It’s just over a month before Irish Cycling Campaign welcomes the Erasmus+ partners to Dublin for the local leg of the international project that ICC is participating in.
The project is called Generations Cycling for Inclusion and Climate Action, and “Learning, Teaching and Training” cultural exchange visits have already taken place in Corella (Spain), Azambuja (Portugal), Waterford, and Wodislaw Slaski (Poland) – see the www.irishcyclngcampaign.ie website for stories on each of these.
The project partners will arrive into Dublin on Thursday 10th Oct and leave on Tuesday 15th, with four action packed days of activities in between. This will include a guided cycle for the 60+ visitors along some of Dublin’s brand new cycling infrastructure on Saturday 12 October.
We will be looking out to ICC members, and to Dublin Cycling Campaigners in particular, for some marshalling support for that group cycle, and for other help over the days of the trip. If you think you might be able to help out, please contact our National Cycling Coordinator (Damien Ó Tuama) here. All help very much appreciated so as to give a lovely warm welcome to the visitors.
Irish Cycling Campaign was contacted in May 2024 by Ann-Marie Conrado, Associate Professor of Industrial Design at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, in the US. The reason: to explore the feasibility of us helping to steer a project conducted by its ‘Design Thinking’ students on the challenge of increasing cycling ridership in Dublin. The students were engaging in a Notre Dame Dublin study abroad program. We were delighted to get on board!
Research Process Soon afterwards, ICC members Colm Ryder and Dave Anderson joined the students in interactive and lively workshops to provide the background knowledge of what is happening in the cycling domain in Dublin and to help define the research question. Then in June, the team of Design Thinking students spent the month engaging on the streets with both cyclists and non-cyclists so as to understand the barriers to cycling, and proposing new approaches to addressing the challenges to get more people on bikes.
The students presented their findings to an ICC delegation on 27th June at the home of Notre Dame in Dublin, O’Connell House on Merrion Square. Additionally, the students also discussed their findings with a delegation from Sligo Cycling Campaign while in the west the following week.
Prof Ann-Marie Conrado with her University of Notre Dame students taking part in the project
On ‘Design Thinking’ itself, there appears to be no shortage of definitions of what it is, but essentially it can be thought of as an approach to problem-solving where it focuses on the solution to a problem instead of the problem itself. And according to Ann-Marie in conversations at the presentation, the process can be understood visually as a ‘double diamond’, which is a way to describe the steps taken in any design and innovation project, irrespective of methods and tools used. You can read more about it here.
Findings The students covered a lot in their condensed month-long project. They delved into some of the fears around cycling such as the difficulty in using the Dublin Bikes bike-sharing scheme for the first time, the safety fears around navigating on two wheels, and the fear of bike theft. Then they examined what they described as ‘trigger events’ in prompting people to take up cycling after a long absence. Amongst the opportunities the team identified were proposals around improving the navigability of the city centre, as shown here:
Additionally, their proposed solutions examined the need for better poster campaigns to remind commuters of how quick and predictable (journey time-wise) journeys by bike can be – and wider campaigns to share tips and information between new and experienced cyclists.
The students’ (59 slide long) presentation can be viewed here HERE and there is plenty in there for cycling advocates to chew on!
A Perspective from Sligo The eight members of Sligo Cycling Campaign who attended the Notre Dame presentation in the Sligo Park Hotel are looking forward to viewing it again and applying some of the learning. Initially we wondered if a cycling project researched in a Dublin context would be applicable in a town with a rural hinterland. We need not have worried as all of us were captivated by the positivity of the students and the transferability of their ideas. One thing that struck us was the value of diversity within the student team. They were students of Industrial Design, Political Science, English, Finance and other disciplines.
Cycling advocates are all too aware of the barriers to cycling and the presentation covered these, but the kernel of the presentation for us was the focus on opportunities. The students described a scenario where Emma’s bus is delayed in traffic and she looks out the window to see people on bicycles whizzing by, to a subsequent scene where Emma is deciding to try cycling to work. But there was no road to Damascus, rather incremental steps with various supports along the way. Some supports, for example the map mentioned above, targeted practical issues such as “I don’t know the way”. Others addressed deeper emotional obstacles, such as “I’m scared!”. In the students’ scenario, this fear was addressed by Emma joining a “Cycling Sisters” support group and cycling, in the first instance, away from busy traffic.
In Conclusion Irish Cycling Campaign sincerely thanks the students and staff of the University of Notre Dame for their work on this important topic. We think the collaboration was a valuable exercise, both for campaigners and students. We will, no doubt, be taking many of the recommendations forward as we advance our own advocacy strategy. We would also like to pay a special thanks to Eimear Clowry Delaney, Director of Notre Dame Dublin, for her contact with ICC from the outset.
Finally, if your institution (academic or otherwise) is interested in working with Irish Cycling Campaign to further explore how to reshape the mobility system so that everyday cycling plays a much bigger part, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us via [email protected].
