Hats off to University College Cork, Cork Cycling Campaign and the Cork Environmental Forum for devising and running the wonderful Socio-Cycle: Cycling Symposium last Friday and Saturday (03 & 04 Feb 2023)! It was just what the doctor ordered after almost three years of mainly non in-person cycling advocacy (and academic) gatherings in Ireland.   

The lead organiser was Dr. Eileen Hogan from the School of Applied Social Studies in UCC, and her team packed quite an amount into the symposium which lasted a day and a half – with formal sessions taking place in Cork City Hall and in the gorgeous Hub building in UCC.

Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in a special #IBIKEBop on the streets of Cork (see video below), and then catch up more informally for food and drinks afterwards. 

Fun time at the social cycle and delicious bites at Marina Market after day 1 of UCC Socio-Cycle symposium! 🎶🚲💃🍽️

@EileenHoganUCC @CorkCyclingCrew
@CorkEnvForum @tmfcork pic.twitter.com/YmEo4zHGpq

— Republic of Bike (@rep_of_bike) February 4, 2023

Cyclist.ie was out in force with over a dozen active members of our network giving papers and talks – and with many more attending as delegates and contributing to the discussions.

Friday

The keynote lecture in City Hall was delivered by Dr. Meredith Glaser (pictured below) from Urban Cycling Institute, University of Amsterdam. She gave a wide ranging presentation on the multi-pronged and multi-dimensional processes associated with demotorising and rehumanising our cities, based both on her studies and her lived experiences of Dutch cities. Her descriptions of the people filled – rather than motor vehicle filled – streets in Amsterdam near the school she lived beside reminded us all of why we are doing what we are doing! Plenty of food for thought in her talk which was followed by a long and lively Q&A. 

Meredith’s talk was followed by a Policy Fishbowl, which the organisers described as “an interactive discussion informed by participants’ cycling experiences”. It was a really great format in which a brief pitch on a cycling topic was followed by rapid fire contributions, with delegates swapping between the main audience and a revolving panel – and all happening with the prominent count-down clock keeping us in check! We will be robbing this format for a future event in Cyclist.ie, we are sure!

The topics and questions explored in the fishbowl were:
– firstly, how can we harness public consultation to deliver the best possible solution?
– secondly, should cycle training be made mandatory in schools?
– thirdly, how do we ensure that future governments preserve the 20% allocation for walking and cycling from the transport capital budget?

On the point of cycle training, Cyclist.ie maintains that we need curricular reform at primary level to mandate it in the same way as we have for swimming. 

Saturday

The sessions in UCC on Saturday ran from 9am until 4.30pm with a wonderfully diverse array of topics covered from multiple disciplinary perspectives. We highlight here the contributions of some members of Cyclist.ie. 

Mairéad Forsythe, Chair of the Board of Dublin Cycling Campaign CLG / Cyclist.ie (pictured below – and in blue in the policy fishbowl above!), explored the topic of lower speed limits in urban areas and their role in increasing the numbers of people cycling. She highlighted just some of the work that the Love 30 group has spearheaded in recent years, and brought us up to speed on where the campaign is to make 30km/h the default speed limit in built-up areas. 

Mairéad Forsythe from Love 30 (Photo Credit – TBC)

Meanwhile, Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, National Cycling Coordinator with Cyclist.ie and An Taisce, explored the topic of where cycling advocates’ energies should best be targeted in the coming years. He stressed the need for us to focus on capacity building, and on fundraising in particular, so that Cyclist.ie can grow into a much stronger outfit and better leverage the amazing volunteering energies and skills of our network of members. This is what our counterparts on the Continent have done in recent years. 

Damien Ó Tuama showing the extent of Cyclist.ie’s growing network of groups (Photo credit – Siobhán McNamara)

Jo Sachs Eldridge from the Cyclist.ie Executive Committee / Leitrim Cycling Festival gave two talks on Saturday. The first, drawing on the ‘Emergent Strategy’ ideas of Adrienne Maree Brown, examined the topic of how can pro-cycling activism become more impactful; while at the end of day – in a packed plenary session! – Jo spoke about the “Cycology of Change”. Both talks whetted our appetites and we look forward to debating the points and questions she raised in another forum very soon! 

