It’s just over a month before Irish Cycling Campaign welcomes the Erasmus+ partners to Dublin for the local leg of the international project that ICC is participating in.
The project is called Generations Cycling for Inclusion and Climate Action, and “Learning, Teaching and Training” cultural exchange visits have already taken place in Corella (Spain), Azambuja (Portugal), Waterford, and Wodislaw Slaski (Poland) – see the www.irishcyclngcampaign.ie website for stories on each of these.
The project partners will arrive into Dublin on Thursday 10th Oct and leave on Tuesday 15th, with four action packed days of activities in between. This will include a guided cycle for the 60+ visitors along some of Dublin’s brand new cycling infrastructure on Saturday 12 October.
We will be looking out to ICC members, and to Dublin Cycling Campaigners in particular, for some marshalling support for that group cycle, and for other help over the days of the trip. If you think you might be able to help out, please contact our National Cycling Coordinator (Damien Ó Tuama) here. All help very much appreciated so as to give a lovely warm welcome to the visitors.
Irish Cycling Campaign (formerly Cyclist.ie) has been part of the Global Green area of the Electric picnic festival in Stradbally, County Laois, since 2009. In this report, Rory Maguire (Active Travel Officer with An Taisce) shares some insights into how this year’s incredible event unfolded.
Nestled in the Global Green area at Electric Picnic, our stall became a beacon for curious minds interested in sustainable transport, alternative art, and community building. The Global Green area, a wonderland of creative installations, education spaces, and eco-friendly infrastructure, provided the perfect backdrop for our advocacy efforts. It was inspiring to meet so many festival-goers eager to learn more about the Irish Cycling Campaign and the future of cycling in Ireland.
Rory testing out the kit!
I had the pleasure of volunteering alongside an energetic and passionate crew, including Donna, Marie, Joe, Taha and Laragh. In the intensely chaotic and fun-filled atmosphere of Electric Picnic, our team managed to put together various activities and a welcoming space which led to lively discussions about diverse cycling experiences, with insights shared about the cycling infrastructure or the lack thereof in locations all around Ireland and abroad.
The most fun and interest came thanks to Donna’s Penny Farthing and Uni-Cycle. Luckily everyone survived the experience. Only some walked away with potentially bruised tailbones, but worth the laughter and surely soothed by subsequent afternoon pints. Donna also gave an inspiring speech alongside a panel of sustainability leaders explaining the Irish Cycling Campaign’s aims, how we work for you, and the successes we’ve celebrated to date. A very powerful message was articulated on changing the perception of those who choose to cycle, and our hopes to create a safe, affordable and sustainable system of transport for people of all abilities.
The feedback we received throughout the weekend was overwhelmingly positive. Many festival-goers signed up for our newsletter to find out more about their most local cycle campaigning groups and to stay informed about events and more. Even those rare few who expressed scepticism or negative opinions about cycling or new infrastructure found themselves engaged in meaningful conversations, often softened by their time on the Penny Farthing (which I suspect may be the key to winning the hearts of the non-believers).
Donna in full flight representing Irish Cycling Campaign (Photo by Miren-Maialen)
A recurring theme in our conversations was the high regard many people held for the cycling infrastructure and bike culture they had experienced during Erasmus+ exchanges across Europe. This exposure had given them hope for what is possible in Ireland, a sentiment that aligns well with the vision and goals of the Irish Cycling Campaign.
As we packed up our stall at the end of the festival, we left Stradbally with a renewed sense of optimism. The enthusiasm and support we encountered at Electric Picnic underscored the growing momentum for cycling advocacy in Ireland.
Colm Walsh, a long-time member of Dublin Cycling Campaign, cycled the Portadown-Newry-Carlingford Greenways on a trip in August 2024. In this article he reports on his mini-adventure.
Having viewed the Newry Canal from the train over the years, I chose a weekday in August and cycled Portadown-Newry-Carlingford-Dundalk. Below is my round-up.
The ‘trailhead’ at Albert Lock, Newry
Overall, it’s not a great route – it feels unfinished and disconnected: Enterprise train 09:30 Dublin to Portadown, good coffee and plenty of bike hooks in the Guards’ Wagon. Easy way-finding from train station – helpful ticket inspector, 250m across roads to trailhead, nice cafe area there & east along the Bann river, branching off southward to Newry after a few 100m. Peaceful canalside towpath, gravelly, tree roots in places, small cafes, caravan coffee stops if you wish, Scarva village couple larger choices.
The Trailhead at Portadown
Scarva village
Hit Newry about 2hours 15mins later. Dumped in the city centre, not very cycle friendly, no parking racks, found a large pub “Oliver’s” on the river for pitstop ‘only takes cash’’ (?) but when I protested at the house ATM fees, they produced a card machine! Fine. Off and down the river southward, but missed the start of the new and still-being-completed Carlingford Greenway. Instead of finding here the entrance to the canal towpath at Newry on the Albert Lock – which isn’t signposted and you just have to know it’s there – which brings you between the lough and the canal to Victoria lock, I ended up cycling past a Traveller encampment in wasteland, quite a scrappy start to greenway, then dumped on the road alongside the Albert Basin to the Victoria carpark and supposed start to the Carlingford Greenway, but not complete, only bits/bobs?
Some unloved signage along the way on the Newry canal, Co. Down
Unless I missed an entrance, I ended up cycling to Omeath before I could get access, many signs telling me ‘No Greenway Access’ heading towards the Greenway, which I could see parallel to me across fields, but genuinely couldn’t work out how to get on! Only in County Louth did wayfinding improve, but even in Omeath it was not clear how to start on the Greenway. I ended up going in through a caravan park. It’s fine, a bit gravelly, but the southerly wind the whole way didn’t help!
These were visible – but no – ‘Greenway this way’ signs! In Co. Louth
Couple coffee stops available, hit Carlingford, and awful cycle on the hard shoulders of R173, a busy road serving ports & headwind until I turned west. Under pressure to catch 17:20 train, I stopped only very briefly, and quaffed the most delicious IPA at the Railway Bar, Dundalk after 76km or so with 15 mins to train. Back on Irish Rail, with three bicycles occupying two berths (that I had booked), so the guard turned a blind eye. Bring on the new carriages. I wouldn’t rush back to do that, kept going to Dundalk to avoid doubling back – but would not recommend that section, and ironically passing so many ‘No to Cooley Greenway’ signs!
Thanks to Dave Anderson & Mairéad Forsythe for input.
Note: If any other of our members have recently tried out some new (or perhaps older) signed cycle routes and would like to pen an article about your experiences, we would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact us here.
Donegal County Council recently ran a ‘public consultation’ on active travel plans for a series of streets in Letterkenny, its main commercial centre. Letterkenny has a population of over 22,000, but like many Irish towns it is very car-centric, with little space or thought given to walking and cycling around the town. This proposed multi-route project in the town is Project 18 of 26 demonstration projects as part of the government funded Pathfinder Programme. It is meant to be a stimulus for other similar sized towns to learn from. The Irish Cycling Campaign is highly critical of the Council, its plans, and the consultation process employed.
