communities in nurturing cycling. We look forward to an even more fruitful year in 2021!

2019 Highlights / Main Achievements

  • Major Campaigns
    • #allocate4cycling campaign organised with the aim of prioritising investment in cycling. As part of this, many PQs (Parliamentary Questions) posed to TDs so as to help disentangle figures around the actual annual spend on cycling
Dr. Damien Ó Tuama from Cyclist.ie presenting to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism & Sport in November 2019
  • Officials from the Road Safety Authority, An Garda Síochána, the National Transport Authority, and three separate sections of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Sustainable Transport, Road Safety and Tourism)
  • International
Lunch with the partners on the Erasmus+ project in Corella – with Justin and Allison from the Clonakilty Bicycle Festival and Cyclist.ie at the front!
Alan Curran from the Galway Cycle Bus presenting at the 2019 Velo-city Cycle Planning Conference in Dublin
  • Organisational Achievements / work
    • Growth of the Cyclist.ie network to encompass 20 member groups
    • Fundraising successes for the National Cycling Coordinator position 
    • Building stronger alliances with An Taisce and Cycling Ireland, and advancing campaigns collectively through our membership of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition
    • Hosting of two Council meetings for our members and eight Executive Committee meetings in 2019

2020 Highlights / Main Achievements (as of 01 Dec 2020)

Campaigners from Skibbereen in West Cork including the crew from Cycle Sense, a member group of Cyclist.ie
  • Development of a new 5 year strategy for Cyclist.ie supported by professional input and facilitation by Sandra Velthuis from Whitebarn Consulting. Strategy to be adopted on 12 Dec 2020. 
    • Hosting of two Council meetings for our members (plus an additional two special Council meetings regarding our new strategic plan) and eight Executive Committee meetings in 2020.

Irish Posts

cyclist.ie at TEDx Rethink Ireland Countdown event

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Cyclist.ie is delighted to have been invited to speak at the ‘TEDxRethinkIreland presents Countdown’ event this Monday 12th October at 2.30pm.

Countdown is a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis, turning ideas into action. It is a year-long focus on climate change led by TED and a coalition of leaders, activists, scientists, and businesses around the world, leading to COP 26 in October 2021. The goal is to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 in the race to a zero-carbon world – a world that is safer, cleaner, and fairer for everyone.

Cyclist.ie will be represented at the TEDx event by Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, National Cycling Coordinator with Cyclist.ie and An Taisce. In his talk, Damien will set out Cyclist.ie’s vision for a low carbon mobility system in which active travel is a core component.

You can register for the event via Event Brite here. 

During the event itself you will also hear from:

Deirdre Mortell, CEO and Founder of Rethink Ireland 
Deirdre has been the CEO of ONE Foundation and held senior roles in fundraising & communications in Oxfam and Barnardos.

ECO–UNESCO Ireland’s Environmental Education & Youth Organisation that works to conserve the environment and empower young people.

Burrenbeo Trust a charity dedicated to reconnecting us with our landscape and our role in caring for it.

Green Sod Ireland a land and biodiversity trust with gifted Wild Acres in its care – creating safe habitats, facilitating the free movement of wildlife vital for biodiversity all over Ireland.

Irish Posts

Cyclist.ie 10 Asks & Budget 2021

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It is almost eight months since General Election 2020 (Saturday 8th February – although it feels like several years ago) and since Cyclist.ie published its “#GE2020 10 Asks to Make Cycling Better & Safer for All” as shown in the graphic below. 

And it is coming up to four months since the final Programme for Government was published (mid-June 2020). 

Last week Cyclist.ie delivered its Pre-budget 2021 Submission to the Minister for Finance, so over the coming fortnight we will be monitoring very carefully how our “10 Asks to Make Cycling Better & Safer for All” will have shaped Budget 2021 (taking place on Tue 13th October). 

As we learn to live with Covid-19 and begin to recast our visions for transport, housing and energy in response to the urgent need to decarbonise our lives, there is no better time to transform our mobility systems and to invest in high quality cycling infrastructure countrywide. Keep in touch with us over the coming weeks as – we hope – a new picture for the future of transport in Ireland begins to emerge.