Clara Clark from Cycling Without Age spoke about “Cycling Without Age: The Right to Wind in your Hair”. The key point was the exponential growth of the take-up for trishaws nationwide (60 to date, with more on order), and the benefits to passengers. Many of the recent trishaw sponsors are local authorities placing them for community-based use. This demands better safe cycling infrastructure to accommodate all types of non-standard cycles: Infrastructure = Accessibility. There needs to be greater liaison with the LA Active Travel officers to ensure this will happen.

Clara Clark from Cycling Without Age (Photo Credit – Dr. Eileen Hogan)

It is well worth watching this “Inclusive Bike Scheme – Coastal Mobility Route” video produced by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council if you haven’t already seen it. It shows the inclusive nature of high quality cycling infrastructure, especially when used in combination with the CWA trishaws.

Rebecca Wogan from Dublin Cycling Campaign’s Executive Committee spoke about her own research, which covered “Crowdsourced Cycling Data Applications to Estimate Noise Pollution Exposure during Urban Cycling”. This followed on from her recent presentation to a Dublin Cycling Campaign public meeting.  

Conor Buckley, Chair of Limerick Cycling Campaign, spoke about successfully campaigning to get targets included in the final / published version of the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (LSMATS) and the importance of unifying these targets in transport strategies across the country. He also discussed the importance of independently monitoring and reporting on targets to measure the return on the significant investment currently being made on infrastructure. In short, it is not enough just to make sure funding is spent! 

The above overview just scrapes the surface of what was delved into (mainly by Cyclist.ie speakers) at what was a top class conference. It was a pleasure to hear so many informative talks from academics and campaigners based in Ireland, all of whom are thinking seriously about low carbon mobility. Additionally though, there were two excellent speakers tuned in from afar, with the technology bringing them right into the room and allowing for quality conversations and Q&A. 

Firstly, Professor Peter Cox – now based in the Rachel Carson Institute near Munich and well known in cycling academic circles – gave a keynote address entitled “Care, Commons, and Uncontrollability: Developing Habits for Anthropocene Citizenship”. His talk engaged with a number of concepts linked to the destructive ways of 20th century modernism (the results of which are covered in the IPCC 6th Assessment Report), how the system of automobility colonises travel spaces and encloses “the commons of road space”, and how we notice the world more when on a bicycle. A lot of food for thought in his paper. We look forward very much to the publication of his book on this topic so we can dig into his ideas properly! 

Secondly, Dr. Léa Ravensbergen, Assistant Professor, School of Earth, Environment & Society, McMaster University in Toronto, spoke about “Fostering Equitable Cycling Cities: Considering Gender and Cycling Through a Mobility Justice Framework”. She explored some of the main hypotheses which seek to explain the gender gap in everyday cycling, before unpacking the important concept of mobility justice. It was another thought provoking session, which generated many questions from the delegates.  

Both of these talks added greatly to the symposium. 

Finally!

As well as talks, there were videos played including a lovely one from Cork Cycling Festival shown in a packed Shtepps Theatre.  

There was so much else that stimulated us at the UCC conference, that we will be thinking about the topics over the coming weeks and months and beyond. We might even post another article on the symposium quite soon, pointing to some of the other fine speakers and presentations that we heard. It’s simply not possible to do them all justice in this short article here! 

Cyclist.ie sends its hearty congratulations to all of the organisers and contributors. We look forward to meeting them again soon and to continuing the conversations. 

The websites of the three main organising bodies are:
https://www.ucc.ie/en/appsoc/
https://corkcyclingcampaign.com/
https://www.cef.ie/

2023 is a big year for cycling campaigning. Cyclist.ie will mark its 15th birthday, Dublin Cycling Campaign its 30th birthday, while the European Cyclists’ Federation will have 40 candles on its campaigning cake. 

It will be an especially significant year for DCC and Cyclist.ie as we completely rework our governance structures and become a much stronger campaigning force. 