The Irish Cycling Campaign made two separate submissions on the posted consultation, one from our Infrastructure Coordinator, and the other from local member Eddie Bradley. As you will note from the submissions, we are highly critical of the approach of Donegal County Council to this nominally important Pathfinder project, both in terms of the ridiculously short two week consultation time frame, and the poor quality of the presentations. There also appears to have been little direct contact with local organisations, businesses and householders affected by the proposals, as evidenced by the lack of awareness of the consultation throughout Letterkenny, and no overall background material or context supplied as part of the consultation.
Letterkenny Town Proposed Active Travel Routes
The general public were left in the dark about the actual detail of any of the schemes shown, or how they might work as a unit, to improve active travel in the town. We in the Irish Cycling Campaign are highly sceptical about the ambition of Donegal County Council to progress these projects to a meaningful state of completion, which will be absolutely critical to increase greatly walking and cycling in the town. It is sad to see this regrettable approach from the County Council, which will lead to either the stymieing of these proposals, or at the very least delaying the implementation of a decent quality active travel network.
We have urged Donegal County Council to revisit the consultation process, the material posted and the design detail supplied! We await their response!
Earlier today, Irish Cycling Campaign made a submission to the Department of Transport in respect to its Public Consultation on “Moving Together – A Strategic Approach to the Improved Efficiency of the Transport System in Ireland”. The full submission can be read below.
Irish Cycling Campaign wishes to sincerely thank all of our volunteers who contributed to the drafting of this submission. It is this ‘behind-the-scenes’ volunteering that helps to shape transport policy and practice for the benefit of people who cycle and those who would like to cycle if conditions were improved. If you are not already a member of ICC, do please considering joining or making a donation (via https://cyclist.ie/join/).
1 – Introduction
The Irish Cycling Campaign (formerly Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network – ICAN), is the national cycling advocacy body with membership from individuals from urban and rural cycling advocacy groups, greenway groups and bike festivals on the island of Ireland. We are the Irish member of the European Cyclists’ Federation and an active member of the Irish Environmental Network. Our vision is for an Ireland with a cycle and pedestrian friendly culture, where everyone has a real choice to cycle and move about safely, and is encouraged to experience the joy, convenience, health and environmental benefits of cycling and walking.
We note, and welcome in particular, the following elements of the Minister’s Foreword:
“Space is now at capacity in many of our historic medieval and market towns, and with an increasing population and a buoyant economy, it is apparent that the car-centric model has finally reached the limits of its efficiency…. This Strategy is about putting people, rather than cars, at the centre of our urban and transport planning….. Heavy traffic makes public transport less reliable, often discouraging people from using it, and makes the environment for vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, less safe, again, too often, discouraging people from using active travel, particularly for shorter journeys.” (p6)
ICC wishes to stress that it is essential that each of the targets and the timelines set out in the Strategy and Implementation Plan are strictly monitored and reported on, given that transport emissions are currently still on an upward trajectory, if Ireland is to attain its climate targets in relation to transport.
We strongly support the Draft Strategy’s adoption of the Avoid-Shift-Improve framework: this represents an effective hierarchy for tackling the multiple factors at play, while prioritising the common good.
3 – Specific Comments
3.1 – Overall Ambition and Sense of Urgency We note the introductory words of the Executive Summary which read:
“The Strategy is a call for collective action across Government and society not only to help reduce carbon emissions from transport over the medium to long term but to address more immediate issues of congestion, road safety and air quality”.
ICC would like to stress that the decarbonisation of transport needs to happen incredibly rapidly, and happen over the short term, and not just “over the medium to long term”. The year 2030 is less than six years away and, given the rapid post Covid rebound that has occurred in transport movements, it is very likely that the transport sector will exceed its Sectoral Emissions Ceiling of 54MtCO2eq for the first carbon budget period of 2021-2025 (as set out in the government’s Sectoral Emissions Ceilings document from Sept 2022 – https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/234926/2ebb2431-d558-4a54-a15c-605817c37b2f.pdf (Table on p4)). This means that the Sectoral Emissions Ceiling for transport covering the second carbon budget period of 2026-2030 will need to be (potentially significantly) lower than the sector emissions ceiling of 37 MtCO2eq as set out in the same table of the above document. The challenge is far greater than initially assumed and therefore we implore the Department to express a far greater sense of urgency about the challenge at hand in the opening parts of this Strategy.
We note also the following objective of the Strategy: “To contribute to the national target of halving transport emissions, by reducing total vehicle kilometres travelled by 20% by 2030.” (page 19).
We are assuming here that the base year against which (i) transport emissions will have been halved and (ii) vehicle kilometre will have been reduced by 20% is 2018 (i.e. in line with the years stated in the Sectoral Emissions Ceiling document above), but this needs to be stated explicitly – otherwise the objective is unclear.
3.2 – Planning & Land Use integration We particularly support the ‘Avoid’ principles and measures of the Draft Strategy, for example the recommendation to place Local Authority plans which integrate planning and transport onto a legislative footing. This will enable Local Authorities to refuse permission for excessively car-dependent developments. We note that the 2022 National Sustainable Mobility Policy (SMP) cites the integration of land use with transport planning as one of its primary goals.
3.3 – Sustainable Transport Support The draft Strategy is commendable in its support for existing policies that encourage cycling for transport, and sustainable transport generally. The draft Strategy aligns strongly with the Town Centres First policy, and will underpin and support implementation of more specific guidance such as the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets and National Cycle Manual.
3.4 – Polluter Pays We commend the ‘user and polluter pays’ approach outlined in Section 9, and we support the measures aimed at reducing tax incentives for car use – particularly of larger, heavier SUV type vehicles, and their use in congested areas, as was examined by the TII’s BRUCE project. Recommendations 2, 18 and 20 of the draft Strategy offer potential benefits, if considered with care and effectively implemented. The example of higher parking charges for larger vehicles as introduced in recent months in Paris refers (see https://urban-mobility-observatory.transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/paris-introduces-triple-parking-fees-suvs-2024-02-12_en).
3.5 – More Effective Road Traffic Law Enforcement Required Excessive car use in Ireland is, arguably, facilitated by our ineffective and underfunded road traffic law enforcement regime. Speeding, mobile phone use, and drink and drug driving have increased since the pandemic, and the worsening road toll is the result. An effective road traffic law enforcement system is, arguably, a demand management measure that current laws and policies already endorse, and should be considered as part of the Strategy.
3.6 – Consumer Education & Awareness Action 30 of the draft Implementation Plan may offer further potential benefits arising from social and behavioural change. The power and reach of car advertising needs to be challenged as a matter of public health. Consumer awareness of the overall costs – external and personal – of car dependency is an important part of awareness raising (not just which cars emit less Greenhouse Gases than others). Such external and societal costs include: congestion; the use of land that could otherwise provide public amenites; tyre and brake dust pollution; mining of rare earth materials for battery production; and the public health costs induced by sedentary lifestyles. In turn, the growth in the availability of car sharing options needs to be amplified to dampen demand for individual car ownership, and should be included.