Irish Posts

RETHINK IRELAND FUND SUCCESS FOR CYCLIST.IE

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Cyclist.ie is delighted to announce that we are one of the successful applicants in the first phase of Rethink Ireland’s Innovate Together Fund. This follows the formal announcement by Rethink Ireland last week  – particularly exciting news to receive during National Bike Week, probably our busiest week of the year!  

A total of 51 projects are being funded in the first phase of Rethink Ireland’s Innovate Together Fund, following applications for grants by 481 projects. The fund is all about supporting innovative responses to the pandemic, and Cyclist.ie sees cycling and active travel as very much part of an appropriate societal response to the situation in which we find ourselves. The Innovate Together Fund is supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund.

The focus on cycling through the Change Our Streets campaign aligns with a Europe-wide trend of reallocating road space to pedestrians and cyclists, reducing speed limits, and introducing other interventions such as ‘filtered permeability’ schemes – all with the aim of changing the conditions to enable more people to choose to cycle. This trend has been reported widely in the international press – see for example the Guardian’s articles (from May 2020) on How coronavirus will transform transport in Britain’s cities and Covid-19 prompts world’s cities to free public space of cars – and in the domestic media such as the Irish Times’ editorial of 27 July 2020 which argued that the “pandemic has strengthened the case for getting more commuters cycling and walking” – see the Irish Times view on cycling infrastructure: a tipping point. As recently as today, the 2nd of October 2020, the BBC reported on ‘Coronavirus: How pandemic sparked European cycling revolution’. All of these developments are now being systematically tracked by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), of which Cyclist.ie is the member for Ireland, with its Covid Measures Tracker.  

The project builds on some fine campaigning work in which Galway Cycling Campaign, the Irish Pedestrian Network and Cyclist.ie focused on speeding and the need for  safe, usable space  across the country, for people to shop, exercise and commute by active travel means during the crisis. This initiative was supported by The Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society and the Association for Health Promotion Ireland – see the Irish Heart Foundation joins call for safer streets. The project also builds on the work of Better Ennis with, for example, their open letter to  the local Council requesting healthier streets during the pandemic. Huge credit is due to campaigners across the country advancing this advocacy work as it has raised the profile of the issues and of the need for Local Authorities (LAs) to engage more fully on public health matters.  

The essence of this Rethink Ireland funded project is around strengthening the capacity of Cyclist.ie as an effective non-governmental organisation (NGO) to create further change. This means:

–          Building up our knowledge base at local, national and international levels on what is happening to enable cycling during the pandemic (e.g. by drawing on the ECF Covid Tracker tool referred to above)

–          Engaging constructively with LAs countrywide (e.g. through the Transportation or Infrastructure Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs) on which some local Cyclist.ie member groups are represented – and through further direct contacts with officials)

–          Building wider support and alliances for Cyclist.ie’s advocacy work – with businesses, health bodies and other NGOs. On this, Cyclist.ie draws great inspiration from Dropbox’s support for cycling advocacy through its endorsement of the work of Dublin Cycling Campaign (a member group of Cyclist.ie) – see Campaigning Moves up a Gear with the Support of Dropbox 

–          Engaging with the new Minister for Transport on cycling.

In short, the project is all about building on what Cyclist.ie has been working on since its foundation in 2008, but with the heightened urgency that Covid has prompted. As set out in our funding application in May, the success with Rethink Ireland’s Innovate Together Fund enables Cyclist.ie’s National Cycling Coordinator, Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, to transition from a part-time role towards a full-time position in cycling advocacy. This, in turn, will help to nurture the further growth of effective cycle campaigning countrywide – see the map showing the growing array of cycling advocacy bodies all around Ireland (currently being updated to include new members). Ultimately, this project will support the emergence of strong cycling cultures at local community levels nationwide during and beyond the pandemic.  

