Last week, an alliance of health, medical, environmental and sustainable transport advocates joined forces to call for the urgent implementation of BusConnects, the Government’s plan to improve public transport, cycling and walking, and reduce carbon emissions in Ireland’s major urban centres.
The press release circulated for the event (on 23 August 2023) can be read below, and a summary of the extensive media coverage that ensued on the back of the press event can be read here.
Members of the alliance include the Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish College of General Practitioners, Irish Doctors for the Environment, Royal College of Physicians, the Irish Pedestrian Network and Cyclist.ie, the national cycling advocacy network. At the launch in Dr Steeven’s Hospital on Wed 23rd August, Dr. Sean Owens of the Irish College of General Practitioners said, “BusConnects will provide more reliable, punctual bus services, better footpath and crossing facilities for pedestrians, and joined-up bike lanes across Dublin and other cities. Regular physical activity has been found to be one of the most sustainable ways of improving health. Designing a transport system that builds in some level of exercise, whether that be a 10 min walk at either end of a bus journey or a cycle to work or school, is the easiest way of achieving this. Active travel projects will have significant public health benefits and we need our public representatives to stand up and support them.”
At recent public meetings in Cork and Dublin, political support for BusConnects was lukewarm at best. Projects are at risk of being delayed or watered down unnecessarily. It is vital that public representatives give their full backing to these projects so that their many health, environmental and public realm benefits can be realised as quickly as possible. Members of the Active Travel Coalition, established in 2021, share the goal of enabling people of all ages to have healthier choices in transport. Active travel is defined as any functional transport that involves physical exercise, such as walking or cycling, and includes the use of public transport.
BusConnects is a Government-led initiative to reorganise bus routes in five main cities and construct continuous bus lanes, connected cycle lanes and enhanced footpaths and crossings for pedestrians. Roisin Breen from the HSE’s Strategy and Research group added that “Supporting healthy behaviours from childhood through to healthy ageing is a key pillar of the HSE Healthy Ireland Plan for 2023-27. The plan calls for a shift towards a culture that places greater emphasis and value on prevention and keeping people well.
One of the key focus areas in the plan is on active living. BusConnects helps facilitate active living which will keep people healthier longer.
In addition The HSE Climate Action Strategy 2023-2050 includes action to enable transition to low carbon and active travel alternatives for people working in, visiting and using our services.” Buses are the backbone of our public transport so supporting an expanded and more effective bus system makes sense. In Dublin for example, buses carry more passengers than car, rail or Luas. Major rail projects take many years just to obtain planning permission, and cost many times what a bus lane would.
“Ireland has a transport problem, but more specifically a car problem”
…said Dr. Colm Byrne, consultant geriatrician and member of Irish Doctors for the Environment. “We rank only behind Cyprus as the most car-dependent country in the EU, with 76 per cent of people using a car as their daily transport, with even very short journeys done by car.”
According to Mark Murphy, advocacy officer with the Irish Heart Foundation, “30 minutes of moderate intensity activity, such as walking or cycling, five days a week, reduces your risk of developing heart disease and stroke, and contributes to overall improved levels of health”.
Cycling has immense pent-up demand, according to the Coalition, and cycle traffic would be greatly increased by BusConnects. “In Dublin, for example, roughly 25% of adults cycle one or more days per week. There is a further 21% who would cycle if they felt safer. The #1 reason given by people for not cycling is fear of sharing road space with motor traffic. With safe segregated cycling infrastructure therefore, we could almost double the numbers of adults cycling in Dublin. This is to not even consider the potential for growth in schoolkids cycling to school. Cycling can be an option for almost everyone if we design for it correctly. Segregated bike lanes will be delivered alongside the improved bus routes as part of BusConnects,” said David Timoney of Cyclist.ie.
Air pollution improvements, reduced congestion and addressing our carbon reduction commitments were cited by the Coalition as ‘co-benefits’ that improved bus, pedestrian and cycling facilities would bring. However the Coalition pointed out some issues with the plans. ”We’re aware of weaknesses in the designs, and we do acknowledge that the loss of private garden space and the inconvenience of losing habitual car park spaces are difficult for those affected,” said Timoney, “but we are convinced that BusConnects will bring such major benefits to the public good – improvements in peoples’ cardiovascular and respiratory health, even their sense of general wellbeing – that any losses will be far outweighed by the gains”.
Bike Week was, once again, another action-packed week of events for Cyclist.ie. Our local groups organised a wonderful array of events for all ages and abilities countrywide. A credit to everyone involved for all of their brilliant volunteering work in running events.
Below is just a sample of some of the events that Cyclist.ie’s groups ran over the course of the week in May.
Ideally we would like to see Bike Week replaced by Bike Month so that we avoid having so many totally amazing events clashing – we would like to be able to visit and support our cycle campaigning comrades in adjacent counties. This is something Cyclist.ie will be working on over the coming months.
If you have ideas for future Bike Week events, do please get in touch.
Cyclist.ie / National Level Focus events Starting with an event organised by the Cyclist.ie Executive Committee (and thanks, in particular to our Vice-Chairperson, Dave Tobin here!) and run in collaboration with the Oireachtas All Party Cycling Group, we were delighted to facilitate the annual Bike Week Cycle with Oireachtas staff, TDs and Senators on Tuesday 16 May 2023. Following photos at Leinster House, the group took part in an easy going group cycle on the streets encircling the Oireachtas Buildings.
Dublin Cycling Campaign Dublin Cycling Campaign volunteers helped at a host of events all across the four Dublin local authorities, as well as organising a couple of events themselves. Here are just a few highlights:
A lovely Sunset Cycle in Phoenix Park on the evening of Wednesday 17 May, organised by Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, and the OPW. With the route closed to traffic, and fabulous tunes from I Bike Dublin, cyclists of all ages enjoyed a safe and relaxing spin around the Park.
Sandymount Community Cycle Bus cycle on Sunday 21 May, organised by Dublin Cycling Campaign and Educate Together Cycle Bus. About 120-150 people gathered in Sandymount Green after the event.
Pedalpalooza Parade on Sunday 21 May, a joyous parade through Dublin out to Ringsend Park for Pedalpalooza.
Clontarf History Tour by bike on Friday 19 May:
‘Bicycle Kicks 2.0’ on Saturday 20 May in association with Bohemians FC:
Also, Dublin City Council made a series of videos called ‘Why We Cycle’, one of which featured Chair of the Board of Dublin Cycling Campaign CLG, Mairéad Forsythe. The series is a vivid illustration of the diversity of people who cycle, and of the type of journeys they make. Watch here:
Skerries is now without a local bike shop, so as part of Bike Week 2023 this year SCI held its first pop-up bike repair session on 13 May at our Bike Shed (behind The Little Theatre), where we carried out repairs on eight bikes brought in by their owners on the day. We have also been working on bikes previously donated by Skerries residents which will be passed on to new owners. We want to develop a community bike workshop as a place to share bike repair and maintenance skills with those eager to learn such essentials as how to repair a puncture, fix the brakes and replace a worn-out chain.