3.7 – Optimal Spaces The Irish Cycling Campaign very much welcomes the recognition, in the Optimal Spaces sub-committee report, of the health and climate implications of optimising space for active and sustainable travel. We commend the authors’ acknowledgement that optimisation of space applies in both urban and rural areas.
3.8 – School Supports We note that Action 25 – Increase sustainable mobility supports for primary and secondary children – inexplicably fails to include reference to improved Cycle Training. The Irish Cycling Campaign advocates that investment in this area should be diverted through the new Primary School Wellbeing curriculum by delivering professional development courses and upskilling to class teachers, as cycling education now falls directly under their remit. See also ICC’s recent submission on this topic, available at https://cyclist.ie/2024/06/irish-cycling-campaign-submission-on-primary-wellbeing-curriculum/.
3.9 – Transport Appraisal Framework (TAF) The Transport Appraisal Framework – https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c9038-transport-appraisal-framework-taf/ – is the present tool used for the assessment of project benefits. It appears that this TAF only considers broadly economic parameters (TAF Module 8), but it must also consider social, public health, environmental, pollution, and population effects as well as the economic effects. We request a review of this latest Guideline, as part of this Moving Together strategy.
3.10 – Empowering & Supporting Local Authorities We strongly welcome the emphasis in the above section of the Implementation Plan to further empower LAs to better deliver transport projects. LAs are the cornerstone of delivery mechanisms across the country, and the 7 supportive Actions (Nos 3 to 9 inclusive) as outlined will be critical in rolling out the required transport changes.
In particular, we emphasise the proposals of Action 6 on ‘Integration and Multi Disciplinary Teams’ and Action 8 ‘Communications & Engagement’. We elaborate on both these points here.
Integration – As an active travel advocacy body connecting with LAs countrywide, we notice the vast differences in approaches and resources across the landscape, mainly between major urban LAs and smaller rural LAs. It is critical that, in particular, the skills of multi-disciplinary teams are made available to the smaller LAs on an organised and agreed basis. This Action 6 is likely to be implemented by particular skills being shared across small groups of LAs, but the mechanism must be established. We also note the very tight timeline outlined of Q3 and Q4 2024 for actions under this heading. Is this realistic?
Communications & Engagement – In our countrywide / nationwide experience, this aspect of LA duties is often sadly neglected, and in some LAs even discouraged. We welcome the proposed commitment to ensure funds for this area are made available. For projects to gain acceptance and buy-in by local communities these skills must be urgently developed to the required level. We note again some tight timelines and hope these can be achieved?
3.11 – Implementing Demand Management We note and endorse the strong and multiple references to the development of demand management practices in the public and private sectors, across a large number of proposed actions, and different organisations. The development of these practices will, in the long term, lead to greater use of sustainable transport for everyday use and for special events.
In regard to congestion charging, one strand of a wider package of demand management measures, we note here the argument that is sometimes presented – that ‘congestion charging is a regressive tax and that the better-off are privileged by being better able to absorb it’. However, we know from the experience of the introduction of congestion charging in cities such as London and Stockholm that the people who benefit the most from congestion charging are, in fact, bus users who comprise people from much broader socio-economic backgrounds. These bus users benefit greatly from reduced and far more predictable journey times, and especially when the income from congestion charging is re-invested in further improving the public transport system. In other words, congestion charges save bus users both time and money. See the paper on “Equity effects of congestion pricing: Quantitative methodology and a case study for Stockholm” available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856405001618.
3.12 – Legislation Development We endorse the need for a full legislation review to ensure that the various measures proposed do not come up against legal challenges.
3.13 – Oversight Mechanism It is critical that the proposed National Demand Management Steering Group be adequately empowered to fulfil the requirements of Action 35, so it can compel and facilitate actions by national and local bodies and ensure that all potential benefits of this Draft Strategy to Irish society come to fruition.
3.14 – Timelines We have referred above in paragraph 3.10 to some tight timelines on actions related to Empowering & Supporting Local Authorities. The multiple actions outlined have many tight timelines, and it will be critical for the Steering Group to ensure that these timelines are adhered to, and that full regular update reports are supplied to all stakeholders such as the Irish Cycling Campaign and others.
4 – Summary / Conclusion
The Irish Cycling campaign welcomes, commends and supports this draft Moving Together Strategy and its related recommended actions. Subject to our comments above, we look forward to its implementation.
In particular we emphasise:
The need for the Strategy to express far greater urgency to rapidly reduce emissions from the transport sector – starting immediately / in the short term, as well as over the medium and long term. This urgency follows on from the requirements of our own Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and the tight carbon budget programme that follows on from it.
The importance of strong oversight and reporting via the proposed Steering Group
The need to include adequate traffic law enforcement within the overall demand management proposals
School cycle training to be included under Action 25
Include a review of the Transport Appraisal Framework, with a view to ensure inclusion of social, public health, environmental, pollution, and population effects
The necessary supports for the empowerment of Local Authorities, in particular the smaller rural LAs to ensure multi disciplinary skills are available to them.
The need for regular updates on progress from the Steering Group
The need to ensure that the tight timelines are adhered to and that progress is being made
Irish Cycling Campaign Condemns RSA’s “Lose Your Licence, Lose Your Independence” Campaign for Insensitive Messaging and Misguided Focus
The Irish Cycling Campaign today voiced its deep concerns over the Road Safety Authority of Ireland’s (RSA) recent “Lose Your Licence, Lose Your Independence” campaign. The campaign, which aims to highlight the consequences of dangerous driving, has been criticised for its inadequate educational content, ableist language, and its trivialization of the very serious risks posed by young, reckless drivers.
The “Lose Your Licence, Lose Your Independence” campaign is part of a troubling pattern of ineffective and misguided road safety initiatives by the RSA in recent years. This latest campaign, like several before it, fails to adequately educate the public, instead focusing on the personal inconvenience of losing a licence rather than addressing the root causes of dangerous driving and its impact on all road users.
“This campaign is emblematic of the RSA’s persistent failure to create effective road safety education,” said Neasa Bheilbigh, Chairperson of the Irish Cycling Campaign. “For too long, many of the campaigns the RSA has produced either miss the mark or are outright insensitive, and this latest effort is no different. It trivialises the serious behaviours that lead to licence disqualification and reinforces harmful stereotypes about independence.”
The Irish Cycling Campaign also criticised the RSA’s use of ableist language, which suggests that individuals who do not have a driving licence are less independent or capable, a perspective that is out of touch with the realities of many people who do not drive, whether by choice, necessity or disability. This messaging is not only insensitive but also distracts from the more pressing issue of ensuring the safety of all road users. The Irish Cycling Campaign fully supports the criticism of this ad campaign from Irish disability groups and advocates.