Irish Cycling Campaign, formerly Cyclist.ie, has been sending delegates to ECF’s Velo-city International cycling planning conference since the 1990s, and we were delighted to be represented at its latest edition held in June 2024.
It took place in the wonderful bicycle friendly city of Ghent in Belgium and was the largest Velo-city yet held with over 1650 registered delegates from 60 different countries. In this report, Mairéad Forsythe (ICC Chairperson), Will Andrews (ICC Exec Committee member) and Damien Ó Tuama (National Cycling Coordinator with ICC & An Taisce) share some reflections on the four day event.
Just some of the delegates’ parked bicycles at Velo-city 2024
Opening ceremony and plenary
Henk Swarttouw, President of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), stressed the value of the European Declaration on Cycling that was adopted in April 2024 (as reported on by ECF here). This declaration will impact how global bodies such as the World Health Organisation, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund see cycling infrastructure as an essential part of transport. The declaration sees cycling as “the most sustainable, accessible and inclusive, low-cost and healthy forms of transport and recreation, and its key importance for European society and economy”. Kudos to the ECF for its incredibly valuable lobbying work on this over several years.
Mairéad, Damien and Henk (from ECF)
Janette Sadik-Kahn’s (former Transport Commissioner for New York City) gave an inspirational opening speech. She clarified that there’s an ongoing ‘fight’ for space on city streets – but, additionally, that New York City’s Mayor gained great popular support for the bike lane / pedestrian plaza / bike-share measures that were introduced. She shared statistics showing that in New York improved bicycle infrastructure was responsible for a 49% increase in retail sales; the corresponding figures for London and Tokyo were 30% and 20% respectively. She referenced the cities of London and Paris where, in both places, more people now make journeys by bike than by car. This certainly wasn’t the case a decade or two ago. Further (less obvious) leaders are cities such as Bogota, Bratislava, Tirana, Brussels, Arnhem and even Austin in Texas. Cities are seeing cycling as essential infrastructure.
Janette Sadik-Kahn speaking in the main plenary session venue
Will Butler Adams, Brompton’s CEO for the last 18 years, spoke about the utter inefficiency of individuals in ever larger cars moving about (very slowly) in cities within 2.5 tonnes of enclosed metal boxes. He argued for cycling to be sold as a fun, diverse and interesting way to experience urban travel.
There was also a lovely suggestion (by one of the plenary speakers) for engineers to use periscopes in a reverse orientation so as to be able to see the street from a child’s perspective – particularly in the context of ever larger Sports Utility Vehicles dominating many city streets.
Ghent Deputy Mayor
Ghent’s deputy mayor Filip Watteeuw explained how the 50% of through traffic was discouraged in their 2017 circulation plan and that the city is now greener, safer and more liveable (see below). This came after decades of car dominance where only the residual space was given over to cycling. He told us how new improvements in the infrastructure had led to a significant increase in the cycling modal share (see also below). And that there is a new word in the Oxford dictionary “Ghentify” meaning to improve the quality of life through cycling infrastructure. He posed the rhetorical question: how would Ghent look if the 30%+ of trips currently made by bike were to be made by private car?
In regard to Velo-city itself, he argued that it’s about gaining strength and stubbornness for the next battles for street space!
Ghent Circulation Plan Technical Tour by Tim from City admin
Each year at Velo-City, there are ‘technical tours’ of local places and of new infrastructural interventions of interest. One of the most popular this year focussed on Ghent’s Circulation Plan which reduced through-traffic in the city. The plan was initiated over a weekend in 2017, with 80 streets changing the direction of traffic and 2,500 signs changed within the central area bounded by the F40 peripheral road. The parallels with Dublin’s currently debated City Centre Transport Plan were striking.
The photo (below) shows Tim, the municipality employee and leader of the technical tour, with his diagram of how the city works for private motor traffic before and after the implementation of the Circulation Plan. On the diagram to the left in his hand (under his jacket sleeve), you can see that motor traffic could – beforehand – go from the outer ring towards the centre of the city and onto a central ring, which could be circled fully; Tim’s right-hand diagram – now – shows motor traffic that enters from any point in the outside peripheral road, the F40, is unable to go around the inner ring; you can only go a little way round before being diverted back out again. The city is divided into six ‘sections’ and, as a motorist, you only have access to one of these from the outer ring. But as a public transport user or cyclist or pedestrian, there entire city centre is permeable and quick to traverse.
As part of the Circulation Plan, the existing pedestrian area of 25 hectares, created in 1997, was doubled in size. Additionally, months before the plan’s introduction, in 2017, a 30km/h limit was introduced in the wider city area. The Circulation Plan itself saw the approximately 50% of motor traffic, that was just passing through the centre, stopped. Cameras log the registration plates of cars and fine those not permitted (loading, taxis etc. are exempted) €58. This is a traffic fine, rather than a congestion fee. The photo here shows one of the cameras complete with a warning sign.
Tim told us that in the years since the plan was introduced, car sharing schemes have been ‘booming’, and car ownership levels consistently dropping. Priority has been retained for bicycles, leading to a 50% increase in cyclists in the central, F40-bound area.