On Saturday 20 May we had our community cycle, starting at Skerries Mills and finishing at the Seapole on Red Island. We were delighted that Stephen and Emma from Fingal Active Travel team could join us.
Several members of SCI have been trained as pilots for the trishaw and report that bookings are increasing as people get to know about this great free service.
Galway Cycling Campaign Galway Cycling Campaign organised several well attended and very innovative events over the course of Bike Week. Here is but a flavour of them!
We organised a Family Cargo Bike Festival in Claude Toft Park, Salthill on Sunday 14th May. The sun shone on everyone, and we had huge interest from young and not so young. There was face painting and lots of refreshments on offer.
Most importantly we had lots and lots of different types of cargo bikes for people to try and to admire.
Biking to the match to support the Tribesmen
On Sunday 21st May we organised a bike valet at Pearse Stadium for the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship clash between Galway and Antrim. Working closely with Galway GAA County Board and Galway City Council, racks for 50 bikes were installed within the stadium for supporters to use. There were volunteers on hand to guide spectators arriving by bike to the racks and to supervise bikes during the match.
By half-time the racks were overflowing – showing the huge demand among local hurling fans for secure, convenient cycle-parking at games. We distributed loads of prizes and treats to kids arriving by bike, the star of the show being “hurling clips” which enable kids to attach their hurls to bikes securely while cycling to training. Everyone had a great day, and the Galway hurlers won too!
Every year Leitrim Cycling Festival seeks to showcase the cycling potential and talented community of a different town or village in the county. But this year was a little different because, for the first time, a community has invited our roving festival to take over their town for a weekend of celebrations and cycling. And the community couldn’t have been more welcoming! We were so excited to share all of this with our festival goers.
L-R: Siobhán McNamara, Jo Sachs Eldridge and Dave Tobin
The weekend celebrations started on Friday 19th May with a lap of the town, followed by the official launch by Cathaoirleach Ita Reynolds and Sean O’Suillebhain in the Island Theatre. Following the launch everyone joined the feast and the screening of the film ‘Women Don’t Cycle’ documenting what it’s like to cycle in different countries as a woman. After the film there was an opportunity to enjoy the exhibition launch in Solas Art Gallery and a trad session in Shortts pub.
On Saturday 20th May there was a Dr. Bike Session and a Bicycle Haiku Workshop in the morning, followed by the 5km Integrated Community Cycle for All along the Greenway with a stop for a picnic and Jay Ryan’s amazing Flea Circus on the way. There was also free ice-cream at the end thanks to the Leitrim-West Cavan Branch of DSI.
On the Saturday afternoon a balance bike workshop was held, along with the sharing of inspiring cycle touring stories in Oman and fat-biking in Finland, plus art workshops, the annual slow bicycle race, woodfired Italian pizza, a games night for all the family and music in McGirls pub.
On Sunday 21st May there was another cycle for all with the Intergenerational Cycle along the Blueway to Aghoo. For those who continued on to Fenagh Visitor Centre there was free tea and scones. And for the closing tea there was Ukrainian sweet treats for all to share.
All events were free thanks to the generous sponsorship of Bike Week, Leitrim Sports Partnership, Leitrim County Council and Leitrim Tourism.
Leitrim Cycling Festival wishes to pay a special thanks to everyone who attended and enjoyed the events!
Meath – Navan Cycling Initiative Navan was full of cyclists of all ages on Sunday 14th when Navan Cycling Initiative held an ‘Intro to the Boyne Valley Lakelands County (BVLC) Greenway’ community cycle, showcasing Navan’s fantastic new greenway – see HERE. Organised as part of Bike Week 2023, over 70 participants cycled from Market Square in Navan town centre to the new BVLC Greenway, located on Ratholdren Road.
Assisted by Community Garda Frank Scully and the Navan Order of Malta (all on bikes), the cyclists made their way to the greenway and out to the old Gibbstown Station, with some venturing further to Wilkinstown. The group included young children, teenagers, families and pensioners on a mix of bicycles, e-bikes, trailers, cargo-bikes and hand-cycles, and a great day was had by all.
The Navan section of the new greenway was recently opened and is already proving to be extremely popular, with lots of walkers, cyclists, joggers and families all out enjoying it. When completed later this year, it will run for over 30km as far as Kingscourt.
Navan Cycling Initiative Chairperson Ed Moynihan said “it was great to see such a fantastic turnout for the cycle, as well as a huge number of Bike Week events happening all throughout the week. It really shows how popular cycling has become and we are seeing more and more people use the bike not only for recreation but also to beat the traffic and get around town. The past year has shown us that residents of all ages wish to use their bike to get to school or work, to shop or go to the gym, but to do this we need a safe and integrated cycle network, starting with safe access to the new greenway.”
We also held a Boyne Road/Greenway Loop evening cycle on Wednesday the 17th, which was a leisurely cycle along by the beautiful River Boyne and soon to be Boyne Greenway.
Monday, 15th May Clara Clark spoke about Cycling Without Age at the Pedal Vintage symposium “The Future of Cycling in Rural Ireland”, at Castle Durrow in Co. Laois. An impressive line-up of speakers from Co. Laois, including Laois Council, Laois Tourism, Active Travel, Portarlington Cycling Campaign, Durrow Community Family Bike Hub, and others. Cycling Ireland and Cycle Ireland Community Bike Rides, as well as Joan Swift of Cyclist.ie on Rural Cyclist Collective. Laois seems very committed to making active travel meaningful in the county.
Clara speaking at the Durrow Pedal Vintage Symposium, 15th May
Tuesday, 16th May: Cycling Without Age participated in a flotilla of bikes for a photo call and short cycle with politicians of all persuasions at the Dáil to promote Bike Week and Climate Change. This event was organised by Cyclist.ie and Limerick Cycling Campaign’s Dave Tobin, and was very well attended and promoted on social media by the politicians. See story above. Fingal Council, Dublin City Council, Dodder Valley Cycling and many other places with trishaws also participated in Bike Week events.
CWA joining with politicians for a Dáil cycle on 16th May
Sligo Cycling Campaign Sligo Cycling Campaign organised three events for Bike Week. On Sunday 14th May we kicked off Bike Week with a Pedal Parade along the bike route from Doorly Park to Clevergh Park where pedallers were able to join in the skills and drills activities organised by Sligo Sports Partnership.
On Wednesday 14th we held two events, each of which was a first for us. At lunchtime we took fifty 1st and 2nd class pupils from Scoil Ursula along with 18 parents on a school cycle, cycle bus style! There was wild excitement in the school yard and at the ice-cream stop in the park! The event was deemed a great success and a harbinger of what could happen when work on the Safe Routes to School / #SRTS has been carried out!
On Wednesday evening we did a biodiversity cycle, visiting Cranmore Community Garden to hear about and see gardening for biodiversity in action and then we took part in a foraging experience with Gaby Wieland of Neantóg Kitchen Garden. Cranmore made us very welcome as usual and it was lovely to hear new participants say “Oh, I often passed by here but never knew what goes on!” The foraging was a revelation! Who knew so many edible plants were growing on our doorstep or that wild herb pesto and hawthorn lemonade would be so delicious!