“Following the recent review we are on the cusp of significant reform within the RSA, and this is a moment for real change,” ICC Chairperson Neasa Bheilbigh continued. “The RSA must undergo a complete refresh of its leadership and communications strategy to ensure that future campaigns are not only effective but also inclusive and respectful of all members of society. We need road safety campaigns that focus on education, accountability, road danger reduction, and the protection of vulnerable road users, not ones that centre on the inconvenience to dangerous drivers.”
The Irish Cycling Campaign calls for the imminent reform of the RSA to include a comprehensive review and overhaul of its approach to public communications. As the RSA prepares for a renewed mandate, there is an urgent need for fresh leadership that prioritises the health, safety and well-being of all road users, particularly those most at risk, such as cyclists and pedestrians.
“This is a pivotal moment for the RSA and road safety in Ireland,” concluded ICC Chair Neasa Bheilbigh. “With the right leadership and a renewed commitment to effective, inclusive communication, informed by the professional expertise currently lacking, the RSA has the potential to transform into a body that truly champions road safety for everyone.”
The Irish Cycling Campaign advocates for better cycling conditions and infrastructure across the island of Ireland, representing thousands of members and over 30 local advocacy groups. We are a registered charity (RCN 20102029). The Irish Cycling Campaign is the Irish member of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF).
As we do each year in advance of the government preparing its budget, we made our Pre-Budget submission to the Minister for Finance at the end of last week. You can read a copy of it below. A sincere thanks to our super hard working team of volunteers for preparing this document. If you appreciate this work / are not yet a member of Irish Cycling Campaign, we would be delighted if you joined up – https://cyclist.ie/join/.
Aggressively Promote Climate Change Requirements Increase the Level of Transport Capital Funding Allocated to Create High Quality Conditions for Cycling and Walking Countrywide
#1 – Introduction The Irish Cycling Campaign (formerly Cyclist.ie), is the umbrella body of cycling advocacy groups in Ireland (https://irishcyclingcampaign.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 Programme for Government (PfG), cycling as a mode of transport offers numerous well documented broad benefits to society as well as being “the most important tool in combating Climate Change” (European Commission Executive Vice President, Frans Timmermans, September 2021). Four years on from the publication of the PfG, unlocking these benefits has assumed even more urgency.
We know from data that private cars are used for nearly 30% of journeys as short as 2km or less. We urgently need to enable and encourage travel by bike and on foot for shorter journeys by funding the required infrastructure to an even greater degree than at present. We also need to enable multi-modal bike trips by funding both bike share schemes, and adequate, safe and secure bike parking at bus, tram and train stations/stops in both urban and rural areas.
Enabling cycling – whether stand-alone, or as part of intermodal trips – is the fastest and most cost effective means of meeting the targets set for transport in the Climate Action Plan 2024, and in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. Cycling infrastructure and fiscal incentives for cycling can be rolled out on a fast timescale and offer a far better return on investment than other transport spend.
#2 – Summary Asks In short, we seek the following:
Infrastructure – Urgent need to further increase funding for high quality Active Travel schemes, from the present €360M. We suggest that an increase to €500M for the coming year would go a long way to meet our climate commitments. This funding also needs to support the critical small Active Travel teams in smaller local authorities.
Policing – We are seeking a commitment that a 50% minimum of new Garda recruits are deployed to roads and community policing. This is in the context of the rising numbers of road traffic casualties over the last two years. Perceived danger on our roads deters people from taking up cycling. More visible enforcement will not alone reduce deaths and injuries but will encourage and enable more people to choose walking and cycling.
Bike to Work Scheme needs to be restructured. Move away from the PAYE sector only to a system that will allow children, retirees, unwaged people, carers, people on disability allowances to avail of an equivalent system, and hence enable more bike use. The people most in need of subsidised bike purchase are not in the tax system, e.g. students, unemployed, pensioners. Also, it’s not just biking to work that needs to be subsidised but all journeys.
Business focused Cargo Bike Schemes for the city centres of the five Irish cities. While some schemes have been rolled out there needs to be a major commitment to driving their success.
VRT. Review VRT levels for all sizes, weights and types of vehicles, to promote the use of greener and smaller vehicle models. Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) should be specifically targeted for increased VRT. This reflects the increase in road danger they create for people walking and cycling arising from the driving of larger, heavier vehicles. These vehicles now command 60% of the new private car market.
VAT. Zero rate VAT on bicycles, accessories and bicycle repairs – to promote the circular economy, create jobs in the green economy, and make cycling more affordable for people of all incomes1.
Safe Routes to School Funding increased with the objective of the removal of all school motor traffic from internal school grounds and the immediate front of school zones in all urban and suburban schools by September 2026.
Bike Parking and Bike Scheme Investment – Large indoor and supervised bike parks, for the variety of bike types, at all major city bus and train stations. Covered safe and secure bike parking at medium sized transport hubs, and bus shelters and stops. We would also ask that funding streams are developed to provide subsidies for bike parking at shops/shopping centres, workplaces, churches, sports clubs, stadia, gyms, plus for temporary bike parking at major events, including major sporting events.
Education & Training – Funding to establish cycle training delivered by teachers as part of the primary school curriculum. This follows the identified priority for teachers to teach cycling within the new Primary Wellbeing Curriculum draft document. Please find the submission from the Irish Cycling Campaign at the link below.
Adult Education – Expanded funding for adult cycling education with a particular focus on marginalised communities such as IPAS members and those living in areas of disadvantage. We would request that this funding be delivered via local authorities as part of their behaviour change initiatives in a format similar to the Cycle Confident schemes in the UK.
Further detail on the above items is provided below.
#3 – Further Details
Walking and Cycling Infrastructure While the Irish Cycling Campaign welcomes the serious and continued investment into active travel that this government has brought forward, it has become clear that our 2030 and 2050 decarbonisation goals in transport are rapidly slipping out of reach. In the recent EPA provisional reports on our emissions targets, they noted that transport was a key problem area that saw emissions increase yearly despite the significant increase in electric motor vehicles2.
Our current spend as per the Programme for Government is €360m per year. However, rising inflation levels has led to increases in the delivery costs of infrastructure projects, and this has has been earmarked by the NTA as a barrier to achieving the delivery of the full complement of projects3. This is placing an increase of approx 30% cost onto delivering active travel and other infrastructure projects. From our engagement with local authorities, active travel teams and the NTA, there is a clear demand and willingness to do more but limited funding does not allow this. Quite simply €360m in 2024 does not deliver the equivalent in terms of infrastructure that it did in the first year of the Programme for Government.
In short, high quality infrastructure is what enables modal shift. Investment in this area will deliver huge value for money in meeting our climate targets. We are calling for an emergency measure raising this annual funding to €500m per year over the final year of this government. The allocation of €500M of Active Travel infrastructure funding between now and 2025 to meet what is required in our climate responsibilities would send a clear sign that the government is taking this aspect of the climate emergency and the need to decarbonise transport seriously and set a marker for the next government to follow.