Traffic, tram and bus monitoring was carried out 6 months before and 6 months after implementation, and is repeated every 3 years accompanied by transport surveys and user diaries. Tim told us that users still report some delays and slowness for trams + buses. On some narrow streets, cycling is limited to before 11am and after 6pm. The photo here shows the signs mandating this.
After the implementation of the plan, there was 96% drop in motor traffic levels at one particular junction, and 92% at another. We visited these places, and the quietness and peace was remarkable; it must be lovely for the residents overlooking these pleasant streets.
Furthermore, there has been a 50% increase in cyclists in the central, F40-bound area. Collisions and injuries also both decreased. Finally, since the zone is also a low-emission zone, enforced by camera, air quality – measured at several stations throughout the zone – has improved by 32%.
It’s the biggest car-free area in Belgium, and benefits from very proactive parking management. Ghentians are naturally very proud of their circulation plan.
And this is all very relevant for Dublin, of course, where a much more modest traffic circulation plan has been agreed by Dublin City Council but is now under threat from vested interests (mainly in the form of car park owners). For more on the relevance of the Belgian example for Dublin, see this article on the Dublin Cycling Campaign website https://www.dublincycling.com/cycling/ghent-diverted-massive-through-traffic-dublin-can-too.
A photo taken on technical tour showing the covered-over / infilled canal that was contrasted with the current situation with the canal exposed / in place again – and with the old office building now being converted into social housing.
Leading Cycling Campaigning Organisations
For Damien, one of the most inspiring talks was given by Roxanne de Beaux, the CEO of Cambridge Cycling Campaign. Roxanne (pictured below) is one of eight employees in the organisation and they are soon to grow to (at least) 10 staff members. The organisation has around 1700 paid members, but with a very effective fundraising committee that has allowed the organisation to grow its paid professional staff complement over the years. Their mission is to build influence and authority with expert knowledge. She described the organisation as being “relentless” in delivering high quality submissions on all of the relevant consultations in Cambridge, and in developers being extremely keen to talk to them before submitting planning applications so that the active travel elements have been thought through carefully before proposals are finalised and sent to the local authorities.
Plenary session on communcations and messaging
There was an interesting concluding discussion about how we communicate and think about promoting cycling. Brian Bell from Strava, Grant Ennis (author of ‘Dark PR – How Corporate Disinformation Harms our Health and the Environment – and you might like to check out this web discussion entitled Dark PR: how the road lobby has framed death as normal), public engagement specialist Jamie Clark and Sarah Mitchell, CEO of Cycling UK, had varying views on what messages to emphasise.
All agreed that fighting mis- and dis-information needs our focus and ongoing learning. While it’s impossible to predict which myths and stories will ‘catch fire’, we can be vigilant in counteracting myths with evidence and clear communications.
We need to investigate the stereotypes. To include non-traditional cycle users and those outside our usual culture is critical, while understanding the cultural conversations going on: Culture leads while politics and policies follow (although we note that all four panellists were from the English-speaking world!). Advocating without understanding the audience is futile, so listening is just as important as putting out our messages.
Grant concluded by reminding us we need to keep publicising and communicating our specific demands, seeking real political change, keeping going, and repeating as long as necessary.
Giant Bicycle Parade
An annual feature of Velo-City is a huge parade made up of the delegates and local people.
This year the Parade had 3,000 participants with much enthusiastic participation by local cycling groups and engagement along the route including dancing, a brass band, and even a mock ‘anti-cycling’ protest reminiscent of those against immigration. You can get a sense of the event from the Street Films produced short film here:
And with some further images here:
Mairéad getting ready to be chauffeured around at the parade!
We are not sure what the correct technical name is for this semi-reversed tandem recumbent that seems uniquely designed to make for easy chats between the riders – but lovely to see such a diversity of cycles and cyclists on the parade!
It was also lovely to see this piano and pianist bearing quadricycle on the parade
Further sessions
Other sessions covered bike theft (and bike registration), funding for cycling, health benefits of cycling, including a Dutch group who believe and work to achieve “safe cycling until you’re 100”. There were lots of mentions of cities who had introduced 30 km/h speed limits to make their streets safer. There was an interesting talk from Belgium where the Cycling Policy provides for every Minister to promote cycling, with 52 cross-Departmental actions to improve cycling (including getting more bikes on trains).
Our National Cycling Coordinator Damien contributed to an interesting discussion touching on politics and cycling (pictured). Eline Oftedal, CEO of Norwegian Cyclists’ Association, told us to reach out to those with more right-wing beliefs, emphasising the individuality of cycling, and keeping doors open for discussion and debate. Emil Christensen of Denmark agreed that both left and right wings of politics support cycling as a policy, though it can compete with other priorities. There was agreement that we must live with the current political reality. Meanwhile Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns with Cycling UK, stressed the need to emphasise the wider benefits that cycling friendly places give rise to — such as improved public health for all and lower health care costs for society, reduced congestion that everyone benefits from and more liveable towns and cities – rather than talking so much about cycling per se.