Dublin Community Garden Cycle 2023 Dublin Cycling Campaign and Dublin Community Growers hosted a leisurely cycle tour of some of Dublin’s wonderful community gardens.
Forty people took part in the cycle (we had to close registration early due to demand!). Both routes stopped off at four community gardens on the way where they were welcomed by the gardeners who showed them around and gave a talk on the garden itself.
These gardens are often on former building sites or waste ground, and to see the work these gardeners have put in over the years is truly inspiring.
The two routes converged at the Mansion House where the Lord Mayor, Caroline Conroy, who was also on the cycle, hosted us for refreshments.
Each route took approximately 2.5hrs (okay the Southside route was late – my bad) and was open to all cycling abilities.
Thanks to John O’Donoghue in Dublin Community Growers and the marshals from Dublin Cycling Campaign for a great day out
Here are some photos of the day:
Lord Mayor, Caroline Conroy and cyclists before heading off from the magical Santry Community Garden on Dublin’s northside
Cyclists getting ready for take-off from the recently established Raheny Community Garden on Dublin City’s northside
StillGarden, Inchicore – part of the StillGarden distillery. They use herbs from the garden to flavour their gin!
Flanagan’s Field, Dublin 8
Taplin’s Field, Dublin 8
Meeting up at Donnycarney’s hidden gem, Mucky Lane community garden
The new polytunnel at Raheny Community Garden
Another Donnycarney Mucky Lane photo
Participants in the Mansion House Garden. Tired but well fed and happy
Bikes And Bugs Parade (Dublin) Eamonn Ceannt Park, Crumlin, Dublin 12 2pm, Saturday 20th May 2023 (International Bee Day)
Celebrating the joys of cycling and the richness of biodiversity by dressing bicycles and riders up as bumble bees, grasshoppers, ladybirds and more, and cycling and walking all around Eamonn Ceannt Park.
There was a great buzz and every one of all ages from 12 months old to those young at heart, had a wheelie great time on the parade which was accompanied by I Bike Dublin’s sound system.
Thanks to The Bike Hub for hosting the making of many of the costumes and to volunteers from The Bike Hub, Cycling Without Age, I Bike Dublin, and Dublin Cycling Campaign.
The bugs and bikes in Sundrive Park!
Claire Anne Tobin, Organiser extraordinare The Green Roots Project
Naas Cycling Campaign The Naas Biodiversity Cycle was a fantastic event held in partnership with Naas Biodiversity Group. It comprised a leisurely cycle around the various projects that the Naas Biodiversity Group has been working on over the last few years.
The group ready to head off from Monread Park
After a pleasant park cycle, the group took to the Naas streets to reach the canal, before checking out a pocket forest and learning all about native hedge laying and a local community garden.
Areas visited included: – Monread Park, which is being managed for Biodiversity, by encouraging wildflower meadows with mown paths and fringes 🌸🌼 – 🌿A recently planted native Hedgerow in Monread – 🌿Naas Harbour with potential for biodiversity spaces, fruit trees and community growing
Checking out the pocket biodiversity spaces in Naas Harbour
🌿One of the Biodiversity Group’s Pocket Forests, planted at K-Leisure earlier this year, which was in need of a bit of weeding! 😉
🌿Community garden at Jigginstown Green
An amazing evening of fun, learning, community, connection and meitheal 💚💪🏻🌱
Katie Smirnova explains about managed meadows and no-mow May
Many thanks to Katie Smirnova for leading the cycle and providing information on the work being done by the Biodiversity Group.
Cork Cycling Campaign Cork Cycling Campaign delivered an ambitious programme of ten events across eight days, while catering for a wide variety of audiences.
Vice-Chairperson, Kevin Long, kicked off Bike Week in Cork with Wheel of Time: Cork A Cycling Cities Initiative. The photo exhibit took us back in time with a selection of images of Cork (& bikes!) down through the years.
Cycle to Zumba and Cycle to Yoga were enormous successes. With the support of Cork Sports Partnership and TFI Bikes in Cork, we hosted two wellness events for women with opportunities for people to pick up cycling for the first time in decades!
Cork Cycling Campaign focused on bringing the campaign, music and biking accessories to communities where cycling is re-emerging as a form of transport. Northside Cork City celebrated Bike Week with the campaign in Hollyhill and Mayfield and later in the week we were graciously hosted by Togher Community Garden.
On Wednesday, we visited the historic VQ where we hosted local business owners and, with thanks to City View Wheels, allowed people to take on the hills with eBikes! Over lunch, we discussed making bikes a key part of MacCurtain St. redevelopment.
On #5KFriday, Cork Cycling Campaign soaked in the sun with a musical cycle around Blackrock, concluding for coffee at the Marina Market.
On Saturday, we held the Wobbly Bike Show with Cork’s The Circus Factory – a wonderful hour of entertainment and picnic with bells for all!
Bike Week ended with a screening of Manon Brullard’s Women Don’t Cycle and Croatian delicacies and coffee to celebrate an extraordinary programme.
Throughout, we engaged with hundreds of Corkonians – novice cyclists and long-term members and plenty of people considering the shift to cycling! We were graced with wonderful weather, a willing group of volunteers and excellent support from Cork Sports Partnership and Cork City Council.
Athenry, Co.Galway – The Wheels of Athenry Athenry CycleFest took place on Saturday on the 13th of May in Athenry Town Park. There was bike bubbles and face painting for the younger kids, and a safe cycle around the park on their balance bikes and trikes on our Wee Wheelers cycle loop.
For bikes that have been in the back of the shed for too long, we had our experienced mechanic on hand to give it a Bike to Basics health check.
In the afternoon we had the 9th annual Athenry Pedal Parade – a leisurely spin around the streets of our historic town. There were prizes for the best dressed, decorated bike (winner of the much sought after Golden Tricycle!), and youngest participant.
For folk that didn’t have time to decorate their bikes beforehand, we had a Glam Your Bike station to make sure it looked the part for the parade!
We also had vintage bikes, the launch of the new Athenry Geo-Caching Cycling Hunt (located on our scenic cycle trails), A giant bike wheel, an information stand about a new Athenry Cycle Bus, cargo bikes, and specially commission cycle floats, banners, and wheel wind catchers hanging from the trees!
Over the last three years Athenry CycleFest has grown from 50, to 200, to nearly 500 people coming along! We hope it’s a sign of change for Athenry. We’ve lots of challenges… but even more opportunities.
More further information on and photos of events, see:
Poetry in Motion was a poetic pedal around the streets of Athenry – poetry to move you, with poems of love and nature and, of course, bikes!
For just over an hour, this group cycle took us on a journey around the streets of Athenry stopping along the way to read poems and verses that capture and heighten the spaces and places of our journey.
This cycle was designed to be suitable for an occasional or inexperienced cyclist.
For anyone who was inexperienced or had mobility issues, we had a six person ‘Spider Bike’ on hand to share the cycle.
We finished up with a provided picnic in the Town Park.