Once again, Cyclist.ie wishes to sincerely thank Rethink Ireland and the funders of the Innovate Together Fund. We also wish to acknowledge the Cyclist.ie Executive Committee for their input on the funding proposal back in May 2020. We see this funding success as a further stepping stone in strengthening cycling advocacy in Ireland.

Finally, we wish to note here that Cyclist.ie continues to appreciate its strategic partnerships with An Taisce and with Cycling Ireland. These partnerships help to cement cycling advocacy within broader movements around creating a more sustainable system and a healthier population in Ireland.  

Irish Posts

Pre-Budget 2021 submission

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Cyclist.ie delivered our Pre-Budget 2021 Submission to the Department of Finance earlier today. You can read it immediately below. A PDF version can also be found here. A big thanks to our hard-working Executive Committee and wider team for preparing the submission.

Make the Programme for Government a Reality!
Ensure 10% of Transport Capital Funding is Allocated to Creating High Quality Conditions for Cycling Countrywide

1 – Introduction 

Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network, is the umbrella body of cycling advocacy groups in Ireland (http://cyclist.ie/) and the member for Ireland of the European Cyclists’ Federation (https://ecf.com/). Our vision is that cycling, as a mode of transport, becomes a normal part of everyday life for all ages and abilities in Ireland. 

As recognised in the new Programme for Government (PfG), cycling as a mode of transport offers numerous well documented benefits to society, including:

  • improved public health (especially important in this Covid period)
  • reduced congestion 
  • reduced greenhouse gas emissions     
  • reduced air and noise pollution 
  • increased mobility (again, especially important in this Covid period when numbers that can safely use public transport are greatly reduced)
  • more liveable and sociable streets and communities
  • high rates of economic return on investment 

Unlocking these benefits requires targeted and sustained investment, and international evidence demonstrates that investing in cycling provides excellent value for money. 

Cyclist.ie needs to see the promises made in the Programme for Government (PfG) become reality, with clear timelines instituted so as to ensure that the various commitments made are followed through. 

We outline our budget recommendations below under the following four headings

  • Taxation and Fiscal Policy directions to create modal-shift
  • Institutional Changes (with a Budgetary Dimension)
  • Interventions to ensure all cycling infrastructure, both urban and rural, meets the highest standards 
  • Legislative Changes and Promotion of Cycling

Cycling delivers multiple benefits to society and it is essential that good habits are developed at the school-going age. Photo by Anna Groniecka at the ‘Back to School on Your Own Fuel’ campaign

2 – Taxation and Fiscal Policy directions to create modal-shift

  • 10% of the transport capital expenditure annual budget on cycling projects / €360M per annum – as per the PfG. This is essential, and once achieved it must be maintained year-on-year. Allocations for cycling development to be accounted for separately from other sustainable transport measures.
  • Increasing duty on diesel over four years to match petrol so as to improve air quality. Duty levels on fuels to be reviewed year on year.
  • Road-pricing policies in major cities to be researched immediately, with a view to implementation by 2022.
  • Parking levies legislation to be introduced with a view to encouraging greater sustainable transport use, and curbing car use. 
  • All Fixed Charge Penalty Offence (FCPO) fines, impacting on Vulnerable Road User Safety, to be markedly increased, to support more efficient use of road space.  
  • Subsidies for e-bikes to be increased, similar to e-cars. SEAI grants for e-bikes especially e-cargo bikes, need to be part of the Grants Package. 
  • VAT reduction on bikes and bike repairs, to encourage greater sales and usage. 
  • Mileage / km allowances for cycling, to encourage greater use of commuting by bike, similar to Belgium 
  • Fleets of bikes for state and semi-state employees to use instead of cars for some work journeys
  • Provision of covered secure bike parking for all major transport hubs / interchanges, shopping and service centres, and in particular in schools and colleges.
  • Transport Stimulus Fund for ‘quick wins’ for each local authority, every year, to drive modal shift. I.e. schemes which can be advanced quickly without the need for planning approval. 
  • Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, NTA, RSA and TII officials to do study tours to NL, DK and UK (for example) and systematically disseminate the knowledge gained widely within the Irish public / civil service. 
  • Provide support for bike mechanic training programmes.
  • Expansion of bike to work scheme (recent changes welcome) to be more inclusive with focus on low earners, students, and unwaged. 
  • Funds to enable the retrofitting of train carriages for increased carriage of bicycles, and the future purchase of appropriate carriages to meet EU bike carrying capacity requirements. 