Panellists at the session on ‘Making the benefits of cycling an election issue’, moderated by Froso Christofides, ECF’s Director for Members & Networks (on the left)
We were intrigued to hear hand-cycle user Isabelle Clement of Wheels for Wellbeing whose disability doesn’t keep her from advocating for active transport. She claimed that the world of disabled people has been told that the car is the ‘only way to travel’ and further said this was a form of ‘brainwashing’ and that, in the UK, anti-LTN (Low Traffic Neighbourhood) groups had ‘used and abused’ the disabled community in their efforts to maintain car use. Interesting to hear. Isabelle called on us to listen to the most excluded when planning or advocating on transport measures.
The best aspect of Velo-city was the opportunity to network and meet people from around the world, both cycling advocates and officials from local and national governments. We also met old friends and made new friends among the strong delegations of officials from the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Fingal, Dublin City and Cork County Councils (amongst other delegates from Ireland). Michelle Murphy of Dublin City Council set out the vision here of 95% of the population living within 400m of high-quality cycle network. Bring it on, we say!
The central reception area had stands representing everything from the Dutch Cycling Embassy, to ECF, commercial commodities and e-bikes, e-bikes, and more e-bikes. The future seems to be in e-bikes, with more e-bikes than acoustic bikes sold in Europe in the last few years.
That said, one of the main themes of the conference was around the challenges of accommodating different types of cycles and cyclists on our infrastructure. There is is a fast-growing cohort of quick-moving e-bikes and other forms of mobility, but we must not forget the value of slow-moving, non-powered cycles. A related overarching theme of the event was inclusivity – we must strengthen efforts to include those who are less able, whether through different ages, income levels, physical or mental ability, ethnicity or choice of cycle.
Final Comments
Our Irish Cycling Campaign team from Velo-city is still digesting the mountains of knowledge and ideas garnered at this year’s conference. After further reflections, this will feed into additional articles to be posted here over the coming weeks and months, including perhaps some observations from the rail and sail and Eurostar Brompton journeys of Damien and Will to travel to and from Ghent. We might also convey the Velo-city 2024 ideas via a special online webinar where we will invite more of the Irish delegates attending the conference.
In the meantime, you can find more information on the Velo City website which lists speakers, session themes etc. And you can read the daily reports from the four days of Velo-city here:
The next edition of Velo-city will take place in Gdansk in Poland in 2025 and we hope to be able to send an Irish Cycling Campaign delegation there. More again about this.
Irish Cycling Campaign (formerly Cyclist.ie) has been an active member of the European Cyclists’ Federation for many years – and really first going back to the mid-1990s when Dublin Cycling Campaign was the initial contact point with ECF before our own national body was formed. For the last 15 years (plus), we have attended the ECF AGM, and this year Damien Ó Tuama flew the ICC flag at the gathering. In this article, he shares some reflections on what was a fruitful and enjoyable trip.
Back in Zagreb It was great to be back in Zagreb, a city I first visited back in 2008 when on a camper-van adventure with a good friend and with two old single speed foldable bikes on board. Zagreb is a friendly city, and it’s an easy place to move about in on their distinctive blue trams and on foot. It’s also easy enough to bike around the city and I elaborate on this below. I was delighted to be in the Croatian capital again and this time reconnecting with my ECF colleagues, including those I worked with closely during my time on the ECF Board from 2016-2021.
The Formal AGM The ECF AGM was held in the quite beautiful “Journalist Building” which is close enough to the centre of the city. The building was funded by the Croatian Journalists’ Association, one of the oldest professional associations in Croatia (established in 1910), and it is still owned by it. It’s the meeting point for Croatian journalists and media workers, but also a venue for different cultural, literary, scientific and artistic events. It was a perfect size for our posse of around 60 participants, with a lovely view from the curved balcony as shown here.
The formal part of the AGM took place over two days – a full day’s business on the Friday and a further half day of debate and discussions on the Saturday morning.
ECF AGM delegates plus ECF staff – Photo kindly provided by ECF
The CEO of ECF is Jill Warren (@JillWarrenECF), and she has been at the helm of the organisation since 2020. Jill gave a great overview of what has been another effective year of advocacy work for ECF. Probably the highlight of the last year came in the last few months when the European Council, Commission and Parliament signed the European Declaration on Cycling, marking the official adoption of the first inter-institutional cycling policy at the European level. Amongst other benefits, this Declaration can be referred to by national organisations all around Europe as it shows the direction that transport policy needs to take over the coming years. Another work area that Jill highlighted were the significant lobbying efforts made to reshape the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive which now sets, for the very first time, European minimum bicycle parking norms for virtually all types of buildings, both residential as well as non-residential – see here. Huge credit is due to all of the staff here, but particularly Fabian Küster who has been working on this topic for well over 5 years.
Overall, ECF is in good shape, with a wide portfolio of funding sources underpinning its day-to-day functioning and enabling it to employ 20+ super committed and knowledgeable staff members.