Related to this is the development of a new and sustainable funding model for cycling advocacy. Our ambition is to move to having several staff members supporting many multiples of our supporters, members and active volunteers. We also aim to build much stronger partnerships with allied groups.

We have already succeeded in bringing several high profile companies on board to support us through our Business Membership Schemes (such as Dropbox and Lime), and have secured funding from bodies such as Rethink Ireland, the Irish Research Council and, most recently, the European Commission (see below for links). 

We are now asking you, our members and supporters, to take a simple action. 

If you are working for a company that might have a Corporate Social Responsibility scheme – i.e. a way in which a business integrates its social and environmental responsibilities into its operations – we would love to hear from you. 

Securing the support of companies for our cycling advocacy work will help to accelerate the transformation of our cities and towns and rural areas into bicycle friendly places for all. And better cycling provision means more employees cycling, and all the research shows that means healthier and more productive employees. 

Please contact our National Cycling Coordinator, Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, if you can suggest names / departments within your company that we should contact. 

Many thanks.

From the Board, the Executive Committee of Dublin Cycling Campaign and the Executive Committee of Cyclist.ie 

Details of our Business Membership Schemes:
https://www.dublincycling.com/businessmembers
https://cyclist.ie/business-membership/

Examples of Current Supporters:
https://www.dublincycling.com/cycling/new-business-organisation-member-lime
https://www.dublincycling.com/cycling/campaigning-moves-gear-support-dropbox

Examples of Recent Fundraising Successes and Partnerships:
https://cyclist.ie/2023/01/cyclist-ie-taking-part-in-erasmus-project-volunteers-sought/
https://cyclist.ie/2022/01/cyclist-ie-an-awardee-of-rethink-irelands-glas-funding/
https://cyclist.ie/2020/10/rethink-ireland-fund-success-for-cyclist-ie/
https://cyclist.ie/2021/05/cyclist-ie-ucc-economics/

European Cyclists’ Federation Founding Agreement from 1983
https://ecf.com/groups/ecf-founding-agreement

As part of our series of occasional articles on ways that members and friends of Dublin Cycling Campaign and Cyclist.ie use their bicycles, in this piece we interview Beekeeper Ed Sweetman on how he uses his own bike to help with his beekeeping in Dublin city. 

Ed, can you tell us a bit first of all about the beekeeping you are doing – how did you get into it and how has it developed since then?  
I did a bee-keeping course back in 2015 and have really just taken it from there. Early on, I collected a swarm of bees from the HQ of An Garda Síochána in the Phoenix Park which ended up on the roof of the Revenue Commissioners in the city centre – and it has been going from strength to strength since. I now look after four hives on the roof of Drury Street buildings, four in a back garden in the Cabra area, and I have another two on the roof of the new Central Bank in the docklands. I’m really at maximum capacity now, particularly given the multiple locations of the hives. 

Beekeepers are busy during the summer months, but I get a chance to attend some lectures run by the County Dublin Beekeepers Association over the winter. And yes, I was delighted to get a mention and some recognition by the association for the honey I harvested recently!

And what happens to the honey you harvest? 
Well, a mixture of selling jars of it to some local cafés and giving them to family and friends as presents.

So why would you be needing to move the hives, and where do the bicycles come into the picture (as against other modes of transport)? And do you know anyone else using bicycles to move hives? 
In a nutshell, I move the bee hive boxes around the place – ultimately so as to be able to harvest the honey crop. It’s not the main brood body (where the queen lives) that is moved; rather, it’s moving the ‘supers’ around the place. 

I don’t know of others moving boxes using bikes and bike trailers. Some would use cars or vans – or else, they would have all their hives in the one location so don’t need to be moving them about. There may well be others around the country using a bicycle and a trailer to move hives – it works extremely well! 

Can you tell us a bit about the bicycle and the trailer you use?
Yes, it’s what you might call a traditional hybrid bike – nice and tall and upright. You are up above most of the rest of the traffic and can see everything. The trailer I bought second hand from a bike shop. Previously it was used as a trailer for a dog, so I just changed the cover and the bee hive boxes fit very nicely. It’s a lot easier than getting the bus with them which I have tried before. The boxes are awkward enough to carry. Bringing them about by bike and on the two wheeled trailer is simply very easy and energy efficient. 