3 – Institutional Changes (with a Budgetary Dimension)

National Level Departments / Agencies

  • Create and resource appropriately within the Department of Transport, a National Cycling Coordination Office headed at senior level. This would be primarily focused on ensuring coordination on policy, standards, and expenditure across government departments. 
  • Establish a major new National Cycling Authority, possibly within the existing NTA, to manage  Local / Regional cycle design offices, as sub-units of the NTA – so that there is proper oversight on the planning and the quality of all cycling schemes in ALL local authorities 
  • Address the need for the standardisation of planning processes, consultations, and transparency across all local authorities. All planning proposals should be searchable and viewable online, and the processes open and transparent. Parity of esteem and parity of information is required between active travel and road schemes. 

Local Authorities

  • Require every Local Authority to commission and oversee the implementation of a high quality cycling policy and strategy. This would encompass the three main strands of
    (i) ‘policy planning (structure for continuous dialogue with users, target setting, resources, training, adopted policy doc),
    (ii) ‘actions’ (infrastructure, including the development of ambitious strategic cycle network plans, promotion / soft measures, staffing resources)
    (iii) monitoring / evaluation of policy and . 
  • Require the appointment of Cycling Officers at Director of Services level in all Local Authorities, with a remit: 
    • To produce and oversee the implementation of the above high quality cycling policy
    • To set targets and effect modal change at local level
    • To ensure adequate staffing resources for active travel development in line with PfG, and to oversee any required re-allocation of staff internally.
    • To set up a Local Authority Active Travel Forum (this could be sub-committee of the Transport Strategic Policy Committee) where stakeholder views are adequately represented.
  •  Develop a clear policy for Cycling in Rural Ireland. See: https://cyclist.ie/ruralvision/. Cycling needs to be a countrywide issue, not just an issue for major urban centres. The opportunities are there and these can also support local economic and social development. 

Ensure updated and realistic comparative assessment of all projects by reviewing the Government’s Common Appraisal Framework(CAF), and Strategic Investment Framework for Land Transport(SFILT), etc

  • Update the Common Appraisal Framework (CAF) so that investments in schemes which promote healthier and low carbon travel are properly recognised for their broad societal benefits. The WHO ‘HEAT’ tool needs to be fully embedded into the CAF.  
  • Review the Strategic Investment Framework for Land Transport (SFILT)  to reflect the declaration of a health emergency by the WHO, and the declaration of a climate emergency by the Dáil, necessitating the decarbonisation of the transport system. 

4 – Interventions to Improve the Quality of Cycling Infrastructure

The commitment in the PfG to fund cycling is quite explicit. The focus now needs to be on how to deliver high quality routes which will enable people of all ages and abilities (the “8 to 80 cohort”) to make the choice to switch to active travel.

  • Prioritise as a matter of urgency a review of design standards
    • to ensure design and construction of safe high quality routes in line with best international practice
    • to ensure design consistency across agencies, institutions, and local authorities
  • The main standards / guidelines for review are:
    • National Cycle Manual
    • Rural Cycleway Standards
    • Design Manual for Urban Roads & Streets (DMURS)

These should all dovetail with each other

  • Establish Local / Regional Cycle Design Offices – sub-units of the NTA – so that there is proper oversight of the quality of all cycling schemes in all local authorities (as opposed to just some schemes in some LA areas as is the current situation). Consultancy staff will need to be deployed as appropriate. This will ensure available expertise for local authorities for quick delivery of high quality projects
  • Set up accelerated training programs for local authority staff in sustainable mobility design and implementation. 
  • Every Local Authority to develop ambitious strategic cycle network plans for their towns and at a county level. 
  • Covid cycling schemes. Ensure that the NTA systematically monitors the quality and use of all ‘quick-to-construct’ schemes with a view to feeding this knowledge into design standards and further plans by Local Authorities. 
  • Currently cycling schemes are designed by a range of bodies – the NTA, TII, by local authorities or by consultants working for any of the above, hence the need for improved coordination and consistency of design.
    Funding should not be provided for low quality schemes that do not meet the required design standards.

