Top brass European delegates will get free passes for Dublin’s rental bikes for travelling to major events during Ireland’s EU presidency.
Senior political figures like European Council president Herman Van Rompuy could be among those given the special offer, as the Government attempts to cut costs during its six-month term. Read more
Census 2011 Results: Profile 10 Door to Door – Commuting in Ireland – Report Highlights
Highlights of the highlights:
There are 35 million daily cyclists in Europe. There are more than 100 million Europeans that cycle regularly. Yet the European Institutions are failing to take cycling seriously as a mode of Transport.
Strategic EU documents keep failing to mention cycling and it is at risk of being sidelined by more powerful lobby interests.
It’s time for this to change.
Important budgets are being decided between now and 2014, and we want to stop this negative trend. It’s time for us to remind the European Parliament, a democratically elected body, that cyclists’ have a voice and a place in European policy.
By putting pressure on them, we make sure that cycling deserves recognition as an important mode of transport.
Action to Take: Send These MEPs An Email before Tuesday, December 18. We have prepared a draft statement, available here.
Please contact your country’s MEP from the Parliament’s Transport Committee. They can be found here
Does the programme – War on Britain’s Roads – present an unbalanced and sensationalist view of conditions on the road network? If you think so, complain to the BBC setting out the ways in which you feel it has misrepresented the situation.
YouTube version of BBC programme
Cyclist.ie says: “The helmet-cam footage shows how most of the problems faced by cyclists on roads and streets happen at junctions (including roundabouts) and within the bus and cycle lane system simply because drivers won’t acknowledge that cyclists are entitled to be there and that our roads are a shared public space. Many drivers just don’t understand that they are not permitted to encroach into a cycle lane. The ‘dangerous overtaking’ traffic regulation is just not being detected or enforced by police services in these Islands. Drivers should not be overtaking cyclists unless they can give a space of about 1.5 metres. If traffic and road conditions don’t permit this clearance then don’t overtake; hold-back until it’s safe to overtake the rider.
Cyclists: NEVER “undertake” an HGV – i.e. go up the inside of one – it’s one of the single biggest causes of fatal accidents. Cyclist.ie also wants ALL HGV’s to have appropriate mirrors and for drivers to be appropriately trained – most of these types of accidents are preventable. See ~46 minutes into YouTube video.
New York City has been radically shifting space on its main thoroughfares away from cars, providing high quality cycle facilities, more space for pedestrians and better bus networks. Now research is starting to show the economic and social benefits. Read article
If you need more evidence that infrastructure saves lives, then look no further. New research from the American Journal of Public Health shows that dedicated bike lanes can cut injuries by half. ECF had a few questions to ask the brains behind the study, Professor Kay Teschke. Read article from the ECF
National and local government should encourage improved public health by making walking and cycling more attractive to everyone, as has been done on the Continent, according a new report by the National Institute for Health Clinical Excellence (NICE). Read article (inc. video clip)
Follow-up: Which really is more deadly: cycling or sitting down watching TV?
And another: Ditch the car to walk or cycle short journeys ‘for healthier Britain’
Years of government efforts to promote cycling have had almost no impact on a sceptical population who largely view bikes as either children’s toys or the preserve of Lycra-clad hobbyists, a university study has found. Read article
Work to do!