Do you hear the bees buzzing as you are cycling along?!
No! They are silent!

Do you have any advice for someone thinking about getting into bee-keeping in a city environment – or any other reflections you want to share?
Well, it’s worth mentioning that urban bees are often producing more honey than rural bees. In the rural environment, there is a lot of pesticide use and it can often be a food desert there for bees.

Overall, the beekeeping is very satisfying – I won’t be giving it up! Having said that, ten hives spread across three locations is pretty full-on, and certainly over the summer months. But it’s nice and quiet in the winter, where you might just check them once a month.

Anything else you’d like to add? 
The bike trailer is the business – it enables me to do my job better and easier than I would otherwise be able to do it. I might look at getting a slightly lighter bike at some point – it can be a bit awkward lifting the bike around bike-unfriendly access points when going into some parks and that. 

A sincere thanks Ed for taking the time to talk to us!
You’re very welcome!

Earlier today (Tue 7th June 2022), Cyclist.ie made a submission to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in regard to the development of the National Cycle Network. 

The National Cycle Network (NCN) aims to link towns, cities and destinations across Ireland with a safe, connected and inviting cycle network; encouraging more people away from their cars and onto their cycles.

The development of the network is currently at “Stage 4” of a five-stage process outlined below.

Cyclist.ie’s submission can be read in full here. We pick out some of the main points from our submission in the paragraphs below.

Cyclist.ie is pleased to respond to the public consultation process as described here. This followed on from having been invited to provide stakeholder feedback to TII and Aecom prior to and early on in the public consultation process. We also appreciated attending the “Transport Planning Society” organised webinar on the NCN on Thursday 2nd of June at which we also learned more about the related NTA County Cycle Network Development plans and also the five metropolitan cycle network plans (of the GDA, Cork, Limerick/Shannon, Galway and Waterford). 

Overall, we warmly welcome the development of a NCN, the aim of which is “to link towns, cities and destinations across Ireland with a safe, connected and inviting cycle network; encouraging more people away from their cars and onto their cycles.” On this point, we wish to highlight here the statement issued by the EPA on 31 May 2022 in which they reiterate the urgent need to rapidly decarbonise our transport and other systems and to urgently implement our climate plans and policies[1]. 

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

Additionally we stressed further points under four main headings:

(1) City/County and National Networks
There is a need to advance both city/town networks and county networks on the one hand, and a National Cycle Network on the other hand. We maintain that the two projects cannot be completely divorced from one another because some trips will include using parts of both networks. The first objective should be to connect the towns and villages with safe/attractive cycle-friendly routes to their own rural hinterlands in all directions to a radius of 5-8km. This will allow for the most important local trips (to schools and shops for example) to be made safe for active travel – and hence for the greatest possible impact to be made on increasing the modal shares for cycling.

(2) Diversity of Cyclists, Cycle Types and Routes / Interventions
We acknowledge that a high quality NCN will include a diversity of road / cycle-facility types and interventions, and that the overarching aim needs to be that it caters for a multiplicity of types of cyclists (commuters, recreational riders, tourists), with different levels of experience, and different cycle types (such as cargo bikes, bikes with trailers, bikes for people with disabilities etc.). Cyclist.ie broadly supports the long established “5 needs of cyclists” approach [2] which emphasises that routes / facilities need to be:

• Safe
• Coherent
• Direct
• Attractive
• Comfortable

We welcome the intention to use smaller / local roads in the development of the NCN and to make these routes safer by reducing motor traffic speeds and volumes on them. We note the potential for some declassified N roads to become important links in the NCN – and particularly where they link directly/closely to schools. However, we would be concerned if there was a dominant emphasis on using declassified N-roads in the NCN – for several reasons: firstly, these roads tend to be much straighter than non-national roads with the speeds (and hence noise levels) of adjacent motor traffic being higher than on other roads (even with the speed limit having been reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h); and secondly, these roads tend to be less visually attractive than non-national roads (given their straighter alignments, wider cross-sections, and fewer trees alongside them). We would warmly welcome the use of Cycle Super Highways, as used in Northern Europe (image below from Nijmegen / Arnhem in The Netherlands) as part of the NCN. Cyclist.ie is very much against the (non-legally defined concept of) “greyways” – which, essentially, appear to be non-segregated cycle lanes sitting within the hard shoulders of roads, mainly de-designated national roads, with high speeds.  