Some of Jill’s highlights of ECF’s work in 2023-2024
Elections for the board took place on Day #2 after the candidates had introduced themselves on Day #1. There was a very healthy interest in the process with a total of 16 candidates applying in February for four available board positions. I was part of a three person Nominations Committee, along with (current board member) Camille Thomé and (former board member) Raluca Fiser, that had the job of encouraging potential candidates to apply, analysing applications, interviewing candidates and producing a short-list of recommended candidates for the election itself – not an easy job with so many good applicants vying to be on the ECF Board!
Electronic voting underway in the ECF Board Elections
In the end, Henk Swarttouw (@copenhenken) from The Netherlands was re-elected as President of the Board (the only applicant for this position), with Sidsel Burk Hjuler (Denmark) and Graham Waston (UK) both re-elected for a second three year term, and with the final vacant position going to Siliva Casorran from Barcelona. They join the four existing board members Francesco Baroncini (Italy), Camille Thomé (France), Jan Vermeulen (Belgium) and Angela Francke (Germany). All in all, it’s a strong board with a decent gender mix and a reasonably good geographical representation, although it is missing someone from the eastern part of the Continent.
L-R: Tena Šarić Rukavina and Ema Tarabochia Veršić from Sindkat Biciklista
There was plenty of good debates at the AGM, particularly in regard to the mid-term review of the ECF Strategy and in response to the panel discussion on “How to make cycling an election issue?” In that session, ECF moderated a discussion with members on the strategies, tactics and messages needed to make cycling a relevant issue during election season, and how election campaigns focused on cycling can reach political incumbents and candidates from across the political spectrum. It was nicely moderated by Philip Amaral (@AmaralPhilip), ECF’s Director of Policy and Development, who is also ECF’s contact point for the European elections. These discussions will feed into Irish Cycling Campaign’s own plans ahead of the Local and European elections – see https://cyclist.ie/2024/04/asks-for-local-elections-candidates/.
Philip Amaral, ECF’s Director of Policy and Development
Some conclusions from the Croatian cycle campaigners on how to make cycling an election issue
Jens Peter Hansen (Danish Cyclists’ Federation) spoke on his work of quantifying motor vehicles’ close passing of him on Danish roads.
Getting About in Zagreb / Cycling Trips All of the AGM delegates has access to Zagreb’s Nextbike bike sharing scheme for the duration of the AGM and over the weekend, but I also took the tram quite a bit as it was super easy and convenient. Just 53c for a ticket if bought in advance (or 80c if bought from the tram driver). The trams themselves span a mixture of older ones going back to the 1950s (the ones common to much of Eastern and Central European cities – as shown below) to much bigger and slicker brand new ones (shown further below).
Hats off to local ECF Member group and the AGM hosts, Sindikat Biciklista (@cyklofil), for organising a really entertaining and informative city bike ride for all of the ECF participants! We started and finished at the Croatian National Theatre and got a great insight into the city’s history and culture – and its topography!
Shared running of trams and bikes in the centre of Zagreb ECF on tour in the old town!
Janko and Zvoni from Sindikat Biciclista, the Croatian Cycling Campaign
A sculpture by Ivan Meštrović showing Nikola Tesla, one of the most famous sons of Croatia (or of the Austrian Empire as it was then)
Sindikat Biciklista also organised a special cycle trip on the Sunday morning, where we explored the southern part of the city including the extensive sports campus in which cars are being systematically removed so as to reduce road dangers and encourage more walking and cycling.
The Sunday morning cycle crew. Back row, L-R: Stefan (Montenegro), Hugo (Switzerland), Damien (Ireland), Sladjana (Montenegro / Norway), Blazo (Montenegro), Igor (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Dejan (Montenegro), Dragan (Bosnia & Herzegovina); Front row, L-R: Silvia (Spain), Marko (Serbia), Robert (Croatia) – Photo kindly provided by Dragan!
One of Zagreb’s self-service egg vending machines
In terms of the quality of the cycling infrastructure in the city, it’s fair to say that it’s a real mixed bag. There are many cycle tracks positioned directly alongside footpaths on the main avenues, and people on bikes lose priority on a regular basis at side roads. There are also plenty of examples of ridiculously narrow cycle lanes – narrower than the width of one’s shoulders – which are squeezed in by removing space for pedestrians, while the main carriageways remain dominated by often multi-lane fast moving cars (as shown below). That said there are plenty of quieter streets where cycling is the perfect way to get about – particularly in the old town.
Both parked and fast moving cars dominate much of Zagreb’s public space – with super narrow cycle tracks squeezed in here and there
Social Events As important for catching up properly with colleagues from other ECF member groups are the social events organised as part of the AGM. We were very impressed to have the official ECF AGM 2024 dinner taking place at Dverce Palace, at the invitation of the City of Zagreb, with a welcome address by Mayor Mr. Tomislav Tomašević (shown below).
