Monthly Archives: January 2024

Irish Posts

How to Report Illegal Parking in Bike Lanes

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Earlier in January, one of our members emailed the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau seeking clarity on how one should report illegal parking in bike lanes.

The questions posed are immediately below and the responses are beneath those. 

1) Can it only be done at a Garda station? If there are other ways, please list all ways
2) Must photos be provided? If so, how? And is there anything else regarding photos that is required?
3) Must a statement be given in order for a penalty to be issued?
4) Are there restrictions as to when the report can be made? Eg. Next day?
5) Are there any other requirements when reporting illegal parking?

Response

Thank you for contacting this office.

With reference to your email hereunder, this office is to advise as follows in relation to your query.

With regards to the reporting of illegal parking of vehicles in cycle lanes, this office is to advise that reports can be made as follows;

  • Reports can be made at your local Garda Station.
  • Reports can be made using the Traffic Watch lo-cal number – 0818 205 805
  • Reports can be to the relevant local authority.

It is advised that documentary evidence of an offence is recorded by reporting persons, such as photograph/video.

In submitting documentary evidence of a road traffic offence, the provision of a statement to a member of An Garda Síochána may be necessitated.

It is advised that reports to An Garda Síochána are made at the earliest convenience, to ensure an appropriate and timely response.

In the event that a prosecution is instigated against a vehicle user/owner by a member of An Garda Síochána following such report, the reporting party may be required to attend any prosecution before the District Court in a witness capacity.

Please find information on Traffic Watch from the attached hyperlink, which may be assistance to you:
https://www.garda.ie/en/roads-policing/road-safety/traffic-watch.html 

Note:
The photo above was kindly provided by Noel Hogan in the Drogheda Cycling Group – https://www.droghedacycling.ie/. The image above shows illegal car parking on footpaths, not bike lanes in this case.

Irish Posts

Irish Cycling Campaign now part of the Environmental Pillar

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Irish Cycling Campaign is delighted to announce that we are now part of the Environmental Pillar. This news comes shortly after our admittance into the Irish Environmental Network, as we reported on before Christmas here.

Established in 2009 by a government decision, the Environmental Pillar (EP) comprises 32 national independent environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and it works to represent the views of the Irish environmental sector. 

The work of the Environmental Pillar’s members covers a broad range of areas including habitat conservation, wildlife protection, environmental education, sustainability, waste and energy issues, as well as environmental campaigning and lobbying. The Pillar envisions a world where people and the planet thrive alongside each other, and work in a number of areas to bring it about.

Mairéad Forsythe, Chair of the Board of Irish Cycling Campaign, on hearing of the confirmation of our membership of the EP said:

“We are very happy to be part of the Environmental Pillar and we look forward to contributing our expertise on transport matters to the network, particularly in regard to walking and cycling policy and the decarbonisation of transport. It will be exciting to work more closely with well-informed organisations such as An Taisce, Feasta, Friends of the Earth and Cultivate, so as to help shape policy and advance our aims around making transport more sustainable and safer.” 

The full list of members of the Environmental Pillar can be read here: https://environmentalpillar.ie/our_members/. 

Irish Posts

Irish Cycling Campaign Submission on Rosses Point Public Realm Project

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Our newly inaugurated Irish Cycling Campaign (formerly Cyclist.ie) has made its first formal planning related submission to Sligo County Council, together with our member group Sligo Cycling Campaign.  And what better place to start than the lovely seaside town of Rosses Point west of Sligo Town. Note that the image above shows a present view of the Rosses Point coastal road.

The Rosses Point Public Realm Enhancement project is a scheme aimed at providing improved walking and cycling facilities along the main coastal road in Rosses Point.  Interestingly, this project is funded from the Rural Regeneration Development Fund (RRDF) and not through available Active Travel funding.  Last year’s active travel funding allocated a separate €70,000 for footpaths in the village itself.  This was out of a total active travel allocation of €3 million for the county of Sligo for 2023.