(3) Prioritisation of Interventions
Cyclist.ie recognises that the development of the NCN and the regeneration of a strong cycling culture in Ireland are multi-year projects. Therefore, critical decisions will need to be made around which interventions need to happen first, and which later. There are some counties in Ireland which have lagged behind in the adoption of more progressive sustainable transport policies and in the development of high quality cycle networks. Cyclist.ie would like to see a special emphasis on prioritising the development of the NCN (and the town/city and county networks) in those counties that need to catch up. We support the prioritisation of interventions with a focus on addressing, for example, those places without hard shoulders. 

(4) Protecting the Corridors
Cyclist.ie maintains that provision must be made to protect the NCN emerging preferred corridors much as national road corridors would be protected, to ensure that new developments near future routes do not impair or constrain their coherence or quality. 

Cyclist.ie’s submission can be read in full here. We wish to thank our team of amazing volunteers for examining the documentation, gathering their thoughts and drafting the submission – all done at high speed! 

This week Cyclist.ie made a submission to the National Transport Authority (NTA) in regard to the updated Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area.

As per the NTA website, this strategy sets out the framework for investment in transport infrastructure and services over the next two decades to 2042. You can read the NTA’s draft transport strategy here.

You can read our own submission in full below.

Cyclist.ie wishes to sincerely thank its volunteers for the work involved in preparing and making this submission. It is this voluntary work and the membership subscriptions to Cyclist.ie that enables us to make these submissions.

1 – Introduction

Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network (ICAN), is the Federation of Cycling Advocacy Groups, Greenway Groups and Bike Festivals on the island of Ireland. We are the Irish member of the European Cyclists’ Federation.  Our vision is for an Ireland with a cycle friendly culture, where everyone has a real choice to cycle and is encouraged to experience the joy, convenience, health and environmental benefits of cycling.

Cyclist.ie broadly welcomes this review of the GDA Transport Strategy, its extension to 2042, its broad objectives within the context of Climate Objectives, and its acceptance that many aspects of the original Strategy have not been achieved.  In particular, in relation to achievements on the cycling front, Cyclist.ie is highly critical of the lack of development on the 2013 GDA Cycle Network Plan to date, but welcomes the commitment to complete an updated network by 2030.

It is evident from the substantial number (4,000+) of submissions made to the initial call in late 2020, that there is great interest in the development of an appropriate transport strategy for the GDA, and Cyclist.ie congratulates the NTA on reaching out through various means, to encourage submissions.  We, in turn, have a number of other comments on the overall GDA Strategy document, which we outline below.  We also include a Summary section at the end of these comments for ease of referral.

2 – GDA Strategy 2021 – The Active Travel Perspective

2.1 Changes/Improvements from 2016 Strategy
Cyclist.ie notes the extensive positive changes in the overall approach to this latest Transport Strategy review, which is a major improvement on that produced in 2016, and deals with each area in relevant depth.  It particularly highlights and prioritises the need for an increased emphasis on sustainable travel, including Active Travel.

We also welcome the inclusion of many points raised in our January 2021 submission, but highlight below a number of items we feel should have been included, or should receive greater attention.

2.2 Cycling Related Proposals
The graphic in the Strategy outlines the broad proposals of this updated Strategy.  Cyclist.ie queries the relatively low – 12% – Bike Mode Share envisaged by 2042, which is higher than the national 10% target originally projected as part of the 2009 NCPF, but lower than what has been previously projected for the Dublin region.  This is an unacceptable  regression on previous target levels, which were demonstrably higher.  And target mode share needs to consider the timing and alignment with Climate Action Plan targets, as well as the proposed completion of the new Cycle Network by 2020 – see below.