More further information on and photos of events, see:
Kinsale Loves Bikes Kinsale Loves Bikes held a community Kinsale Railway Hidden History cycle on Wednesday May 17th exploring local infrastructure relating to the Kinsale Railway which was decommissioned in the 1930s. Over 20 enthusiastic participants turned up on their bikes and cycled to various sites to learn about Kinsale’s railway history from local history enthusiast, Brian McCarthy. The cycle concluded with a social chat with tea and cakes.
Clonakilty Bike Circus With funding support from Cork County Sports Partnership, we kept Xmas Yard busy for all seven days of Bike Week. We offered free safety checks & minor maintenance on a walk-in basis all week long as well as trishaw spins on the Silver Bullet. Additionally, we offered a daily special event, typically a lunchtime chat, about subjects of current interest. This year we highlighted assistive cycling and our plan to offer free assistive cycling tutelage and equipment for use at the new Silver Bullet Depot at the Model Railway Village.
Special thanks are due to Yard Dogz Anthony, Bridget, Gonzalo, Graeme, Janet, Mick, Oscar, and Stephen all of whom lent a hand. Isaac and Bridget’s participation with their assistive tandem helped us highlight Clonakilty as autism friendly and underscored the Circus’s inclusiveness mission.
A more detailed report on the week’s events can be read here.
All Week: We offered free bike safety checks, free Silver Bullet lifts, and information about upcoming events all week long. We cleaned, adjusted, and serviced approximately forty bikes during the week, mostly children’s, but had one or two rambling cyclists who stopped in to top up their tyres and check their gear while passing through Clon. The Silver Bullet was out and running every day. I touted our courses and pressed printed literature into all open hands. Non cyclists stopped to admire our gardens and offer their thoughts on the state of cycling in Ireland today. We happily engaged these people and told them of our everyday cycling mission. I played my favourite role, cyclevangelist.
Saturday, 13/05 Family Picnic Group Cycle: This opening event was surprisingly successful. We had about twenty-four participants, at least one-third of whom were young children. We cycled out the Inchydoney Marsh Road and returned to Clonakilty’s Sensory Park at the Model Railway Village to eat and talk about family cycling. While there we walked around the site of our future Silver Bullet Depot discussing how best to present it to the public.
Monday, 15/05 – Wind In Your Hair – Assistive Cycling: Like all of the themed talks, this morphed into a day-long subject chat as people came and went into the Yard as they pleased, ignoring my well-planned schedule. Over the day, about two dozen people expressed interest and were given talking tours of the assistive cycles on display. There was considerable interest in the assistive tandem and in the hand cycle lent to us by their users. All six of the displayed bikes generated discussion of the right to ride a bike and use the public roads by everyone, even those who cannot ride a simple push-bike.
Tuesday, 16/05 – Randonnée, Born to Ramble: This was our least successful topic, perhaps because the true long-riders are a quiet kind of elite. Three or four people drifted in during the day and we talked about panniers, one-by gearing, and stealth camping. The topics were fun and the discussion lively, but we never achieved a group of more than one or two at a time. If we do this event in future it would need better promotion, perhaps by spotlighting a particular adventure cyclist, Isabell or Graeme. We have long riders in Clonakilty, but they’re shy.
Also on our topic plate on Tuesday was how to ‘pre-flight children’s bikes’ for safety. This, as previously mentioned, was a week-long task for our mechanics. However, about five groups drifted in with bikes to look at. Not-surprisingly, most of the safety issues identified were created by incompetent assembly of new bikes. This gave our mechanics an opportunity to grouse about cut-rate bike sellers.
Wednesday, 17 May – Bike Fabrication & Modification: This event brought out Brian, a local creative artist who works in bikes. Oscar and Graeme, our own mad welders, created a kind of critical mass with Brian and the day was dominated by spins on silly bikes, including two which appeared spontaneously, and our own toy penny-farthing.
Thursday, 18 May – Ebikes Explained & Critiqued: Power bikes aren’t the hot topic they were last year, but there is still plenty of interest. Of all our proposed topics, this one was the most diffused. However, over the Bike Week celebration, we had many engagements and, we hope, some of these helped increase understanding of the factors to consider in approaching an eBike purchase.
Literature of Cycling: Our afternoon foray into armchair wanderlust was great fun. In attendance was our local long-riding adventuress, Isabell, who has cycled the Wild Atlantic Way and, just to get here, cycled from Switzerland to Clonakilty.
Friday, 19 May – Keep on Bikin’: The event drew no takers on the scheduled hour but was popular all week drawing casual visitors including a few older people from Clon who have never before joined us. This pleased me as the senior demographic is notably lacking in the Bike Circus and in Clonakilty cycling.
Saturday, 20 May – Tour de Ville: To my surprise and delight this little event was very well attended. We had toddlers on draisines and even an old person (me) in the Silver Bullet. Cycling for everybody was a reality.
Retrospective: By my rough count, we had one hundred-fifty engagements over the week with a significant number of mothers with children and older people. Cargo bikes were of interest to the families and eBikes attracted the older people. The interest in bike fabrication, modification, and power-fitting was perhaps our strongest shop draw.
We serviced more bikes than anticipated, nearly exhausting our stores of cables, housing, and brake blocks. The Yard Dogzs were heads down and working most days. Thanks, gang. People were, of course, delighted to have consumable parts/supplies paid for by Cork Bike Week.
Notwithstanding my own default setting for shop-based events, the group cycles were clearly the most popular of our offerings. People enjoy getting on their bikes and riding as a group, being silly, blowing bubbles, and waiving at pedestrians.
We used the Bike Week festivities to advertise for Clonality’s own Bike Festival and the Circus’s educational ventures. This will prolong Bike Week into Bike Summer, we hope.
Finally, the events and buzz helped raise the funding necessary to move forward on the Silver Bullet Depot project. It should be in place and beginning to function this summer.
Cyclist.ie sends a sincere thanks to all of our groups who ran so many brilliant events during Bike Week 2023 – and who sent the reports above! All of these events are helping to make cycling more inclusive and part of our normal everyday lives. Maith sibh!
Many of you will know about the developing European Cycle Network, known as EuroVelo. This was initiated by the European Cyclists’ Federation, of which Cyclist.ie is the member for Ireland.
In total there are 17 designated cycling routes criss-crossing the continent which, when completed, will be more than 90,000km in length. Ireland, on the periphery of Europe, is part of two of the 17 designated routes:
Eurovelo Route 1 (EV1), the Atlantic Coast Route, and Eurovelo Route 2 (EV2) the Capitals Route
EV2 in Ireland extends from Dublin to Galway across the country. It is still under development, and will be mainly off-road.
EV1 winds its way from Rosslare Harbour in the south east around the south and west coasts of Ireland, and then across from Donegal to Belfast. It is a staggering 2,550km long, 2,300km of which is in the Republic! Most of this route is on-road and mixing with motor traffic, with a few short sections on busy roads, but the majority on quieter local roads. There are also three greenway sections with more to follow. You can find out more about the details of different sections of Ireland’s EV1 on this dedicated website. The route is fully signposted along its entire length.