Policing 2024 has been one of the worst years in recent memory for deaths and injuries of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. While we welcome the increase of 1,000 new garda graduates, we ask that their deployment be focused on Roads and Community Policing.
We also ask that there is a funding stream made available via the Department of Justice to An Garda Síochána to develop a robust advertising and education programme around driver responsibility in regards to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. As part of this there should be an upskilling of all existing Garda through a CPD course outlining the dangers vulnerable road users face and the tools AGS members have, to enforce dangerous driving, overtaking and parking.
Bike To Work Scheme and Bike Libraries While the Bike to Work Scheme was a success for its time it’s clear that the urgent need to decarbonise our transport system means we need to have a root and branch rethink of the current model. The current system, based on PAYE, is exclusionary and rewards the wealthiest with the biggest cost reduction. The system needs to have equitable access and social inclusion as its core guiding principle allowing children, retirees, those with limited mobility, carers, unwaged people and others to achieve bike ownership.
We are calling for a decoupling of the Bike to Work scheme from PAYE tax and for a wider and more equitable roll-out allowing people from all walks of life to have affordable and easy bike ownership.
Additionally, we ask that funding is made available through the Department of Education and Skills to all primary and secondary schools to facilitate the establishment of Bike Libraries. These comprise a fleet of cargo, electric or folding bikes that are operated by schools and parents’ associations where parents and teachers can borrow them over the school term to trial what bike would allow them to make the switch from the car4. To date the Dept of Education and Skills has been a laggard in terms of climate action with many of their current policies around school building projects incentivising car use and suppressing modal shift to active modes. We would request that funding be made available to all schools at both primary and secondary level to enable projects like this to take place.
Business Focused Cargo Bike Schemes Irish Cycling Campaign requests that the Dept of Communications, Climate Action & Environment engages with Chambers Ireland to develop a series of pilot programmes across the country to roll out cargo and e-bikes for last mile urban city and town centre delivery.
VAT and VRT changes Cyclist.ie calls for the review of taxation and fiscal policy to help further modal shift by:
Reviewing the VRT levels for all sizes, weights and types of vehicles, to promote the use of greener and smaller vehicle models. Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) should be specifically targeted for increased VRT. This reflects the increase in road danger created for people walking and cycling from the driving of larger, heavier vehicles, which now command 50% of the private car market.
● Zero rate VAT on bicycles, accessories and repairs – to promote the circular economy, create jobs in the green economy, and make cycling more affordable for people of all incomes.
Safe Routes to School Unnecessary school trips by car are a key journey type that need to be reduced significantly if we are to address our transport emissions. The Safe Routes to School programme and its associated schemes have been an excellent method to make active modes a safer and more accessible choice for parents and students. With the recent rise in deaths of children cycling and walking it is even more pressing that the immediate vicinity and the grounds of their schools are free from unnecessary car traffic. We would ask for a significant increase in funding and staffing levels to allow these programmes to move forward with the goal of the removal of car traffic from the internal roads and front of school streets of all urban and suburban schools by September 2026.
Bike Parking and Bike Scheme Investment We know from data that private cars are used for nearly 30% of journeys as short as 2km or less. This is a startling statistic that needs to be tackled. We need to enable and encourage travel by bike and on foot for shorter journeys, by funding the required infrastructure to an even greater degree than at present.
We also need to enable multi-modal bike trips by funding both bike share schemes and adequate and safe bike parking at bus and train stations and bike parking at bus stops in both urban and rural areas. In urban areas more cycling trips are an obvious answer to traffic congestion and in rural areas the welcome expansion of Local Link services can be further leveraged by the provision of bike parking at bus stops.
Education & Training As we move to more active modes of transport, we need to ensure that all our children have the skills to cycle with confidence around urban and rural settings. It’s vital that we develop cycling as an integral part of the school physical education curriculum. This approach is taken in countries such as the Netherlands, where we see the majority of school children cycling to school.
The Cycle Right training has been a moderate success in empowering and enabling children to cycle safely, but we need to see greater investment to ensure every child leaves primary school with an adequate level of cycle training with proper upskilling provided to allow teachers to be the primary cycling educators in schools..
This important life skill will not only build the child’s sense of confidence and independence while maintaining a healthy active lifestyle, but will develop their empathy and awareness of other road users if they go on to become drivers.
#4 – Conclusion / Summary
Unlocking the multiple benefits that cycling offers the economy, society and the environment requires continued targeted and sustained investment. Government and Local Authorities must continue to be steadfast in ensuring that these value for money and wide social benefits are availed of.
We look forward to having the above recommendations considered favourably by the Department.
Irish Cycling Campaign was contacted in May 2024 by Ann-Marie Conrado, Associate Professor of Industrial Design at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, in the US. The reason: to explore the feasibility of us helping to steer a project conducted by its ‘Design Thinking’ students on the challenge of increasing cycling ridership in Dublin. The students were engaging in a Notre Dame Dublin study abroad program. We were delighted to get on board!
Research Process Soon afterwards, ICC members Colm Ryder and Dave Anderson joined the students in interactive and lively workshops to provide the background knowledge of what is happening in the cycling domain in Dublin and to help define the research question. Then in June, the team of Design Thinking students spent the month engaging on the streets with both cyclists and non-cyclists so as to understand the barriers to cycling, and proposing new approaches to addressing the challenges to get more people on bikes.
The students presented their findings to an ICC delegation on 27th June at the home of Notre Dame in Dublin, O’Connell House on Merrion Square. Additionally, the students also discussed their findings with a delegation from Sligo Cycling Campaign while in the west the following week.
Prof Ann-Marie Conrado with her University of Notre Dame students taking part in the project
On ‘Design Thinking’ itself, there appears to be no shortage of definitions of what it is, but essentially it can be thought of as an approach to problem-solving where it focuses on the solution to a problem instead of the problem itself. And according to Ann-Marie in conversations at the presentation, the process can be understood visually as a ‘double diamond’, which is a way to describe the steps taken in any design and innovation project, irrespective of methods and tools used. You can read more about it here.
Findings The students covered a lot in their condensed month-long project. They delved into some of the fears around cycling such as the difficulty in using the Dublin Bikes bike-sharing scheme for the first time, the safety fears around navigating on two wheels, and the fear of bike theft. Then they examined what they described as ‘trigger events’ in prompting people to take up cycling after a long absence. Amongst the opportunities the team identified were proposals around improving the navigability of the city centre, as shown here:
Additionally, their proposed solutions examined the need for better poster campaigns to remind commuters of how quick and predictable (journey time-wise) journeys by bike can be – and wider campaigns to share tips and information between new and experienced cyclists.
The students’ (59 slide long) presentation can be viewed here HERE and there is plenty in there for cycling advocates to chew on!