L-R: Jill Warren (ECF CEO), Henk Swarttouw (ECF President), Mr. Tomislav Tomašević (Major of Zagreb), Janko Večerina (President of Sindikat Biciclista, the Croatian Cycling Campaign) and the staff of the Mayor
The rest of the ECF AGM delegates!
And following the grandeur of the Mayor’s palace, we meandered down a narrow lane and slipped into a slightly hidden and much more informal jazz bar with a fine beer garden out the back for further catch-ups with colleagues.
In Summary As always, when meeting up with the ECF gang, it’s a lovely friendly affair. One is reconnecting with friends and colleagues, all of whom are campaigning hard in their own countries – and/or at an European level – to improve conditions for cycling and to make places more liveable. I’m particularly grateful to the hosts from Sindikat Biciklista (pictured below), who ran a brilliantly organised and most enjoyable AGM. They brought us to some fine formal venues, but also some very decent bars for music and chat – it’s so good to have that expert local knowledge guiding us in the host city! Hats off to Janko and his team for a fine job.
Personally, it was also great spending time with cycling campaigners from the Balkans – not only from Croatia, but also from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia (with their new e-biking organisation) — and getting a sense of how they are campaigning in their cities and towns. My most memorable conversations though were with the cycling advocates from TUBIDEF in Turkey. Of their group, Serafettin is from the city of Antakya, which was pretty much completely flattened in the earthquake of early 2023 – see here – including his entire district and apartment buildings which he showed me in recently captured videos of his area. It was quite unfathomable how obliterated his city was, and the massive death toll experienced there. My heart goes out to him and his people as they embark on a long journey of dealing with so much grief and rebuilding the city.
As always, it was a rich and enjoyable experience attending the ECF AGM and spending time with other campaigners who are properly clued into what is happening in their local and national political contexts, and who enjoy a chat and a beer. The next AGM of ECF will take place in Brussels in 2025 and, all going well, we will have a mini-delegation from Irish Cycling Campaign attending, including some new faces on our side.
Adam D’Arcy from Cork Cycling Campaign is just back from Oulu in Finland and he has kindly sent Irish Cycling Campaign a little report on his cycling experiences in, arguably, the leading city in the world for winter cycling. Many thanks Adam!
This April (2024), I got to spend a week in Oulu, Finland as part of an Erasmus exchange with Oulu University. It is roughly the same size as Cork city in population but feels quite different in character.
The city grew in the 1960s when new industries expanded attracting workers from rural areas. The original street grid pattern was more intensely occupied, but new suburbs emerged with a mix of apartment blocks and single family homes nestled between the pine trees in a sort of park-like landscape.
The default wide paths are shared between walkers and cyclists, but they also have a network of two-way cycle routes (Baana) which provide a way to cycle almost anywhere with minimal interaction with cars. This enables school kids, students, workers or leisure cyclists to soak in some nature as they get around. Cars must yield to cyclists where these Baana cross the roads and, incredibly, the cars do stop!
By the use of underpasses they avoid busy roads, while the islands of the bay are linked by bridges providing nice views of the water framed by trees.
They style themselves as a leader in Winter Cycling and even in a good bit of snow, there were plenty of cyclists around. Most cyclists have summer tyres, but also winter tyres which have little metal studs and are essential in snow, thus enabling year round cycling.
With the help of Damien Ó Tuama and our friends in the European Cyclists’ Federation, I got in touch with the local branch of the Finnish Cyclists’ Federation – Oulun Polkupyöräilijät (try saying that after a few beers!) – and their Chairperson, Anni, kindly lent me a bike for the week for my daily commute to the university and other excursions. As it happened, they had a meeting lined up while I was there so I went along and met them for a pint and a chat.
They face similar issues to ourselves, cycle path maintenance, interaction with pedestrians etc., but all in all, they are streets ahead of us when it comes to daily cycling – about 20% of trips are done by bike and they want to do even more. Well worth a visit if you get half a chance.
If you are abroad over the coming months and end up in a place which has a strong cycling culture or in a city/country which is making special efforts to grow cycling – and you fancy penning a few words on your trip – we would love to hear from you! Just drop our National Cycling Coordinator a line here.
Irish Cycling Campaign was delighted to be invited to the Dutch Cycling Trade Mission to Ireland networking event last week (on Wed 10 April 2024).
The “B2B” (Business-to-Business) Marketplace Networking event was held in the offices of the Dublin Chamber of Commence. Dr. Damien Ó Tuama (National Cycling Coordinator with Irish Cycling Campaign and An Taisce), and Siobhán McNamara (from the Dublin Cycling Campaign Local Group of ICC) attended, representing everyday bicycle users and advocates on the ground.
The aim of the mission was to deepen ties between the two countries in terms of achieving greater levels of sustainability – and building connections and potential collaborations between organisations from both countries.
In a nicely crafted event format, the Ireland based invitees in the audience introduced themselves and their organisations, and this was followed by rapid-fire one-minute long presentations from each of the 16 Dutch companies on the Dutch Cycling Embassy trade mission. They each gave a brief insight into their expertises in different aspects of cycling policy and design. After the event, the Dutch delegation traveled to Cork where they did a similar networking event, and met the main players in the transport space.