Wexford Launch
On Thursday 18th May 2023, during National Bike Week, Colm Ryder, Mairéad Forsythe, and Tony Shanley from Cyclist.ie had the good fortune to be able to attend the formal ministerial launch of EuroVelo Route 1 in Ireland by Minister of State Jack Chambers. The launch took place in scenic Lady’s Island, in Wexford, which is also a pilgrim site with a long and chequered history, and well worth a visit in its own right!
Minister Jack Chambers at Lady’s Island with Councillors and Officials from Wexford County Council
Most of the counties along the EV1 route were also represented at the launch, and added testament to the fantastic work done by local authorities under the coordination of Sport Ireland’s Doug Corrie.
Eamonn Hore, Deputy Chief Executive of Wexford County Council hosted the proceedings and testified to a spend of over €1 million by Wexford Council alone in the past year to improve the road surfaces along the route, and to erecting hundreds of signposts. Cyclist.ie’s representatives can attest to a vast improvement in the road surface quality from that experienced back in 2017 at the original launch of the Wexford section of the route, although work still remains to be done. See photo below for previous route surface quality. Well done Wexford County Council!
Poor Local road surface condition on EuroVelo 1 in 2017, now much improved on most sections – see below.
Cyclist.ie’s representatives also got a chance to cycle with the Minister along a section of the route, and to talk about his new role in the Department of Transport.
L to R: Colm Ryder, Minister Jack Chambers and Mairéad Forsythe
Of course we also checked out a few of the features and signposts along the designated route, and some of these can be seen in the images below. The minister also posed for a photo with the Cyclist.ie reps.
We would urge Cyclist.ie members and all cyclists to check out the sections of the now fully signposted route close to them, and to report back to Cyclist.ie any positive or negative views on their experience. This of course also includes items such as reasonable stop-off eating and drinking facilities, toilet facilities, as well as accommodation. In this way we can continue to influence the overall improvement in cycling facilities nationwide, and in particular along this tourist targeted route, which should also benefit regular cyclists on many sections of it.
Cyclist.ie, in collaboration with the Oireachtas All Party Cycling Group, was delighted to facilitate the annual Bike Week Cycle with Oireachtas staff, TDs and Senators earlier today (Tuesday 16 May 2023). Following photos at Leinster House, the group took part in an easy going group cycle on the streets encircling the Oireachtas Buildings.
Front row, L to R: Senator Pauline O’Reilly (Green Party), Ciaran Cannon TD (Fine Gael), Darren O’Rourke TD (Sinn Féín); Second row, L to R: Richard Bruton TD (Fine Gael), Gary Gannon TD (Social Democrats), Miren Maialen Samper (Dublin Cycling Campaign), Senator Lynn Boylan (Sinn Féin).
The Cyclist.ie delegation comprised Neasa Bheilbigh (Chairperson of Cyclist.ie – the Irish Cycling Network, Galway Cycle Bus and Galway Cycling Campaign), Dr. Damien Ó Tuama (National Cycling Coordinator), Mairéad Forsythe (Love 30, Chair of the Board of Dublin Cycling Campaign / Cyclist.ie CLG), Clara Clark (Founder of Cycling Without Age Ireland), Dave Tobin (Vice-Chair of Cyclist.ie) and Olivia Tobin (an 11 year old girl from Limerick who loves cycling to school)!
L to R: Ciaran Cannon TD (Fine Gael), Richard Bruton TD (Fine Gael), Miren Maialen Samper (Dublin Cycling Campaign), Dave Tobin (Cyclist.ie) and Olivia Tobin (school cyclist)
There was a lovely range of bikes cycled by TDs and Senators in attendance – with folding bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes, and bikes with child seats. The diversity of bikes being used reflects the greater diversity of uses of cycles on the streets these days.
All in all, this was an incredibly positive event with representatives from all parties in attendance, with all in agreement that investing in everyday cycling makes complete sense. Utility cycling and its key place going forward in our transport system and climate responsibilities were common topics for discussion amongst the members of the Oireachtas. It was an excellent opportunity to engage about the successes we have had across the country in terms of cycling, and also the challenges we hope to overcome in the next year.
R to L at the front: Ivana Bacik TD (Labour), Senator Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fáil), Minister Eamon Ryan (Green Party), Dave Tobin (Cyclist.ie)
We would like to extend our sincere thanks, in particular, to Deputy Ivana Bacik as Co-convenor of the Oireachtas All Party Cycling Group and her staff for their support and organisation in today’s event.
L to R: Catherine Martin TD (Green Party), Senator Alice Mary Higgins (Independent). Dr. Damien Ó Tuama (National Cycling Coordinator, Cyclist.ie and An Taisce), Olivia Tobin (11 year old cyclist!), Dave Tobin (Vice-Chair of Cyclist.ie), Neasa Bheilbigh (Chair of Cyclist.ie), Fintan Kelly (Irish Environmental Network), Dr. Elaine McGoff (An Taisce)R to L: Senator Eileen Flynn (Independent), Dr. Damien Ó Tuama (Cyclist.ie and An Taisce), Clara Clark (Cycling Without Age), Neasa Bheilbigh (Cyclist.ie), Miren Maialen Samper (Dublin Cycling Campaign)
We look forward to engaging with all parties and the All-Party Cycling Group over the coming months and years.
Dáil / Oireachtas Politicians Get on Their Bikes for National Bike Week
National Bike Week Event Date:Tuesday 16th May Time:1pm
Location: Front Gate / Kildare Street side of Leinster House, and along the cycle route
National Bike Week is well under way, with hundreds of events taking place all across the country between Saturday 13th May and Sunday 21st May.
There is literally ‘something for everyone’, on every day of the week, at a location near you – from fun cycles to film shows to bike repairs to adventure cycles and family events and festivals. Check out the National Bike Week 2023 website for full details.
But our Dáil / Oireachtas politicians are also showing the way and taking time out of their schedules to demonstrate the role of the bicycle in tackling climate change and making a difference in terms of our transport choices. On Tuesday 16th May at 1pm a range of our politicians from all party persuasions will get on their bikes, and cycle a circular route around the Leinster House complex (see poster route below).
This will be an opportunity to engage with politicians from all parties who are coming together to show how cycling is a key pillar of both our national transport and climate targets.
Cyclist.ie now has 35 member groups and our network of volunteers is growing rapidly. For many years, our groups have participated in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in our cities, towns and smaller villages. This goes way back to the mid/late 1990s when Dublin Cycling Campaign first took to the streets in Dublin’s parade. In this article, we give a little flavour of how our groups brought bicycles into the parade countrywide – from Clonakilty to Connemara and across to the capital.
Dublin Cycling Campaign (DCC) had a fabulous “Bikes and Biodiversity” themed presence, created by our Artistic Director, Donna Cooney, and supported by designer and DCC member Phil Murray and a wider team of coordinators and volunteers. Almost 100 participants took part including many kids on bikes and lots of non-standard cycles.
See the web article Dublin Cycling Campaign web article here for more on the Dublin cycling presence – plus some photos below. A recording of the Dublin parade can be seen on YouTube at this link with Dublin Cycling Campaign’s float viewable from 2hr 1min to 2hr 3min.