A Perspective from Sligo The eight members of Sligo Cycling Campaign who attended the Notre Dame presentation in the Sligo Park Hotel are looking forward to viewing it again and applying some of the learning. Initially we wondered if a cycling project researched in a Dublin context would be applicable in a town with a rural hinterland. We need not have worried as all of us were captivated by the positivity of the students and the transferability of their ideas. One thing that struck us was the value of diversity within the student team. They were students of Industrial Design, Political Science, English, Finance and other disciplines.
Cycling advocates are all too aware of the barriers to cycling and the presentation covered these, but the kernel of the presentation for us was the focus on opportunities. The students described a scenario where Emma’s bus is delayed in traffic and she looks out the window to see people on bicycles whizzing by, to a subsequent scene where Emma is deciding to try cycling to work. But there was no road to Damascus, rather incremental steps with various supports along the way. Some supports, for example the map mentioned above, targeted practical issues such as “I don’t know the way”. Others addressed deeper emotional obstacles, such as “I’m scared!”. In the students’ scenario, this fear was addressed by Emma joining a “Cycling Sisters” support group and cycling, in the first instance, away from busy traffic.
In Conclusion Irish Cycling Campaign sincerely thanks the students and staff of the University of Notre Dame for their work on this important topic. We think the collaboration was a valuable exercise, both for campaigners and students. We will, no doubt, be taking many of the recommendations forward as we advance our own advocacy strategy. We would also like to pay a special thanks to Eimear Clowry Delaney, Director of Notre Dame Dublin, for her contact with ICC from the outset.
Finally, if your institution (academic or otherwise) is interested in working with Irish Cycling Campaign to further explore how to reshape the mobility system so that everyday cycling plays a much bigger part, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us via [email protected].
Irish Cycling Campaign, formerly Cyclist.ie, has been sending delegates to ECF’s Velo-city International cycling planning conference since the 1990s, and we were delighted to be represented at its latest edition held in June 2024.
It took place in the wonderful bicycle friendly city of Ghent in Belgium and was the largest Velo-city yet held with over 1650 registered delegates from 60 different countries. In this report, Mairéad Forsythe (ICC Chairperson), Will Andrews (ICC Exec Committee member) and Damien Ó Tuama (National Cycling Coordinator with ICC & An Taisce) share some reflections on the four day event.
Just some of the delegates’ parked bicycles at Velo-city 2024
Opening ceremony and plenary
Henk Swarttouw, President of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), stressed the value of the European Declaration on Cycling that was adopted in April 2024 (as reported on by ECF here). This declaration will impact how global bodies such as the World Health Organisation, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund see cycling infrastructure as an essential part of transport. The declaration sees cycling as “the most sustainable, accessible and inclusive, low-cost and healthy forms of transport and recreation, and its key importance for European society and economy”. Kudos to the ECF for its incredibly valuable lobbying work on this over several years.
Mairéad, Damien and Henk (from ECF)
Janette Sadik-Kahn’s (former Transport Commissioner for New York City) gave an inspirational opening speech. She clarified that there’s an ongoing ‘fight’ for space on city streets – but, additionally, that New York City’s Mayor gained great popular support for the bike lane / pedestrian plaza / bike-share measures that were introduced. She shared statistics showing that in New York improved bicycle infrastructure was responsible for a 49% increase in retail sales; the corresponding figures for London and Tokyo were 30% and 20% respectively. She referenced the cities of London and Paris where, in both places, more people now make journeys by bike than by car. This certainly wasn’t the case a decade or two ago. Further (less obvious) leaders are cities such as Bogota, Bratislava, Tirana, Brussels, Arnhem and even Austin in Texas. Cities are seeing cycling as essential infrastructure.
Janette Sadik-Kahn speaking in the main plenary session venue
Will Butler Adams, Brompton’s CEO for the last 18 years, spoke about the utter inefficiency of individuals in ever larger cars moving about (very slowly) in cities within 2.5 tonnes of enclosed metal boxes. He argued for cycling to be sold as a fun, diverse and interesting way to experience urban travel.
There was also a lovely suggestion (by one of the plenary speakers) for engineers to use periscopes in a reverse orientation so as to be able to see the street from a child’s perspective – particularly in the context of ever larger Sports Utility Vehicles dominating many city streets.
Ghent Deputy Mayor
Ghent’s deputy mayor Filip Watteeuw explained how the 50% of through traffic was discouraged in their 2017 circulation plan and that the city is now greener, safer and more liveable (see below). This came after decades of car dominance where only the residual space was given over to cycling. He told us how new improvements in the infrastructure had led to a significant increase in the cycling modal share (see also below). And that there is a new word in the Oxford dictionary “Ghentify” meaning to improve the quality of life through cycling infrastructure. He posed the rhetorical question: how would Ghent look if the 30%+ of trips currently made by bike were to be made by private car?
In regard to Velo-city itself, he argued that it’s about gaining strength and stubbornness for the next battles for street space!
Ghent Circulation Plan Technical Tour by Tim from City admin
Each year at Velo-City, there are ‘technical tours’ of local places and of new infrastructural interventions of interest. One of the most popular this year focussed on Ghent’s Circulation Plan which reduced through-traffic in the city. The plan was initiated over a weekend in 2017, with 80 streets changing the direction of traffic and 2,500 signs changed within the central area bounded by the F40 peripheral road. The parallels with Dublin’s currently debated City Centre Transport Plan were striking.
The photo (below) shows Tim, the municipality employee and leader of the technical tour, with his diagram of how the city works for private motor traffic before and after the implementation of the Circulation Plan. On the diagram to the left in his hand (under his jacket sleeve), you can see that motor traffic could – beforehand – go from the outer ring towards the centre of the city and onto a central ring, which could be circled fully; Tim’s right-hand diagram – now – shows motor traffic that enters from any point in the outside peripheral road, the F40, is unable to go around the inner ring; you can only go a little way round before being diverted back out again. The city is divided into six ‘sections’ and, as a motorist, you only have access to one of these from the outer ring. But as a public transport user or cyclist or pedestrian, there entire city centre is permeable and quick to traverse.
As part of the Circulation Plan, the existing pedestrian area of 25 hectares, created in 1997, was doubled in size. Additionally, months before the plan’s introduction, in 2017, a 30km/h limit was introduced in the wider city area. The Circulation Plan itself saw the approximately 50% of motor traffic, that was just passing through the centre, stopped. Cameras log the registration plates of cars and fine those not permitted (loading, taxis etc. are exempted) €58. This is a traffic fine, rather than a congestion fee. The photo here shows one of the cameras complete with a warning sign.
Tim told us that in the years since the plan was introduced, car sharing schemes have been ‘booming’, and car ownership levels consistently dropping. Priority has been retained for bicycles, leading to a 50% increase in cyclists in the central, F40-bound area.
Traffic, tram and bus monitoring was carried out 6 months before and 6 months after implementation, and is repeated every 3 years accompanied by transport surveys and user diaries. Tim told us that users still report some delays and slowness for trams + buses. On some narrow streets, cycling is limited to before 11am and after 6pm. The photo here shows the signs mandating this.