5 – Legislative Changes and Promotion of Cycling

  • Resource and expedite Legislative Changes to prioritise active travel measures within an agreed time-frame. This is critical to support the growth of active travel.   
  • Introduce legislation so that 30km/h becomes the default speed limit in all built-up areas, and Councils can then introduce exceptions to these limits where it is deemed safe and appropriate. 
  • Cycle promotion, especially among marginalised groups. The same sophistication used in car advertising and marketing needs to be applied to sell active travel. 
    • This video example from Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) is an example of what is possible

Screen shot from DLRCC’s video on the new Coastal Mobility Route (link above)

  • Cycle Training, via the Cycle Right program, needs to be expanded further, with adequate funding to ensure that local authorities can offer cycle training for all levels and ages including on-street training. 
  • Provide funding support for Active Travel advocacy so that the wider societal benefits of investing in cycling are understood – and that community support can be nurtured for high quality schemes etc.  
  • Include Cyclist.ie as a stakeholder under Section 82 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. 
  • Support the creation for Ireland of a tool equivalent to the Propensity to Cycle Tool (https://www.pct.bike/) as developed by Rachel Aldred for England & Wales. This would use Census data and would assist local communities in developing higher levels of cycling. 

Colm Ryder,
Chairperson,
Cyclist.ie – the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network
The Tailors’ Hall,
Back Lane,
Dublin, D08 X2A3.

Irish Posts

Active Travel Stimulus Funding – Does it Deliver?

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Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network, broadly welcomes the funding provided for Active Travel projects through the Government’s recent Stimulus Plans, but with some reservations. 

It is exciting to see funding being provided for such an array of projects, some of which have the potential to significantly improve the safe movement of pedestrians and people on bicycles.  Projects which seek to provide segregated cycling infrastructure, bicycle parking and cycling priority at junctions clearly demonstrate that coupling vision and leadership means that significant active travel measures can, and now will, be delivered in these locations.

Speaking on behalf of Cyclist,ie, Colm Ryder, Chairperson, said: “we are delighted to see new footpaths, cycleways and bicycle parking being funded through the Stimulus Plans. We are hopeful that these projects will be designed and constructed to the highest standard.”

In contrast to the above positives, we are concerned to see reference to non-standard active travel measures such as “Greyways”.  Greyway is not a recognised term within the cycling design infrastructure, and it apparently refers to proposals to reconstitute road hard shoulders as cycle routes which are clearly unsafe and unattractive. To achieve real and substantive shift to active modes, it is essential that measures taken are designed to established standards. 

Anluan Dunne of Kerry Cycling Campaign continued: “it is worrying that some of the funding is being provided for infrastructure which has no established national standard – such as greyways. For decades we have campaigned for high quality, well designed infrastructure and it would be negligent to waste this opportunity, and these funds, on low quality projects. We call on the local authorities who have applied for funds to construct greyways, to reconsider, and re-allocate the monies to projects which adhere to published design standards and principles”

As a representative group, we are highly supportive of all measures to enhance and establish active travel measures. We now need to see Minister Eamon Ryan initiate an urgent review of design guidance contained in the National Cycling Manual, the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS), and Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s (TII) guidance on ‘Rural Cycleways’, and ‘Cross sections & Headroom’ documents . This is needed to maximise return on investment for the limited funding available.

Colm Ryder concluded: “it is imperative that the Minister and the Department of Transport ensure that funding provided for projects is targeted at attractive, efficient and safe measures. A cycle network plan should be developed in all local authority areas and municipal districts to inform and guide future project proposals”.

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network:  Our vision is that cycling is recognised as an everyday transport mode, which can be safely used by people of all ages and abilities.