From Irish Cycling Campaign’s perspective, we are very happy to see Dutch engineering, planning and mobility focused companies arriving in Ireland to seek out new business opportunities and to bring their cycling expertise here. With a significant slice of the transport budget now being spent on active travel, we have a great opportunity to draw on some of the best practice ideas in urban design, cycling route design, bicycle parking and the integration of public transport and bikes – and learn from the Dutch. Ultimately, we want to arrive at a situation where everyone in Ireland “has a real choice to cycle and is encouraged to experience the joy, convenience, health and environmental benefits of cycling” as per Irish Cycling Campaign’s vision.
Presenting as shown in the photos above are (from top to bottom):
Irish Cycling Campaign is part of a truly inspiring European Commission funded Erasmus+ project with themes of cycling promotion, social inclusion, intergenerational relationships and climate action. We reported recently on the three fantastic Erasmus+ “Learning, Teaching and Training” (LTT) trips we took part in in 2023 – as per this article.
The next LTT will take place in Wodzislaw Slaski, a city in the south of Poland (pictured below), from Thursday 13 to Tuesday 18 June 2024 with a wonderfully diverse programme of activities planned by the local partner organisation, Zespół Szkół Ponadpodstawowych. Irish Cycling Campaign is now looking for ambassadors to represent us on the trip. Broadly, we are looking to form a small team (of around 4 or 5 persons) which will bring some new faces and some consistency to the project, and we invite active members of Irish Cycling Campaign to apply to attend. The full costs of travel, accommodation, meals and activities are covered under the project fund.
We are asking you to send us a one page letter (say, 400 words max) explaining why you would like to apply to represent Irish Cycling Campaign at this international LTT. We particularly welcome applications from (i) members of Irish Cycling Campaign’s Local Groups that have not yet taken part in the LTTs to date, and (ii) those in the 18-30 cohort (since Erasmus+ projects have a particular focus on younger adults) – but, as you’ll read further below, we are also happy to receive applications from members of Local Groups that have already been involved and from members of all ages.
Please send your letter to [email protected]by latest 31 March 2024 (11.59pm!). Applications will be assessed by a team comprising members of the Irish Cycling Campaign Executive Committee and other members of our team who have been involved in the project to date. The criteria for assessing applications are set out in Appendix I below, and please note that these should guide you as you prepare your letter of application. The plan is for applications to be assessed and for successful candidates to be contacted in early April with a view to booking travel arrangements at the soonest possible date thereafter so as to keep costs down. Note that we will also be exploring rail and sail options, and encouraging overland travel for this trip, so as to minimise flying and carbon emissions.
If you have any questions on any of the above, please email [email protected] ASAP (and ideally by latest Fri 22 March) and we will respond to all queries as promptly as possible.
Many thanks. The Irish Cycling Campaign Executive Committee
Appendix I – Criteria for Assessing Applications for Partaking in the “Learning, Teaching and Training” (LTT) trip to Wodzislaw Slaski in Poland as an Ambassador for Irish Cycling Campaign
Criterion
Details
Marks
1
Member of Irish Cycling Campaign
Please confirm that you are a member of Irish Cycling Campaign – you can join here if you are not already a member / if your membership has lapsed.
And please include a copy of a short email from your Local Group Chairperson / Coordinator (or the Chair of the national Executive Committee) in which they confirm they support your application for being an ambassador for Irish Cycling Campaign on the LTT.
Mandatory
2
Active in your local group
Please describe in your letter of application what you have been active in within your own cycle campaigning / advocacy Local Group, particularly over the last year. Extra marks for those who have been on the organising / Executive Committee of the Local Group and/or of Irish Cycling Campaign.
35
3
Enthusiasm, experience working with younger groups and broader skills!
The Erasmus+ trips are very much convivial gatherings of diverse people, brought together under common themes.
If you are especially sociable / easy to get along with, or perhaps you play an instrument or sing a song or do a dance, or have experience working with younger groups (maybe in outdoor settings), please let us know in your application!
These softer ‘people skills’ are valued a lot in this project where it’s all about nurturing exchange between diverse groups.
35
4
Younger adults
Erasmus+ focuses particularly on the youth and younger adults (see here), so we are especially keen that within the Irish Cycling Campaign delegation we have at least some members who are under 30 years of age. Let us know if you are under 30 (but also 18 years or over) – while noting that people of all ages are very welcome to apply! We are aiming to have a mixture of ages representing us.
10
5
Language Skills
There are partners on the project from Spain, Portugal and Poland so it would be advantageous if you have (even basic) conversational Spanish, Portuguese or Polish. Please let us know in your application.
10
6
Organised / Can help out with some basic admin
Besides the trip itself, there is a certain amount of basic administrative work required to help to manage the project – plus a need to post an informative web article on the trip afterwards (see the link provided in the very first paragraph above on this). Let us know in your letter of application if you are prepared to help out with this. You will receive guidance and training on this as needed / appropriate.