After the implementation of the plan, there was 96% drop in motor traffic levels at one particular junction, and 92% at another. We visited these places, and the quietness and peace was remarkable; it must be lovely for the residents overlooking these pleasant streets.
Furthermore, there has been a 50% increase in cyclists in the central, F40-bound area. Collisions and injuries also both decreased. Finally, since the zone is also a low-emission zone, enforced by camera, air quality – measured at several stations throughout the zone – has improved by 32%.
It’s the biggest car-free area in Belgium, and benefits from very proactive parking management. Ghentians are naturally very proud of their circulation plan.
And this is all very relevant for Dublin, of course, where a much more modest traffic circulation plan has been agreed by Dublin City Council but is now under threat from vested interests (mainly in the form of car park owners). For more on the relevance of the Belgian example for Dublin, see this article on the Dublin Cycling Campaign website https://www.dublincycling.com/cycling/ghent-diverted-massive-through-traffic-dublin-can-too.
A photo taken on technical tour showing the covered-over / infilled canal that was contrasted with the current situation with the canal exposed / in place again – and with the old office building now being converted into social housing.
Leading Cycling Campaigning Organisations
For Damien, one of the most inspiring talks was given by Roxanne de Beaux, the CEO of Cambridge Cycling Campaign. Roxanne (pictured below) is one of eight employees in the organisation and they are soon to grow to (at least) 10 staff members. The organisation has around 1700 paid members, but with a very effective fundraising committee that has allowed the organisation to grow its paid professional staff complement over the years. Their mission is to build influence and authority with expert knowledge. She described the organisation as being “relentless” in delivering high quality submissions on all of the relevant consultations in Cambridge, and in developers being extremely keen to talk to them before submitting planning applications so that the active travel elements have been thought through carefully before proposals are finalised and sent to the local authorities.
Plenary session on communcations and messaging
There was an interesting concluding discussion about how we communicate and think about promoting cycling. Brian Bell from Strava, Grant Ennis (author of ‘Dark PR – How Corporate Disinformation Harms our Health and the Environment – and you might like to check out this web discussion entitled Dark PR: how the road lobby has framed death as normal), public engagement specialist Jamie Clark and Sarah Mitchell, CEO of Cycling UK, had varying views on what messages to emphasise.
All agreed that fighting mis- and dis-information needs our focus and ongoing learning. While it’s impossible to predict which myths and stories will ‘catch fire’, we can be vigilant in counteracting myths with evidence and clear communications.
We need to investigate the stereotypes. To include non-traditional cycle users and those outside our usual culture is critical, while understanding the cultural conversations going on: Culture leads while politics and policies follow (although we note that all four panellists were from the English-speaking world!). Advocating without understanding the audience is futile, so listening is just as important as putting out our messages.
Grant concluded by reminding us we need to keep publicising and communicating our specific demands, seeking real political change, keeping going, and repeating as long as necessary.
Giant Bicycle Parade
An annual feature of Velo-City is a huge parade made up of the delegates and local people.
This year the Parade had 3,000 participants with much enthusiastic participation by local cycling groups and engagement along the route including dancing, a brass band, and even a mock ‘anti-cycling’ protest reminiscent of those against immigration. You can get a sense of the event from the Street Films produced short film here:
And with some further images here:
Mairéad getting ready to be chauffeured around at the parade!
We are not sure what the correct technical name is for this semi-reversed tandem recumbent that seems uniquely designed to make for easy chats between the riders – but lovely to see such a diversity of cycles and cyclists on the parade!
It was also lovely to see this piano and pianist bearing quadricycle on the parade
Further sessions
Other sessions covered bike theft (and bike registration), funding for cycling, health benefits of cycling, including a Dutch group who believe and work to achieve “safe cycling until you’re 100”. There were lots of mentions of cities who had introduced 30 km/h speed limits to make their streets safer. There was an interesting talk from Belgium where the Cycling Policy provides for every Minister to promote cycling, with 52 cross-Departmental actions to improve cycling (including getting more bikes on trains).
Our National Cycling Coordinator Damien contributed to an interesting discussion touching on politics and cycling (pictured). Eline Oftedal, CEO of Norwegian Cyclists’ Association, told us to reach out to those with more right-wing beliefs, emphasising the individuality of cycling, and keeping doors open for discussion and debate. Emil Christensen of Denmark agreed that both left and right wings of politics support cycling as a policy, though it can compete with other priorities. There was agreement that we must live with the current political reality. Meanwhile Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns with Cycling UK, stressed the need to emphasise the wider benefits that cycling friendly places give rise to — such as improved public health for all and lower health care costs for society, reduced congestion that everyone benefits from and more liveable towns and cities – rather than talking so much about cycling per se.
Panellists at the session on ‘Making the benefits of cycling an election issue’, moderated by Froso Christofides, ECF’s Director for Members & Networks (on the left)
We were intrigued to hear hand-cycle user Isabelle Clement of Wheels for Wellbeing whose disability doesn’t keep her from advocating for active transport. She claimed that the world of disabled people has been told that the car is the ‘only way to travel’ and further said this was a form of ‘brainwashing’ and that, in the UK, anti-LTN (Low Traffic Neighbourhood) groups had ‘used and abused’ the disabled community in their efforts to maintain car use. Interesting to hear. Isabelle called on us to listen to the most excluded when planning or advocating on transport measures.
The best aspect of Velo-city was the opportunity to network and meet people from around the world, both cycling advocates and officials from local and national governments. We also met old friends and made new friends among the strong delegations of officials from the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Fingal, Dublin City and Cork County Councils (amongst other delegates from Ireland). Michelle Murphy of Dublin City Council set out the vision here of 95% of the population living within 400m of high-quality cycle network. Bring it on, we say!
The central reception area had stands representing everything from the Dutch Cycling Embassy, to ECF, commercial commodities and e-bikes, e-bikes, and more e-bikes. The future seems to be in e-bikes, with more e-bikes than acoustic bikes sold in Europe in the last few years.
That said, one of the main themes of the conference was around the challenges of accommodating different types of cycles and cyclists on our infrastructure. There is is a fast-growing cohort of quick-moving e-bikes and other forms of mobility, but we must not forget the value of slow-moving, non-powered cycles. A related overarching theme of the event was inclusivity – we must strengthen efforts to include those who are less able, whether through different ages, income levels, physical or mental ability, ethnicity or choice of cycle.
Final Comments
Our Irish Cycling Campaign team from Velo-city is still digesting the mountains of knowledge and ideas garnered at this year’s conference. After further reflections, this will feed into additional articles to be posted here over the coming weeks and months, including perhaps some observations from the rail and sail and Eurostar Brompton journeys of Damien and Will to travel to and from Ghent. We might also convey the Velo-city 2024 ideas via a special online webinar where we will invite more of the Irish delegates attending the conference.