[2] We can provide high quality photos to go with any articles being produced if/as required. 

SPOKESPERSONS / FURTHER INFORMATION

Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, National Cycling Coordinator with Cyclist.ie and An Taisce – [email protected], Mob: 087-2840799.

Anluan Dunne, Kerry Cycling Campaign, [email protected], Mob: 085-7036888. 

Colm Ryder, Chairperson Cyclist.ie, [email protected]  Mob 087-2376130Neasa Bheilbigh, Galway Cycling Campaign,

[email protected], Mob: 087-9930374. Cuirtear fáilte roimh agallamh trí Ghaeilge.

Irish Posts

€88M Stimulus Funding for Active Travel – Is it all good news?

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The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) and the National Transport Authority (NTA) have recently announced separate major Stimulus Funding packages for Active Travel projects in the major cities and other counties around the country. Both of these funding packages, which are broadly welcomed, are due to be spent by the end of this calendar year – which is highly ambitious. Therefore cycling advocates around the country need to try to ensure that the monies are spent – and spent wisely – by the Local Councils, as there is a number of listed projects that are of dubious benefit to cyclists and pedestrians. We urge you to check out the level of ambition of your own Local Council, by accessing the links below in this article. 

The NTA announced a €55 million package for the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) and the other four main cities. Dublin City Council, not surprisingly, has received the largest share of this funding at just over €12million, with Kildare County Council in the GDA receiving the lowest figure of only €1.8million, possibly a reflection of its level of ambition in relation to active travel? The four Dublin local authorities account for approximately 50% of the available package. Dublin City and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Councils are by far and away the most ambitious. Within the GDA, South Dublin, Kildare, Meath & Wicklow have minimal allocations for cycling, with most funds being spent on pedestrian improvements such as footpaths and crossings. 

Outside Dublin, Limerick City and County Council’s allocation of nearly €9million includes a number of general road resurfacing projects, which will of course also benefit cyclists and bus passengers. But will it encourage greater levels of cycling? Cork City in its €4million allocation concentrates on the public realm, with some ‘footpaths or cycling’ measures included. It is unclear as to what is actually intended. Galway City proposes to ‘resurface roundabouts… to improve safety for cyclists’. We wonder what this actually means as many of Galway’s roundabouts are ‘no-go’ areas for people on bikes! Galway City also proposes to ‘convert a hard shoulder to a cycleway’ on Bóthar na dTreabh, which is a fast multi-lane roadway. We are dubious of what exactly is proposed in this area, which is not a major cycle route. Meanwhile Waterford City and County Council has a number of general resurfacing jobs and mainly footpaths and crossings.

The Stimulus allocations from DTTAS amount to a €33 million package for Active Travel across 22 County Councils, outside the ambit of the NTA. Cork County Council is the largest recipient of funding, accounting to over €5 million of the total. Carlow County Council at €528,000 is the recipient of the smallest amount. A major worry for cycling advocates are proposals for building ‘greyways’. These appear to be expenditure of scarce funds by designating hard shoulders on roadways as cycle lanes. In 2012-13 after a number of similar schemes, DTTAS stopped the conversion of hard shoulders for cycling use. The term ‘greyways’ does not exist in the cycling infrastructure lexicon, and Cyclist.ie questions its use without clear design criteria and proper safety considerations. These greyways are proposed in a total of seven counties: Galway, Louth, Longford, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Wexford, and Roscommon. We seek full reconsideration of these greyway proposals unless clear design guidelines and guaranteed safety for cyclists are provided.

In conclusion, Cyclist.ie welcomes this double injection of funding for Active Travel around the country, but urges caution in relation to some of the projects which are clearly of dubious benefit to pedestrians and people on bikes. In particular we would like to see the proposed ‘greyway’ funding re-allocated to other active travel projects with a clearer benefit for cyclists and pedestrians.

Photo above: From Donna Cooney and the Green Lanes National School Cycle Bus

Dublin

750m cycle path costing €9 million opens along Dublin’s Royal Canal

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A 750m long cycle path has been opened along the Royal Canal in Dublin’s North Strand at a cost of nearly €9 million.

