Tag Archives: Infrastructure

Cycle lanes / paths and other interventions, but excluding Greenways

Bicycle Strategy for Northern Ireland – Cyclist.ie Submission

Cyclist.ie review of the NI Draft Bicycle Strategy

Full submission

The Bicycle Strategy will be followed up by “a Bicycle Strategy Delivery Plan” which will outline specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound objectives, policies and actions.” Overall the draft Strategy includes some valuable points but we stressed in our submission that it is essential that the final Plan will include funding commitments as well. Otherwise the strategy is meaningless.

Some other key points we made were as follows:

  • The current spend on cycling in NI is very close to nothing. The public expenditure on NI roads for the year 2013-14 was £436M and less than 0.25% of this was spent on cycling infrastructure.
  • The road network (barring motorways) is there for everyone to use and it needs to be tamed so as to be safe and attractive for bicycles. It is utterly iniquitous that the existing road network is perceived to be hostile for cycling for all but the most battle-hardened cyclists!
  • It is crucial that driving training instructors and the PSNI fully understand the nature of cycling and correct road positioning, and can communicate that message to their trainees and officers, respectively. This is explained well in film by the Bicycle Association as reported on in the media just last week
  • The draft strategy needs to be much more ambitious in regard to seeking to make all built up areas traffic calmed, and safe and attractive for bicycle users of all ages (i.e. 8 to 80) and abilities. Unless there is a serious shift in policy towards making places liveable and attractive and “inviting for all” by reducing speeds on a widespread basis, there will be no cyclists left on Northern Irish roads!

Improvements to cycle and public transport access to Cork Station

Millions of euro in funding is to be spent improving accessibility between Kent Station and the city centre; construction on the project commenced summer 2014. Iarnród Éireann had been seeking to enhance the existing facilities at the Cork train station, with plans to develop the North Docks with an entrance building accessed from Horgan’s Quay. Now €2.9m in funding, administered by the National Transport Authority, is to be spent on the new entrance and bus, cycle and access arrangements to improve connections to the city. Read article

Cork Cycling Campaign:

  • Campaign on behalf of Cork Cyclists
  • Sent in their own submission on the proposal for this project
  • Meet first wednesday of every month at 7pm in the Bodega, Coalquay, Cork.

Extraordinary coalition of businesses support bold Cycle Superhighway plans

The CEO of Microsoft UK, Michel Van Der Bel, gave his support today to the Mayor of London’s ambitious plans to build two new Cycle Superhighways. He joins an extraordinary coalition of businesses urging Boris Johnson to build the routes.

Microsoft joins over 120 employers who have sent letters of support for the Cycle Superhighways – including RBS, Unilever, Orange, Deloitte, Coca-Cola, the Financial Times, and law firms Olswang,Allen & Overy, and Herbert Smith Freehills.

Read article, but there is also opposition

Could the same thing happen for Dublin’s Quays? – see also the latest in the Irish Times

New European Commission should maximise growth and jobs by investing in cycling

Today the European Parliament has approved the new European Commission. ECF is particularly looking forward to working with Ms. Violeta Bulc, the new Commissioner for Transport. During her hearing in front of the European Parliament, Ms. Bulc stated that she loves nature and that she supports the polluter-pay and user-pay principles.

The European Cyclists’ Federation expects that the Slovenian Commissioner will soon present her vision on cycling as a means of transportation. Our organisation has also requested a personal meeting with the former Slovenian minister who will be in charge of transport in the EU for the next five years. Read article

NI Cycling Strategy

Cyclist.ie has made contributions about everyday cycling strategy to the NI Assembly Regional Development sub-committee at Stormont as well as to NI Minister for DRD, Danny Kennedy MLA, and his officials.

Some members of Cyclist.ie will be attending at the public seminar on the Strategy on 16 October in Belfast.

In the ROI we are at the half-way stage with our NCPF (2009) which sets a target of 10% of everyday trips to be made by bike by 2020. The target is slipping away unless the government commits in the Budget next Tuesday to enhanced funding for cycling promotion and the establishment of a national Cycling Officer and a team of specialists based at DoTTAS to really drive the promotion of cycling for commuting for work and school, shopping, children socialising around their neighbourhoods, etc.

Draft Bicycle Strategy For Northern Ireland – August 2014

Limerick Smarter Travel Infrastructure – update

After years of consultations, documents, PR etc. it is good to see some bollards on the ground at last

The flagship project is the river / canal path between the city and the university – 3/4km; but the road route is also in for improvement; the key impediment for cyclists on this route are two of the largest roundabouts in Limerick.

Below are some pictures of the work-in-progress on one of these roundabouts; a few things worth mentioning: 1) a key idea is to improve the (currently narrow) bi-directional pedestrian / cycle path on the city – university route 2) two 3-lane approaches to the roundabout are being reduced to 2-lane 3) the roundabout diameter is being increased

To be somewhat cynical about it, you could say this work is really a partial roll-back of the excessively car-centric infrastructure built in an earlier time

This is a report I did for LCC on this roundabout – which deals with these issues and more: Groody Roundabout Cycle Audit

Related post: Council slammed over Smarter Travel

Lane reduction 1 Lane reduction 2 Widening pedestrian & cycle lane 1 Widening pedestrian & cycle lane 2 Widening pedestrian & cycle lane 3

Cycling Campaigners Launch Promotional Videos

As part of hosting the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) annual delegate conference, the largest gathering of cycling experts and advocates from around Europe in 2014, the Dublin Cycling Campaign, in partnership with Dublin City Council, has launched a series of cycling promotional videos.  The Dublin City Manager, Mr. Owen Keegan, launched the videos at a reception at the Wood Quay Venue at the Civic Offices in Dublin at 18:30 h.

A series of five promotional videos have been produced to promote everyday cycling as a normal way of life in our city. See example: http://www.dublincycling.ie/videos/dublin-cycling-stories-paul Continue reading Cycling Campaigners Launch Promotional Videos

Campaigners call for Cycling Projects to Shift up a Gear

Thu 24 April 2014 Dublin, Ireland – Seminar for Local Authorities about Cycling Promotion at Wood Quay Venue, Civic Offices, Dublin 8 at 13:30 h.

As part of hosting the European Cyclists’ Federation annual delegate conference, the largest gathering of cycling experts and advocates from around Europe in 2014, the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport and Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network, are hosting a seminar on the theme of ‘Funding and Justifying Cycling Projects’, at Wood Quay Venue, Civic Offices in Dublin Continue reading Campaigners call for Cycling Projects to Shift up a Gear