Both Sligo Cycling Campaign and the Irish Cycling Campaign were supportive of the project, which Sligo Cycling Campaign views as the beginning/end of a Sligo Coastal Mobility Route from Rosses Point to Strandhill.  We both made a number of suggestions for proposed improvements.  Our submissions can be read HERE (for the ICC one) and HERE (for the Sligo CC one).  Our main points related to:

  • Compliance with the Cycling Design Manual
  • Speed limit reduction to 30kph
  • Consistent narrowing of the main carriageway to help reduce speeds
  • Controlled pedestrian and bike crossings
  • Consistent bike track width
  • Junction design improvement
  • Bus Stop shelter provision
  • More inclusive bike parking

Sligo Cycling Campaign members try out a potential Coastal Mobility Route to Rosses Point

We would be hopeful that Sligo County Council will take our considered points on board, and we look forward to the building of the proposed scheme sometime soon.

These two submissions are the first of many that will be submitted in the coming year by the Irish Cycling Campaign and its members across the country.  We will continue to make these submissions to Local Authorities and national bodies, to ensure that proposed active travel schemes are planned and built to a high standard.  Last year alone in 2023, as Cyclist.ie, we made over 50 submissions on Active Travel projects nationwide!

If you would like to support us in this valuable work in making Ireland better and safer for cycling and walking why not join Irish Cycling Campaign, or consider making a donation – or even better, get involved in our work through our many local groups?

You too can be the agent of change!

Irish Posts

Irish Cycling Campaign – Media Appearances List 2024

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On this page we list Irish Cycling Campaign’s main media appearances / contributions in 2024, while noting that it is by no means exhaustive.  The most recent contributions are shown at the top.

If you are a Campaign member who has done a media interview or made a contribution on behalf of your group at local or national level and would like it to be included on this page, just drop us a line. Thank you.

Note that our 2023 media contributions / interviews list can be read here – https://www.dublincycling.com/cycling/media-appearances-2023.

Irish Posts

NCN Launch in Sallins – Irish Cycling Campaign Report

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The Irish Cycling Campaign, formerly known as Cyclist.ie, was delighted to attend yesterday’s launch of the National Cycle Network Plan in Sallins, County Kildare. Our National Cycling Coordinator, Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, and Conor Winchcombe from local group Naas Cycling Campaign were present for the event, along with national level and local level politicians and officials, local school children and other locals out walking their dogs to try out the new facilities. 

The publication of the NCN Plan was timed to coincide with the formal opening of the section of the Grand Canal Greenway from Sallins to Aylmer Bridge, and a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Grand Canal, a short distance away from the existing road bridge over the canal on the main Sallins to Naas (R407) road. The new canal bridge provides a motor traffic free link that will be enormously helpful for local school children, for those walking and cycling to the nearby Sallins train station, and for the increasing number of recreational cyclists and visitors to the area. Visitor numbers are also sure to increase when the Grand Canal greenway link from Adamstown to Hazel Hatch is completed in the near future.

At the launch, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan (pictured below) stressed the multiple functions of high quality motor traffic free and greenway infrastructure – it’s about catering for local school and intermodal commuter trips as well cycle tourism. 

The Irish Cycling Campaign is very happy to see the NCN Plan published. The publication of the final plan comes approximately 18 months after the circulation of the draft NCN plan, and after Irish Cycling Campaign (then called Cyclist.ie) made a detailed submission on the draft plan (see here) as did many Cyclist.ie local member groups. 

The planned NCN (shown below) will link cities and towns of over 5,000 people with a safe, connected and inviting cycle network. The proposed cycle network of approximately 3,500km will connect more than 200 settlements and 2.8m people. It will link to destinations such as transport hubs, centres of education, centres of employment, leisure, and tourist destinations with the intention of facilitating greater cycling and walking amongst students, leisure users, tourists, and commuters alike.

In a separate article, we will comment further on elements of the plan and details of route choices.

Notes:

The featured image at the top was kindly provided by Félim Kelly from Aecom. In that photograph are (going from left to right): Damien (Irish Cycling Campaign), Felim (Aecom), Richard (Transport Infrastructure Ireland), Michael (TII), Úna (TII) and Elizabeth (Department of Transport).