The stretch is part of Dublin City Council’s Royal Canal “premium” cycle route, a 7km path running from the north quays to the city’s border with Fingal at Ashtown.

The first section of the route, a 500m stretch from Guild Street at the north quays to Sheriff Street, was completed more than a decade ago, but despite several announcements, work on the second phase to bring the path to Newcomen bridge at the North Strand only began in February of last year.

The newly opened section costing €8.9 million, consists of a segregated three-metre wide cycle track and two-metre wide footpath on a viaduct bridge alongside a linear park. The project also involved the realignment of the junction of Seville Place, Guild Street and Sheriff Street Upper and the provision of a pedestrian and cyclist crossing at its entrance with North Strand Road.

Full article (Irish Times)

Irish Posts

launch of the vision for cycling in rural ireland

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MEDIA RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday 30 July 2020

A Vision for Cycling in Rural Ireland
Launched by Cyclist.ie’s Rural Cycling Collective

During the lock-down period of restricted travel, one widely remarked phenomenon was the large increase countrywide in the numbers of people of all ages out walking and cycling. 

A desire to retain that peace and freedom, together with the promise by the new coalition government of an annual €360 million spend on walking and cycling infrastructure has led to the formation of a new Rural Cycling Collective. Comprising an array of groups and individuals under the umbrella of the wider national Cyclist.ie advocacy network, the group is focused on making rural communities (towns, villages, and rural roads) cycle-friendly for all ages and abilities. It aims to re-balance the debate on active travel so that everyday journeys by bike across rural Ireland are enabled and supported.

“A VISION FOR CYCLING IS A VISION FOR THE FUTURE”

Launching the manifesto, Joan Swift, speaking on behalf of Sligo Cycling Campaign – a member group of Cyclist.ie – said 

Today, we launch our vision document which aims to promote and celebrate everyday cycling in towns, villages and their surrounding areas.  We are launching the Rural Cycling Collective to highlight the needs of areas outside of the major cities. We are campaigning for a fair distribution of transport funding to regional parts of the country to make cycling for all ages and abilities a reality.   Our 8 identified priorities have the potential to completely transform our communities.

“RURAL COLLECTIVE HAS 8 PRIORITIES”

The collective is calling on Local and National Government to: 

  1. Create an environment in our towns, villages, and rural roads where cyclists are expected and respected.
  2. Create and map useful, connected cycle routes throughout Local Authority areas.
  3. Implement best practice design so that routes are safe and comfortable for all ages and abilities.
  4. Prioritise safe cycle routes to schools and car-free zones at school gates.
  5. Lower Speed Limits to make our roads and streets safer and more accessible for everyone, and to reduce casualties.
  6. Ensure clear and timely access to funding by improving capacity at all levels of local and national government.
  7. Collaborate with all stakeholders – including cycling and community groups – at all stages of planning and design.
  8. Provide cycle training for all ages especially children

Taken together, these measures would transform active travel throughout Ireland. The co-benefits would include improvements to health, safety, congestion, air-quality, noise levels, and the public realm. More cycling will also help us to meet our climate change obligations. Speaking ahead of the launch, Anluan Dunne from Kerry Cycling Campaign said:

We can be a voice for areas of Ireland that have not yet realised the potential of cycling for everyday activities – cycling to school for children, to work, to the post office for your pension, to shops to buy a litre of milk – or to cycle around to your neighbours for a catch-up. We need to change how we develop our towns, villages and rural roads and we need our collective voice to be heard 

At a recent family fun cycle in Clonakilty as part of the multi-location launch of the Vision for Cycling in Rural Ireland, there was an overwhelming feeling that both children and adults love exploring their local neighbourhoods and areas on their bicycles, and that cycling needs to become an everyday part of life in Ireland again. 

Jo Sachs-Eldridge, from Leitrim Cycling Festival, who led the creation of the vision, invites everyone – people who cycle, people who don’t cycle, want-to-be cyclists, mums, dads, planners, councillors, Ministers and An Taoiseach – to get involved in shaping this vision and helping to make it a reality. 