2.2.1 GDA Draft Cycle Network
Cyclist.ie welcomes the new classification of cycle routes on the network. But, we note the reduction in overall network kms between 2013 and the latest 2021 draft proposal.  And, on examination of the individual mapping sections posted we note there are a number of omitted routes from the 2013 draft network in some areas, and the non-inclusion of some actual existing facilities, and some facilities in active planning?

Cyclist.ie would welcome a meeting with NTA officials on this issue, to clarify the accuracy of the proposed network in certain areas?

We are also happy to see the proposed ambitious completion of the cycle network by 2030, but doubt it can be achieved based on past performance.

We note that no clear figure for kilometres of the 2013 network completed to standard, has been posted in Chapter 2.2.  This would show clearly the low level of progress since 2013.

2.2.2 Traffic Management & Inter-Modal Travel Options
Cyclist.ie welcomes the proposals for increased access to public transport for people on bikes, although the proposal to only increase the number of bikes on inter city trains to 4, is disappointing, and falls below the 8 bikes, which the ECF, and the EU Parliament Transport & Tourism Committee are recommending on a European level.  These proposals are critical in helping to increase the volume of sustainable trips across the GDA.  This proposal should be revisited in the light of likely EU initiatives in this area. 

In particular we welcome the commitment to lower urban speed limits to 30kph, as declared internationally in the 2020 Stockholm declaration.  This will make our city and towns’ streets safer for all.  This issue needs to be tackled from within the Department of Transport initially by reviewing the Speed Limit Regulations, to ensure Local Authorities can legitimately introduce these lower limits, and the NTA must play an active part in this process.  

We broadly welcome the proposals to introduce more car free zones, car parking restrictions, and in particular the reduction in public service parking facilities.  In an ideal world this initiative should begin with our legislators in Dáil Éireann?

2.2.3 Personal Mobility Vehicles (PMV)
Cyclist.ie broadly welcomes the introduction of PMVs, particularly if it increases the number of people opting to use them instead of a private car.  But, it is critical that clear legislation and regulations define their usage, and in particular the power and speed levels therein.  The present level of legislation is unclear, and many E-Bikes and E-Scooters are clearly travelling beyond the 25kph cut off speed.  We welcome the NTA’s commitment to ‘respond as required to any legislation adopted’, and would welcome a clear commitment to engage with organisations such as Cyclist.ie as part of any responses.

2.2.4 Covid Learnings
Cyclist.ie welcomes the recognition outlined in Section 11.2 of the Strategy, of the valuable learnings from the trial cycle route constructions during the height of the Covid lockdowns.  As a result of these ‘trials’ many of these protected/segregated cycle tracks will remain in place.  This points to the need to recognise in legislation, as happens in other countries, the right of local authorities to trial installations, without the need for a full long drawn out planning process.  We deal with this point further, among others, in Section 3 below.

2.3 Walking, Accessibility & Public Realm
Many of the issues related to improvements in walking/pedestrian conditions, such as speed limits, junction design, permeability, public realm, and wayfinding also apply to cycling requirements.  Changes in these elements of our infrastructure can have important benefits for both cyclists and pedestrians, and also bring immediate improvements in sustainable travel numbers.

We welcome the commitment to remove slip lanes, and to narrow junctions, and would like to see these commitments moved on rapidly within a specified time frame.  Together with these suggested changes we would like to see a gradual program of improvement in side road junction design to benefit both pedestrians and cyclists, by also including raised ‘at-level’ crossings for pedestrians, clearly indicating priority for pedestrians and for private vehicles to give way.  These raised entry crossings have the added benefit for both cyclists and pedestrians of slowing down vehicles entering and leaving the side roads.  They should be introduced gradually,as a matter of course, throughout the local authorities within the GDA.  We have previously referenced these issues and others in our January 2021 submission.

2.4 Public Transport
Cyclist.ie broadly welcomes the proposals for public transport outlined in the Strategy, and we would hope that the general timelines outlined can be adhered to, particularly in the initial major Bus Connects project, which also has significant impact on proposed cycle routes. We have referred to the issue of bikes on trains above, but in general we support the proposed improvements in the DART system as well as the proposed LUAS lines.  