Deputy Ivana Bacik and Cllr Donna Conney in the middle of the space! Photo credit (c) Norma Burke. Gettting ready to start! Photo credit (c) Norma Burke. Dublin Cycling Campaign at O’Connell Bridge – Photo credit (c) Norma Burke. Members of Dublin Cycling Campaign and Bloomin Crumlin en route from Bangor Circle in Crumlin to the city centre!
Skerries Cycling Initiative Skerries had Active Travel as the theme of this year’s parade. The town is awaiting the publication of the draft Active Travel Strategy (for the town) and wanted to reflect the wider active travel needs of the coastal settlement. As well as standard bicycles, this year’s parade featured two white horses, a currach, recumbent bikes and a trishaw – and lots of walkers and dancers!
Gort Cycle Trails The lovely poster, produced by Gort Cycle Trails for the parade, is just below and is followed by a photo of Katleen Bell Bonjean from the local group.
CycleSense Skibbereen Cycle Sense joined the Skibbereen St Patrick’s Parade for the first time. Volunteers, cycle instructors and members of our Cycle Bus took part. They adorned our bikes with Doves and peace signs for the All Nations theme. They took their cargo bike, flat wheelbase trailer and butcher’s bike and finally got to use their slogan “Keep Skibbereen Wheely Safe!”.
Connemara Greenway Alliance Great to see the float below and the promotion of the campaign to develop the full greenway from Galway out to Oughterard and beyond!
Rothar Rogues (Durrow, Co Laois) Members of the “Rothar Rogues” (A Men’s Shed on Wheels) on the Pedal Vintage float at the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Durrow Co. Laois can be seen below. The “Rothar Rogues” are a group of healthy, retired men who meet each week for a leisure cycle and coffee; interspersed with banter, lies and jokes, with the occasional, serious intervention of poetry and prose.
Republic of Bike (Cork) The Republic of Bike (RoB) took part in the Cork St. Patrick’s Day Parade as part of the Cork Environmental Forum (CEF) group. For the second year running, they collaborated with the CEF and the Cork Community Bikes. RoB brought a bit of disco fever to the parade with their flagship event, the Bike Bop, taking centre stage. The group contained bikes of all shapes and sizes and they were very well received by the crowd. Great fun was had by all and it was a very positive experience for all involved!
A snap of the group from the parade Facebook page
The group before take-off!
Maynooth Cycling Campaign In what was almost a photo finish, Maynooth Cycling Campaign finally took delivery of its own Cycling Without Age trishaw just three days before St. Patrick’s Day. They are looking forward to working with St. John of God in demonstrating Cycling for All in a practical way by offering cycle rides to people who are unable to cycle on their own for various different (health) reasons. Maynooth Cycling Campaign thanks in particular Kildare Sports Partnership as well as Kildare County Council and Healthy Ireland for their assistance. The project would not have been a success without their support.
Cyclist.ie and its member groups were well represented at the “Accelerating Active Travel for 2030” Transport Forum held on Wed 22 March 2023 in the elegant Regent House in Trinity College Dublin. Our attendees included Mairéad Forsythe, Dr. Mike McKillen, Colm Ryder, Dr. Damien Ó Tuama (National Cycling Coordinator with An Taisce & Cyclist.ie), Conor Cahill, Una Morrison, Eric Conroy and David Timoney.
The overarching message from the event was that we are now, finally, beginning to make good progress in the development of our active travel infrastructure in Dublin City and other built-up areas, but we also need to ‘up our game’ over the coming years if we are to humanise our cities and decarbonise our transport systems.
A view of TCD’s Parliament Square from Regent House (Photo credit – Dr. Mike McKillen)
Joe Seymour from the National Transport Authority (NTA) argued that the 2022 Active Travel budget of €290M is being spent on increasingly better quality schemes. We are seeing the results with, for example, BusConnects schemes, which include significant cycling provision, the Fairview Public Realm / Bus Priority / Active Travel scheme, the Dodder Greenway Route, the 11km long D24 cycle route in Dublin, the Salmon Weir Bridge in Galway and the Bilberry to Rice Bridge link in Waterford. Challenges do remain however in dealing effectively with the many protests against change, and with the re-allocation of public road space.
One of Joe Seymour’s slides showing the steep increase in the NTA’s Active Travel budget over the last seven years.
Claire French, Senior Executive Engineer in Dublin City Council, provided an historical perspective on the subject. She emphasised how, initially, some of the public were apprehensive about schemes such as the pedestrianisation of Grafton Street (1970s – 80s), the banning of left-turn motor vehicles at the northern end of Dawson Street (early 2000s), the creation of the College Green Bus Gate (around 2010) and, most recently, the removal of motor vehicles from most of Capel Street. In all cases, these traffic management interventions / public realm schemes have improved public life and business activity in the city.
Further positive examples, which Dublin Cycling Campaign has strongly advocated for over the years, include the creation of the (still temporary and unfinished) Liffey Cycle Route measures, the contra-flow cycle facilities on Nassau Street, Parnell Square (East) and on Werburgh Street, and the filtered permeability schemes in Grangegorman and on Pigeon House Road. Claire acknowledged the need for the City Council to continue to improve in its processes of public consultation.
Dr. Robert Egan, Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, drew on the work of the late Prof. John Urry in his presentation – and, in particular, on his thinking around the creation of the ‘system of automobility’ and the discourses which have naturalised car-centric planning over the decades. As we seek to rapidly decarbonise our transport systems and revitalise and rehumanise our built up areas, we now need to marginalise automobility and centralise ‘velo-mobility’. Shaping the discourses through the media and in other ways is central to this mission. Robert’s comment that we are “currently cycling within a driving system” but need to change to “driving within a cycling (and public transport) system” struck a chord with the audience.
Martina Mullin, Operational Lead in Healthy Trinity, gave a terrific overview of the work that Trinity College has focused on so as to make bicycle journeys safe on and off-campus. Much of the latter efforts have focused on engagements with Dublin City Council and the NTA, so that there are safe routes for Trinity students and staff coming in from the suburbs and into the city centre. Much credit is due to Martina and her group on this work. TCD is concentrating on the routes to and from the main campus to its developing estate towards Ringsend, the Health Sciences at St. James’ Hospital and residences at Trinity Hall (Dartry). Both Dublin City Council and the NTA are aware of this requirement for safe segregated routes.
Finally, Willem Frederik Metzelaar from the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Urban Mobility, provided the European context, reminding us that 23% of the EU’s transport emissions come from the transport sector. Clearly, we need a new mobility paradigm in which active travel is front and centre. EIT are funding EU start-up businesses and promoting active travel through a variety of programs.
A lively Q&A session followed. One of the main points stressed by audience members was that there needs to much greater engagement from An Garda Síochána on the matter of traffic law enforcement – in particular in relation to illegal car parking on the cycle tracks which have been created specifically to make cycling safe and easier for those new to cycling (and those considering cycling) in the city.
Cyclist.ie and Dublin Cycling Campaign send its congratulations to Trinity College Dublin on running the event and we look forward to further engagements on the topics in the near future.