To find out more, add your support, share your feedback go to https://cyclist.ie/ruralvision/

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS & LINKS TO HIGH-RES PHOTOS

AIMS

The Rural Cycling Collective plans to foster collaboration amongst cycling groups across Ireland and to jointly lobby local authorities and public representatives for the changes which will entice more people to choose the bicycle for everyday activities. It will also work towards a cycle-friendly Ireland by collaborating with all stakeholders, organising regular events, fun-cycles and campaign actions.

MORE INFO

Cyclist.ie – the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network is the umbrella body of cycle campaigning and advocacy groups in Ireland – https://cyclist.ie/. It is the member for Ireland of the European Cyclists’ Federation – https://ecf.com/. 

Further information on Cyclist.ie’s Rural Cycling Collective is available here: https://cyclist.ie/2020/07/cyclist-ies-rural-collective/

Our vision can be found here:
https://cyclist.ie/ruralvision/

You might also like to check out the blog of the Leitrim Cycling Festival and their article on The Rural Cycling Collective and why its worth shouting about it!

SPOKESPERSONS

Joan Swift, Sligo Cycling Campaign, a member group of Cyclist.ie
Phone: 087-9622234
Email: [email protected]

Anluan Dunne, Kerry Cycling Campaign, a member group of Cyclist.ie
Phone: 085-703-6888
Email:  [email protected]

Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, National Cycling Coordinator, Cyclist.ie and An Taisce
Phone: 087-2840799
Email: [email protected] 

PHOTOS

High-Resolution photos to use in Media from one of the launch event held in Clonakilty, Co Cork (event hosted by the Clonakilty Bicycle Festival)

1 – Mum & Daughter ‘ A vision for cycling is a vision for the future’ credit Anna Groniecka https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yeyjkV_YBBa42x_uhZgjLdkGlTqoWXN5/view?usp=sharing

2- Father & Son – safe routes to school – credit –  Anna Groniecka https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Aj6kp8Do6x-pXU-HRyTI9NizS7m-uSfx/view?usp=sharing

3 – Ari Grounds – I want to cycle more – credit Anna Groniecka https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HpJXbFA_qDHl6XEr3Jx1iZ_Ox9r4_2XF/view?usp=sharing

4- Young girl – lower speeds credit Anna Groniecka https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BOB2md5o6OMVIPSO4q__MgxxPQ3vMkEr/view?usp=sharing

5 – Street scene in Clonakilty – no credit needed https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hkUqJzXd7VUgQeNc4uHx0ixCbMPlpmQw/view?usp=sharing

Please include credit where included in the .jpeg name.

Irish Posts

Cyclist.ie’s Rural Collective

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Last week a Zoom meeting was called for any interested groups, to discuss creating a new sub-collective of Cyclist.ie in order to build a mutual support network to promote and celebrate cycling in towns, villages and in between.  Cyclist groups introduced themselves and discussed their strengths, challenges and the vision for the collective. As smaller ‘rural’ groups often struggle with fewer volunteer resources, expertise, and energy than larger city-based initiatives, by banding together the idea is that they will be able to move forward more efficiently and effectively, with mutual support (and with less-burnout!).

Towns and cities represented at the meeting were Thurles, Bandon, Skiberreen, Clonakilty, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Sligo, Navan, Bandon, Kerry and Wexford.

While the mission and manifesto of the collective are currently being worked on with a launch expected later this month, the aim is to work alongside one another to better engage and work with relevant authorities and stakeholders, and to help bring forth a national transition towards a cyclist-friendly Ireland. To spread the love of bikes and work towards their manifesto goals, the collective will propose regular actions, fun-cycles and campaigns that member groups can host in their own communities. By joining forces to gain momentum, allies, and media attention the sum of their local actions will be greater than the sum of the parts.

If you, as a  group or individual  would like more information, or to get involved, please contact Allison Roberts (Cyclist.ie Executive Member/Clonakilty Bicycle Festival)