2.5 Roads
Cyclist.ie welcomes the retrenchment decision on the Eastern Bypass, and the proposed development of the bypass corridor for sustainable transport.  We await definitive plants for these proposals. We also welcome the  ‘Principles of Road Development’ outlined in Chapter 13.2, and the low level of proposed road developments;

We note the broad ‘place making’ proposals in Chapter 13.6, in relation to Urban Roads and Streets, but would like to see this associated with the ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’ outlined in 14.6, and in particular the reduction/removal of rat runs.

3 – Missing Elements from GDA Transport Strategy?

3.1 Planning Issues
Over the past decade and more it has been obvious that most major sustainable transport and public realm schemes, including cycle related initiatives, have been inordinately delayed, or even halted, due to issues arising as part of the statutory planning processes.  Within the context of Dublin City alone we have seen innumerable project timelines being adjusted at an embarrassing rate through the years, and poor progress being made.  While there have been learnings, as a result of these problems, it is incumbent on the NTA as the overall ‘overseer’ of these projects, to examine and report on these planning issues, and recommend possible solutions.

We do not see this critical planning problem being addressed as part of the GDA Transport Strategy, and we feel it should.

3.2 Trial Projects
As referred to above in section 2.2.4 the Strategy has realised the value of Covid Trial/Temporary projects in being able to demonstrate to the general public what effects a possible long term project can have, but also to enable the designers to tweak on the ground any perceived faults or difficulties.  These trial projects, common in many countries, need to be placed on a legislative footing and must be part of this Strategy.  This would enable Local Authorities in particular to demonstrate the value of their proposals to the public.  In general they have resulted in positive outcomes for both the planning authority and the public.

3.3 Legislative Issues
There are innumerable legislative proposals that have been discussed and debated over the years, which could be initiated in order to increase the ease and safety of travel for cyclists.  Cyclist.ie has highlighted these proposals in meetings with the NTA and the Department of Transport on a number of occasions in the past 7 years.  In particular we have referenced the 2014 Transport for London (TFL) Study as an exemplar of what could be done.  It will be appreciated that this study is already 8 years in publication, and Dublin was one of the referenced cities in the lead-in study.

There needs to be a sense of urgency in translating ideas into legislation to improve conditions for cycling.  This needs to be addressed in the Strategy.

3.4 Data Evaluation & Monitoring
Cyclist.ie, in our submission of January 2021 to the GDA Strategy process, highlighted the issue of poor data/information and ongoing monitoring of active travel data.  While the areas of collection of available data sources, such as through CSO or other agencies, is referenced in Chapter 19.2 of the Draft Strategy we see no reference to improved internal collection of additional data from the NTA itself or via the local authorities, particularly in relation to active travel.  This is a serious omission.  A single ‘Monitoring Report’ in 2025, as proposed in Section 19.2.4 is woefully inadequate to address the need for assessment of progress.

It is incumbent, via this proposed Strategy, to ensure that sufficient and regular data collection is carried out, and published, to enable a true and full assessment of all projects to be progressed.  We have yet to see any such comprehensive data in the context of active travel projects.  In turn we have yet to see the upgrading of the Common Appraisal Framework used for project assessment, to enable the assimilation of the benefits of active travel and climate change.  This urgently needs to be addressed.

We call on the NTA and the Local Authorities to ensure that detailed traffic related data is regularly collected, which enables comprehensive assessment of all transport projects, but particularly active travel projects. This assessment should be combined with an updating of the Common Appraisal Framework, to ensure that all health, environmental, social and economic benefits are included as part of the assessment process.

3.4.1 Road Safety Data
We fail to understand why the national Road Safety Authority (RSA) has not been included as a data source within this monitoring Chapter 19.  As it stands, road safety data, in particular that related to serious (and minor) injuries, is simply not made available regularly or soon enough.  As a result, while we have seen road deaths generally decrease year on year recently, there has been a concomitant and frightening increase in serious injuries, as highlighted in table 5.1 of the Draft Cycle Network Report. 