In the meantime, you can find more information on the Velo City website which lists speakers, session themes etc. And you can read the daily reports from the four days of Velo-city here:
The next edition of Velo-city will take place in Gdansk in Poland in 2025 and we hope to be able to send an Irish Cycling Campaign delegation there. More again about this.
Irish Cycling Campaign is part of a fabulous Erasmus+ international project with broad themes of social inclusion, intergenerational relationships, climate action and cycling promotion – as we reported on here earlier in the year. The project is centred around cultural exchange visits between the partner organisations based in Spain, Portugal, Poland and Ireland. Those organisations are a mixture of schools and cycling advocacy bodies.
The latest exchange visit was to Wodzislaw Slaski in the very south of Poland, and we were delighted to have ambassadors representing ICC from the groups of Galway Cycling Campaign, Great Southern Trail and Dublin Cycling Campaign. In this article, Reg, Denis, Íde and Hugh (pictured above) give a little account of the trip.
Day #1 – Reg (Galway Cycling Campaign) After a lovely breakfast at the hotel, we met the leaders of the other groups from Spain and Portugal and made our way to the high school where the Polish students are based. Each of the project groups presented their progress so far on the Erasmus+ project. These presentations were educational and entertaining, and Hugh did a great job presenting for the Irish Cycling Campaign!
After collecting our bikes, we headed off to see some of the nice local scenery. The cycling itself was varied on the day. We started off on public roads as we left the school, but it wasn’t long until we were on the safety of segregated cycle tracks/cycleways and most of the rest of the spin was on quiet country roads or forest tracks. It was interesting at one stage on the country lane in that we were confronted by a huge bus – but we were informed by our hosts that public transport simply goes everywhere!
We made our way to the lake and then the students enjoyed a treasure hunt while the adults did some exploring. It’s 20 years since I played volleyball, but I was back at it (and I’d say I’ll make the 2028 Olympics)! At the next location, we were served a beautiful traditional Polish meal by three lovely ladies in Polish costume.
We then split into three groups and enjoyed some relaxing, walking and more cycling. We visited a timber church built in the 13th century with no nails, before returning to the school and handing back our bikes. There were some sore bums and tired muscles after all of the cycling and sight-seeing!!!
We then enjoyed a lovely meal in a beautiful restaurant on the town square – and afterwards we returned to the hotel tired but very happy with the day after rekindling old friendships and creating new ones!!!
Day #2 – Denis (Great Southern Trail) On our second day of our trip to Poland and after a lovely breakfast in the Amadeus Hotel in Wodzislaw Slaski, we boarded our early morning bus to take us to Krakow, one of the oldest cities in Poland. On our two hour journey, mostly by motorway, what got my attention was that the area was totally used for growing crops of wheat, barley and grain, unlike Ireland where cattle is the norm. Along the motorway, there was a continuous fence in place to protect wildlife from crossing the motorway and special overhead crossings existed to facilitate wildlife to cross safely in various parts of the motorway. As I observed this the movie Jurassic Park sprung to mind with us safely on the tour bus.
At 11am we arrived at Krakow and were split into groups and were greeted by our English speaking tour guide and started our tour by Krak castle and were told of the legendary Krak dragon of which a statue exists. The Dragon didn’t let us down as he blew out some flames before we left him to view other interesting monuments and our tour guide told us very interesting facts about the city’s history.
At 1pm we went to a town square restaurant and were treated to a traditional Polish style lunch of beetroot style soup followed by beef and potatoes and a dessert consisting of a strawberry jelly cake cake known locally as OWOCAMI. We then had time to browse around and explore the city centre at our ease.
Our next adventure was to once again board our bus and travel to a World Heritage Centre known as the Wielizka salt mines. We descended 53 meters underground where on different levels there were salt carved statues of various famous people, and even a church where weddings and functions take place regularly – and as we were leaving a wedding party was arriving. The aroma of salt wafted through the caverns as we walked along, and if you had asthma the salty air would be of benefit and some of our group were brave enough to lick the salty walls on the underground chambers. Even though we spent three hours underground we only got to see a fraction of what exists in the salt mine. On returning to the surface we visited the salt mine shop where salt chocolate and other salt products and souvenirs were for sale.
Photo credit – Biciclistas de Corella
It was truly an inclusive and educational day for all and we returned late to our hotel around 11pm for a well-deserved night’s rest in preparation for the next day.
Day #3 – Íde (Galway Cycling Campaign) We left the hotel early again and traveled by bus to two different visitor attractions.
The first was a natural reserve built by monks. It was a wetland with some of the oldest trees in Poland!! There was a slight bit of rain falling, but we could shelter under the canopy of the forest. One of the local teachers had a treasure hunt set up for us and we all took part in a photography competition. We were divided into groups mixing different languages and ages. We had to download an app to identify native trees and measure their trunks with the pieces of wool provided. Our host put a lot of work into the tasks. It was a very enjoyable few hours in the forest. Dad (Reg) and Denis got a good few bites on their legs while in the forest. We were supplied with a packed lunch and ate it in the forest. Next we visited a museum in Katovice where we learned a lot about the complex history of Poland.
Chefly, Hugh and Reg
In the evening the adults enjoyed a meal in a restaurant in the town. I was invited to attend a party at the house of one of the Polish students, Ana. We had a lovely evening and enjoyed some Polish cuisine and lovely hospitality.
Day #4 – Hugh (Dublin Cycling Campaign) Our final day in Poland was to start with a gentle kayak ride down the Oder river. This was a great way to enjoy the natural beauty of Poland on one side and Chechia on the other. It was a 7km “ride” which took about two hours to complete, not too exhausting for our final day. We had to keep watching for fallen trees just under the water, there were a few close calls, but we all got to the end safely and mostly dry.
Photo credit – Biciclistas de Corella
Once we had all the kayaks loaded onto the trailers, and had a rest, we were off to the next destination. We had a 2km walk to a nearby holiday village. We arrived at lunchtime to find Polish sausages on the grill, prepared for us. We were certainly ready for some grub, all very tasty and appreciated. We had some time to relax, have a swim in the lake, and chat with our new friends. Then we were back to base for some free time before our final event.
Photo credit – Biciclistas de Corella
Our final activity for the trip was the farewell gathering at our host’s school. This was our wrap-up of the four days of events. The Polish students had a test of the “most Polish person”. This involved trying to pronounce a Polish word, make some pierogi, and taste some Polish mustard; all good craic. Reg managed to grab the crown when nobody was watching!
We finished the evening with some songs and karaoke. This was a terrific few days with lots of shared learning for all, and sharing of ideas.
Photo credit – Biciclistas de Corella
Reg, Denis, Íde and Hugh want to sincerely thank Asia and Eva and their colleagues from the local high school for organising a wonderful Erasmus+ exchange. All the students, hosts and visitors did themselves proud. They are a credit to themselves, their families, and communities. Irish Cycling Campaign is looking forward to hosting the next exchange visit in October, and we are hoping we can meet the high standards already set.