10
Additional Criterion to be used in assessing all applications collectively, after the initial individual assessment has been completed
7
Diversity
For this project, we are keen for the Irish Cycling Campaign delegation to be diverse in every sense of the term. We are especially keen to have a good spread of active members of our network from all around the country, both urban and rural, with a good gender balance and mix of backgrounds. Do please tell us a bit about yourself in your application!
Irish Cycling Campaign, formerly Cyclist.ie, is really delighted to be part of the Erasmus+ Generations Cycling for Inclusion and Climate Action project.
It commenced in late 2022, and then in 2023 there were three most enjoyable “Learning, Teaching and Training Trips” run by the partner organisations. Each of these trips left warm and lasting impressions on all of our members who took part in them. The engagements with the other six partners have been rich and educational in the full meaning of the word. Our reports on these can be read here:
And in this 20 second video, produced by Rory Maguire from the Navan Cycling Initiative group of Irish Cycling Campaign, a lovely flavour is given of the Azambuja trip:
For 2024, we are looking forward to two further “Learning, Teaching and Training trips”. These will be to:
Wodzislaw Slaski, a city in the south of Poland not far from the Czech Republic border. Scheduled for mid June, details to be made available to Irish Cycling Campaign members soon.
Dublin in October (Thu 10 to Tue 15 Oct). A working group within Irish Cycling Campaign, including many members of Local Group Dublin Cycling Campaign, has already started to consider the different activities that might be stitched into this trip.
You can read more about Generations Cycling for Inclusion and Climate Action on the dedicated project website:
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan attended Meath County Council earlier today (Fri 23 February 2024) to launch the Council’s Climate Action Plan and to speak with councillors.
Members of Navan Cycling Initiative were delighted that, in the midst of all the PR, he took some time to speak with the campaigners about cycling in Navan – how was it, does it feel safe, is it getting better?
According to Dave Anderson from Navan Cycling Initiative, who is also a member of the Irish Cycling Campaign Executive Committee –
“We’ve spent much of the active travel budget so far on design and paperwork. Now we need construction and concrete. This is starting to happen, with the Trim Road project. This needs to continue, and our councillors need to step up and ensure it happens at pace.”
Elaine Baker from the Cycling Cloughjordan group in County Tipperary is taking a stand about the issue of Irish Ferries not allowing push bikes on the Pembroke to Rosslare ferry, despite allowing motorbikes and motorized vehicles on board. Cycling Cloughjordan is part of the Irish Cycling Campaign organisation.
In her series of video blog posts, filmed on Sat 17 to Sun 18 February 2024, she tracks her experience of trying to bring her folding bicycle on board the service from Pembroke having been visiting friends in South Wales, with a view to sailing into Rosslare and then travelling on back home to County Tipperary.
In this first video, filmed en route by bus to Pembroke, she explains her rationale for wanting to take the direct ferry to Rosslare – and thus avoiding the much more carbon intensive mode of flying.
In the next video, she reports on the refusal of the company to let her on board with her bicycle – despite there being no good reason for the rule itself.
In the third third video here, filmed at 2.30am on a wet morning, she elaborates on the absence of any logic in allowing motorbikes on board the ferry but not allowing bikes without motors on board. Despite spending several hours at the ferry port talking to many different staff members, she was offered no sensible reason for why push bikes were not allowed on the ferry.
And in this forth video, filmed with the early morning birds audible in the background and after she was asked by staff to leave the dark and fairly desolate area, she observes the ferry she was supposed to be on leaving the ferry port with motorbikes on board.
At the time of posting this article here, Elaine was en route to Holyhead in North Wales – which is quite a circuitous route by train from Pembroke.
Two updates further on Elaine’s journey – video #5 here and video #6 here, both from Holyhead port at around 5.30pm and 6pm respectively. In these videos (screen shot below), Elaine highlights that one of the two sailings from Holyhead around 8pm / 8.30pm would be taking foot passengers and cyclists, whereas the other one wouldn’t be.
At the time of updating this article (8.30pm on Sunday night), Elaine should have left Holyhead and be en route to Dublin Port…… after a very long and circuitous journey.
Elaine and Irish Cycling Campaign would like to make it a condition of the licences issued to ferry companies that any ferry which carries passengers who travel with a car or motorcycle should also be mandated to carry people on bikes and foot passengers. They can put limits on the total number of passengers of course and the total weight / size of vehicles, but they should not be allowed to carry larger vehicles but not the smaller ones.
Irish Cycling Campaign is fully behind Elaine’s activism on this issue. If we want to encourage less carbon intensive travel and therefore less flying, it should be safe, easy and permissible to take bikes on ferries and to continue journeys by bike and rail, or bike and bus.
We will add further updates to this story in due course.
More at:
My very negative experience of Irish Ferries discrimination against cyclists, in this video log https://t.co/hZGTKpK8m0 (after a lovely few days with friends in South Wales)