The last available comprehensive and  reliable data on serious injuries dates back 5 years to 2017.  This is simply not good enough and must be addressed as it is germane to improved transport, and in particular active travel.

4 – Summary / Conclusion

As stated above Cyclist.ie gives a broad welcome to this new Draft GDA Transport Strategy, but with certain reservations and major omissions.  Our main points are as follows:

4.1 The Strategy does not address the ongoing problems with project delays, and how the planning process ‘works’.

4.2 Trial Projects, as demonstrated during the Covid period need to be addressed long term and put on a legislative footing.

4.3 There are a number of legislative proposals that have the potential to actively support an increase in active travel that have been on the table for a long time and need to be enacted.

4.4 Data gathering and assessment needs to be seriously upgraded, and NTA and Local Authorities ensure that ongoing travel related data is available to ensure rigorous monitoring of Strategy targets, and individual projects.

4.5 The RSA need to be data partners with the NTA, and  the collection, assessment, and publication of road safety statistics needs to improve to ensure road safety issues are addressed with speed. 

4.6 The low target level mode share for cycling by 2042 of 12% is a regression on previous targets 

4.7 There are perceived faults and omissions in the published Draft Cycle Network Plan 2021.  Cyclist.ie seeks to meet with the NTA to begin to address these faults.

4.8 The proposals for a minimum 4 bike places on the new trains  is inadequate in light of EU proposals for 8 bike places, and needs to be upgraded.

4.9 The introduction of clear legislation for PMVs needs to be accelerated, to ensure clarity on usage, and the safety of all road users, in particular active travellers.

4.10 We want to see a clear commitment to the quick introduction of the simple  initiatives proposed in Chapter 10 related to junction design and pedestrian crossings, which can have immediate impact.

Colm Ryder
[email protected]

Cyclist.ie made a submission last week (Fri 12 March 2021) to the Office of Public Works in regard to the proposals outlined in the Phoenix Park Transport and Mobility Options Study.

The Phoenix Park has both major national and international standing, and its appropriate management and development is of great importance to the nation. Overall we give a broad welcome to this study, and its recommendations, and its recognition of the latent demand, and the inescapable arguments for a more sustainable approach to the management of this National Historic Park. The breadth and scope of the report is impressive and much of the detail on the Park and surrounding areas, and the transport landscape contained therein, will be valuable in planning for the future.

Cyclist.ie welcomes the proposed developments outlined in the study, and in particular the concentration and development of sustainable modes of travel, and the proposed rapid implementation of many of the proposals.

However we have raised a number of issues in our above submission requiring attention:

• The level of confusion created by the online posted contradictory maps as to the detail of what is exactly proposed, particularly in relation to Access and Roads. These need to be clarified in the interests of accurate public information. We have recommended the use of a consistent and accurate base map with all road and areas correctly labelled for any future reference.
• The non-inclusion of the Farmleigh Estate, as part of this study, is an omission which is difficult to understand and needs to be addressed. 
• The omission of two critical external sustainable links to Ashtown Train Station and the Royal Canal, and to the National War Memorial Park across the Liffey needs to be addressed, as these links will help to create a much larger overall network of walking and cycling route access to and from the Phoenix Park. 
• We recommend that the one way system at Ashtown Gate and the proposals for Knockmaroon Gate be implemented in Phase 1 and not in Phase 3 as indicated.
  
  
  
  
• We make specific recommendations in relation to the proposed upgraded road crossings, to ensure they are also cycle accessible.
• We recommend that both Bus Route options be developed, to ensure better public transport provision access to the main Phoenix park amenities, for all major neighbouring populations.
  
  
  

• The explanation of the Option choice decisions made on foot of the Multi Criteria Assessment (MCA) approach is deficient and it remains unclear how Option 3 emerged as the preferred option.

We outlined our broad support of the proposals, and look forward to their development and ongoing liaison between Cyclist.ie, the OPW and the study team in supporting these developments. Additionally, we would welcome further clarification on the issues raised by us.

We are happy at any stage to engage with the study team to discuss any of our above proposals and issues.

You can read Cyclist.ie’s submission here: 
You can read the An Taisce submission here:
You can read the study report here.