Formal info on event: https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/events/event/transport-forum–accelerating-active-travel-for-2030.php
Clara Clark from Cycling Without Age has sent us this report on the recent launch of the Línte na Farraige installation in Blackrock, County Dublin. This launch follows an equivalent launch at the Spanish Arch in Galway in December 2022.
Línte na Farraige is a series of LED light installations across Irish coastal sites that represent the impact of future sea level rise and storm surges. This installation at the Martello Tower in Blackrock Park Co. Dublin was launched on 21st February 2023.
This postcard image is the calculated sea level in the year 2100, at normal (not surge) height. Surges and easterly winds will drive wave heights to multiples of this height.
Speakers at the launch included DLR Cathaoirleach Mary Hanafin, Minister Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Deputy Leader of the Green Party, DLR Council CEO Frank Curran, and Finnish Ambassador to Ireland Ms Raili Lahnalampi. Ms. Lahnalampi is a keen and regular cyclist, who arrived on her bike!
Minister Catherine Martin speaking at the launch on 21 Feb 2023. The lit LED line on the tower is the sea level normal height by the year 2100.
This installation was designed by a Finnish design group. Attendees included a team from CARO, the The Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office (CARO) which supports and coordinates climate action undertaken by the four Local Authorities of South Dublin, Fingal, Dun Laoghaire‐Rathdown, Dublin City Council (DCC). DCC is the lead authority in the region. Dublin CARO is based in the Civic Offices.
This CARO project is headed by David Dodd. The scientists are from Maynooth University and emeritus Professor of Geography John Sweeney attended. Their work is guided by the work of the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (see https://www.ipcc.ch/).
These art / science installations are designed to create awareness of the impending sea level rise from now on. By 2050 the level will be up by 0.4m on today’s level. Solar-powered, the LED light lights up at dusk. The cycle path and walkway through Blackrock Park is busy all day and evening, as commuters pass by the tower. This should imprint on people the impact of climate change and our need to do something about it.
More details are on this signboard beside the tower:
If you want to imagine just how significant the sea level rise will be for this small child in his lifetime, this picture tells its own story (the DART line is in the background).
The Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042 was published late last month (January 2023) by the National Transport Authority. The Strategy aims to expand and integrate public transport modes, as well as cycling and walking, in all four Dublin local authority areas and in the surrounding built-up areas of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.
From the point of view of Cyclist.ie this is a critical document. Cycling’s role in transport depends on integration with other modes, and protection for us on our roads and streets. Safe cycling depends on policies like those contained in this Strategy, and in legislation like the Planning Acts, Roads Acts and traffic law.
Very broadly, the Strategy supports the expansion of DART, Luas and BusConnects, together with continued reductions in reliance on private car traffic (from 57.7% to 48.6%). The authors claim it will lead to a reduction in carbon emissions from transport in the GDA from 3.2 Megatonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2018 down to about one tonne by 2042. Cycling’s share of trips is planned to increase from 3.2% to 11.5%.
Those ambitions are critical in reclaiming our road space for cycling, walking and wheeling, turning back the tide of car dependency and danger that has benighted Dublin’s roads for decades. A joined-up, frequent, easy-to-use public transport system is really important for people using bikes because it allows for safer roads, as well as ‘inter-modal’ travel like taking your bike on DART, or getting Luas and then hopping on a Bleeper bike for the last km of your journey.
Covering the period up to 2042, the Strategy has a reported budget of €25bn. It seeks to build out the MetroLink rail line including a north-south tunnel for heavy rail across the city. However it shelves the DART Underground tunnel plan. While we would claim no expertise in rail planning, we note with concern the call by Dublin Commuter Coalition to review projections for usage of DART Underground and its delivery timescales. Cyclist.ie did make a response to the recent Consultation Paper on the On Island Strategic Rail Review, particularly with regard to inter-modal travel, and is calling for a meeting with the NTA to further discuss cycling and train use.
Back to issues more closely related to cycling, the GDA Strategy supports the National Transport Authority’s Cycle Network Plan for Dublin, which has been on paper in various forms for over three decades now and is being built out much more rapidly since the Covid pandemic. Cyclist.ie generally supports the Network Plan. Both interim and permanent schemes in the Plan are being built, and much of the permanent network is integrated with BusConnects Core Bus Corridors (we’re studying those designs and making submissions covering each Corridor). Of interim schemes, the patchy Liffey Cycle Route and the highly-acclaimed Coastal Mobility Route in Dun Laoghaire are telling examples of their variable quality.
The Strategy was initially released for public consultation in November 2021, and we made a submission on that in Jan 2022 (which we posted here). We felt the target to increase cycling’s share of trips to 12% was unambitious: Cycling can do much more of the heavy lifting for transport in Dublin than 12%. On a larger scale, we called then for the Strategy to address this country’s dire record on planning delays, but the final version fails to really tackle this issue. Another national issue we highlighted is upgrading the Common Appraisal Framework. This Framework is used to assess the benefits versus costs of transport projects prior to funding by Government, and needs to be revised to take proper account of the benefits of promoting active travel; it’s too heavily weighted towards saving motorists’ time currently. The final GDA Strategy misses an opportunity to make a strong case for improvements here. We were also a bit disappointed to see little change since the Draft Strategy around the gathering and sharing of travel data, and RSA road safety data. We were saddened that there’s no aim in the Strategy to work towards a default 30 km/h speed limit for all urban areas in the GDA, or meaningfully addressing the needs of children who are disproportionately affected by our current, highly car-dependent, environment.
However, overall, it can’t be denied that the Strategy offers a vast improvement in joined-up, long-term thinking and does seek to assist Dublin’s development into a more liveable, sustainable region.
That’s a very brief, broad outline. Do have a look for yourself and let us know your thoughts; the Strategy: is viewable here.
Cyclist.ie welcomes the continuing high level investment in Active Travel projects and personnel from the present government. These investments are critical in helping Ireland to match its Climate Action Plan ambitions. The most recent announcement on 1st February 2023 allocated funding of €290 million nationwide for 2023 and sees a wide array of projects being funded. These range from small footpath schemes to full blown urban greenways and bus corridors. The allocation of this National Transport Authority (NTA) funding recognises the breadth of work that needs to be done to begin to increase cycling and walking, and reduce the use of the private car in our society.
Funding allocations range from a high of nearly €60 million for Dublin City down to several million Euro for some of the less populous local authorities. The four Dublin local authorities together account for nearly 43% of the allocated funding.
A sketch of a section of the Fairview to Amiens Street scheme in the Dublin City Council area
In this article, we provide feedback from some of our own member groups in the Cyclist.ie network on allocations for particular counties / local authority areas. Our contributors have highlighted where spend seems appropriate and is to be lauded, but they also have concerns on the spend on some more questionable schemes (particularly road resurfacing projects).
Limerick Limerick Cycling Campaign warmly welcomes the allocation of €21m in funding for Limerick as part of the NTA funding allocation of €290m for walking and cycling projects in 2023.