The National Cycle Network Plan can be read here: 

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/34846-national-cycle-network/

See also the coverage provided here:

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ryan-unveils-national-cycle-network-plan-to-create-3500km-of-linked-cycleways-between-towns-and-cities-by-2040/a795118251.html (in which Irish Cycling Campaign is quoted)

https://www.irishtimes.com/transport/2024/01/10/new-cycle-routes-to-cover-3500km-across-state-by-2040-at-a-cost-of-14bn/

https://irishcycle.com/2024/01/10/larger-active-travel-budget-will-be-needed-says-minister-ryan-as-he-launches-e1-4-e1-9-billion-plan-for-national-cycle-network/ 

Irish Posts

Irish Cycling Campaign Welcomes Launch of New National Cycle Network Plan

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The Irish Cycling Campaign (formerly known as Cyclist.ie – the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network) welcomes the publication of Ireland’s first National Cycle Network (NCN) plan.

The launch takes place in Sallins, Co. Kildare on Wednesday 10th January 2024. The NCN identifies a network of 85 cycling corridors around the country linking cities and towns of over 5,000 people.

Overall, we strongly support the development of a NCN, the aim of which is “to link towns, cities and destinations across Ireland with a safe, connected and inviting cycle network; encouraging more people away from their cars and onto their cycles.” 

In response to the public consultation on the draft version of the plan back in June 2022, we made a detailed submission which is available here. Then as now, we make the point that: 

We need to replace the lion’s share of our shorter car journeys (under 5km/10km) with active travel trips, and our longer car trips with either public transport on its own, or active travel plus public transport for those living further away from public transport services. This is where the real carbon savings – and improvements to public health – can take place. We welcome the aim (as shown in the image below from the NCN website) that the NCN will link with public transport services, and also with other key destinations and cycle networks.

National Cycling Coordinator, Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, added that:

A core objective of the NCN needs to be to connect the towns and villages with safe/attractive cycle-friendly routes to their own rural hinterlands in all directions to a radius of 5-8km. This will allow for the most important local trips (to schools and shops for example) to be made safe for active travel – and hence for the greatest possible impact to be made on increasing the modal shares for cycling.

We look forward to the opening of a section of the Grand Canal Greenway between Sallins and Aylmer Bridge, at which the launch of the plan will take place.

The Irish Cycling Campaign will post its reflections on the launched plan after the event. 

Note – image above taken from this page https://ncn.consultation.ai/ 

Irish Posts

Fancy Getting on Board (or on the Executive Committee)?

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Our organisation runs on the power of volunteers. Without their time, expertise and commitment, literally nothing would be done. Kudos to all.

Have you ever considered doing some (more) voluntary work for the organisation? There are very many ways for members to get involved. For now, we’ll concentrate on some exciting opportunities just around the corner. At the end of February, we will hold our Annual General Meeting at which we will hold elections to fill vacancies on both the Board and the Executive Committee.

The Board of Directors / Trustees is the body responsible for the governance of the company and charity. It comprises up to 10 people and meets regularly (usually online) to deal with matters such as legal compliance, financial oversight, risk management, internal policy development, human resource matters and so on. Do you have experience in any of these areas? Might you be interested in exploring this further? If so, please email our Chairperson Mairead Forsythe for an informal chat to find out what is involved [[email protected]].

The Executive Committee is the group of 12 people responsible for overseeing the organisation’s national campaigning function, its day-to-day management of finances, and internal workings that are not governance-specific. In other words, it seeks to ensure that the greatest possible impact can be made. Crucially, gender and geographic balance are sought. If you would like to find out more, please email the National Cycling Coordinator, Dr. Damien Ó Tuama [[email protected]].

We will be posting more formal details on the above over the coming weeks.

Irish Posts

Irish Cycling Campaign New Name and Constitution Adopted

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At the Cyclist.ie EGM on Thursday 4th January 2024 our new Constitution and new name were adopted unanimously. See link to new Constitution here. 

So we’re now a fully-fledged national organisation, the Irish Cycling Campaign. Dublin Cycling Campaign will be one of our local groups and paid up members of Dublin Cycling Campaign will transfer automatically to membership of the Irish Cycling Campaign.

The National Executive Committee will be working on the development of a new logo over the coming months and we look forward to launching a contemporary logo that reflects the new organisation around mid-year. In the interim we’ll use the temporary logo above. We’ll also be working on finalising an Operations Manual and developing a new web address, email addresses and social media handles to reflect the new name. 

These are exciting times in cycle campaigning so do get in touch if you would like to get involved. Keep an eye out for more information and news of developments on the website.