It will see delivery of large primary routes such as the TUS (Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest) to City Centre and Hyde Road schemes in this calendar year as well as a number of key secondary routes in all three metropolitan wards. Progress on Active Travel measures on the Dublin Road are particularly welcome. It’s currently a very hostile road for those who walk or cycle and is a significant barrier to modal shift for those residents and UL students living in the area.
There has been a significant increase in rural funding including a fund of nearly €5m for active travel improvements in rural towns and villages as well as an expansion of the Safe Routes to School Schemes for many primary and secondary schools in the city.
One slight concern is the low funding amount attached to the Pathfinder project from Park Canal to Clare St. We would hope that we would see a significant increase to this essential project in 2024 as plans progress.
While it’s encouraging to see the Ballycummin area of Limerick City West included, we would hope to see progress to deliver the full orbital route around the Ballycummin / Church Hill Meadows area and the inclusion of the main Church Hill Meadows Road and the remaining small stretch of Dooradoyle Rd as soon as possible. With excellent projects on Fr. Russell Road and the Quinns Cross route being delivered in 2023, these will be the natural next steps to connect the largest estates in Limerick City West to the rest of the network.
Overall the funding shows the work that Limerick’s Active Travel Team, supported by the larger council and our elected reps, is advancing is gathering significant steam. We would call on all Limerick stakeholders to see the huge opportunities that this funding presents for Limerick as we move to a transport system that supports our climate responsibilities, our health and well-being and a more sustainable way of moving around our city.
Meath Meath’s allocation of €14,135,000 is very welcome and, outside of the four Dublin local authorities, Cork and Limerick, is the highest allocation to a county from this year’s funding. The allocation is spread across 38 different projects, and in total almost half of the total funding (€7m) is for schemes in Navan.
The majority of the funding for cycling infrastructure in Navan is for ongoing schemes which are already in various states of planning, such as the Trim Road Cycle Scheme, the R147 Kells Road Scheme and the R147 Martha’s Bridge to Circular Road Scheme. One notable addition is the inclusion of the Pathfinder Project, on the R161 Navan to Trim road.
Of the €7m funding for Navan, €3m is for the ongoing Navan 2030 works at Kennedy Plaza, which unfortunately do not contain any plans for cycling. €1m is allocated for the new LDR4 bridge from the Kells Road to Ratholdren Road. While this new bridge and road will incorporate active travel infrastructure, it is well documented that new roads only serve to further embed car dependency, a phenomenon known as induced-demand. It is unclear how this project can be awarded funding under active travel.
We feel that active travel funding should have been secured for this area of the town to facilitate the installation of cycle lanes along the Ratholdren Road. We have been advocating for safe cycling infrastructure along this road since last May. There are two schools at either end of the road, a leisure centre, the town’s only park and the trailhead for the soon to be opened Boyne Valley to Lakelands County Greenway. We are very disappointed about the lack of progress as Navan’s residents are denied safe cycling access to the host of amenities mentioned above. The new greenway is highly anticipated and we are very concerned for the safety of children and other vulnerable road users, either trying to access Navan town centre if coming from Kilberry/Wilkinstown/Nobber or Navan residents trying to access the greenway from the town. This existing problem will only get worse as demand for greenways around the country has proven to be exceptionally high. We cannot wait years for the completion of the LDR4.
Sligo Spokesperson for Sligo Cycling Campaign Joan Swift said the Campaign very much welcomed the €3m Active Travel allocation for Sligo and is particularly pleased with the Safe Routes to School funding for Scoil Ursula, St John’s, Strandhill and Enniscrone. Giving children and parents the freedom to get to school on their own fuel is key to unlocking the health and well- being benefits of active travel.
Sligo Cycling Campaign is also pleased that funding has been secured to commence the Pathfinder schemes, Carraroe to town centre and town centre to the ATU (Atlantic Technological University). The Campaign will be looking for clarification on some schemes which merely say “Active Travel” as it’s unclear what this means in practice. We very much welcome the proposed footpath scheme from the station in Collooney, but we are concerned for example that in a social media post Councillor Thomas Walsh included road resurfacing as well as footpath enhancement and junction tightening in his description of the Collooney schemes. Road resurfacing, while necessary in our view, should come from the roads maintenance budget and not the Active Travel allocation. The footpath from Collooney to Ballisodare also appears to be already well advanced, so again we will be asking for clarification in regard to the purpose of the €550,000 allocation for this scheme. A further concern we have is why a parklet costing €70,000 is included under Active Travel.
Clare We note the allocation of €4.5m for County Clare and more than 50% of this is allocated to Ennis town and surrounds. €400,000 is allocated to Active Travel Team staff costs. €1.2m is allocated to footpaths in towns and villages.
Almost €6m was allocated to Active Travel in Clare in 2021. Many of the proposed schemes in 2023 seem to be very similar to those that were proposed in 2021. There is not enough evidence that the schemes proposed in 2021 have actually been completed. We would like some clarification on what was spent from the 2021 allocation and on what exactly, and how these schemes differ from what is being proposed in 2023.
There has been virtually no funding allocated to cycling infrastructure in this round. Some such infrastructure was implemented in Ennis from the 2021 funding.
No funding at all seems to be allocated to active travel in rural areas, or visitor attractions and sites. There is very little in North and West Clare, except for small amounts in Lisdoonvarna and Miltown Malbay / Spanish Point for footpaths and pedestrian crossings.
For example, there is a section of cycling / walking path between Lahinch and Liscannor which was started a number of years ago, and it remains unfinished and dangerous to walk or cycle on. This is not included in the current allocations, but needs to be remediated at the very least.
Many of the Active Travel Schemes have very limited funding allocation, apart from one on the Tulla Road in Ennis which has been allocated almost €1.8m (40% of the total budget). There is also no detail on what any of the Active Travel schemes will actually include, so we would like clarification on this and exactly what these schemes include and hope to achieve.
South Dublin County The South Dublin Sub-group (of Dublin Cycling Campaign) welcomes the allocations in the Active Travel Investment Programme 2023 which advance the Cycle South Dublin Programme. We are especially pleased to see all the unfinished sections of the Dodder Greenway included in the Programme as well as major investment in the Wellington Lane Cycling and Walking Scheme, the Castletymon District Enhancement Programme, D24 Neighbourhood Cycle Network, Killinarden Park and Greenway Scheme, Active Travel for Clonburris and the Grand Canal to Lucan Urban Greenway. We are pleased also that some funding has been allocated under the 2023 Greenway Programme for the Grand Canal 12th Lock (Lucan) to Hazelhatch scheme but disappointed that the allocation is not adequate for completion of the scheme in 2023.
Conclusion Cyclist.ie welcomes the investments in Active Travel projects countrywide. However, we stress here the need for spending to go on those schemes which form important elements of local cycle networks and which connect to important destinations such as schools, colleges, town centres and greenways. We do not support AT funding being spent on motor traffic / road capacity expanding schemes with minor ‘tag-ons’ of cycling infrastructure or on road resurfacing projects. We will be following up with the NTA and with the local authorities in due course in regard to these.
For more information on the Active Travel Grants Programme delivered by the Active Travel Investment Section of the NTA, see here.
