LAST Monday I set out to demonstrate to my kids the adage that there is no such thing as bad weather which should dissuade physical activity, merely unsuitable clothing. Full article: Irish Examiner
Category Archives: Irish Posts
Ireland, see also NI
Number of children walking or cycling to school rises
THE NUMBER of children walking or cycling to and from school has risen considerably since 2004, according to a major survey which shows many pupils are not getting enough exercise.
According to the research, 31 per cent of primary school students and 40 per cent of post-primary students now walk or cycle to school, up by 5 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. Continue reading Number of children walking or cycling to school rises
Cycle schemes ‘need evaluation’, say researchers
Brief comments and excerpts from 2009 Pucher et al paper on effective pro-cycling measures
Ray Ryan, Chairperson, Skerries Cycling Initiative, 1st Oct 2010
John Pucher, Jennifer Dill, Susan Handy; Infrastructure, programs, and policies to increase bicycling: An international review, Preventive Medicine 50 (2010) S106–S125.
Pucher et al’s review addresses a tough question : what measures are effective in getting more people to cycle? Continue reading Brief comments and excerpts from 2009 Pucher et al paper on effective pro-cycling measures
Subsidies not the electric answer
ELECTRIC CARS: Taxpayers’ money needs to be used fairly for energy-saving initiatives. The best way to do this is to scrap the subsidies for electric cars and introduce a nation-wide car share scheme which will benefit us all, writes JAMES NIX
THE GOVERNMENT seems hell-bent on offering a subsidy of €5,000 to buyers of electric cars. Exclude the subsidy and a saloon-sized electric vehicle would cost in the region of €35,000. So, under the draft scheme, taxpayers stump up €5,000 for each electric vehicle but, unlike public transport, ordinary taxpayers have no opportunity to use these vehicles, unless, of course, they are among the small number of purchasers. Full article – Irish Times
Double hit for taxpayers as NRA needs €100m bailout on toll roads
NRA get toll figures wrong by 20 to 30% – but it’s taxpayers that will pay
- On the M3 traffic is 22% below the penalty payments level
- Traffic is 26% below the penalty payments level on the Limerick Tunnel
- Taxpayers face a €100m bill over the life of PPP contracts based on a scenario favourable to the NRA i.e. traffic growth assumed from 2011
- Arrogance and naivety of the NRA shown in toll road contracts
- NRA continues to use discredited projections in attempting to justify further motorway
The NRA’s expectation that traffic would grow rapidly has proved hopelessly inaccurate. Continue reading Double hit for taxpayers as NRA needs €100m bailout on toll roads
Insanity in Galway
Inspired by this example from Harlow, Galway City Council have created this even more ambitious scheme on Doughiska Road. Unfortunately, the cost of erecting Cyclists Dismount signs at the 18 junctions, 41 private drives and 12 bus stops interrupting this 1.4km shared use pavement proved prohibitive, so they had to compromise by painting Give Way markings on the pavement.
Cyclist.ie meeting Galway Sat 25th NUIG 11a.m.
Is there a better way to share our streets?
Ben Hamilton-Baille wants cars and people to share the same street space and he believes that this will make cities safer for pedestrians and drivers. Ben Hamilton-Baillie likes taking risk. He thinks we all need more of it in our daily lives.
“How we manage and live with it is part of the natural orders of life. Trying to mollycoddle motorists and cocoon them in safety equipment is good for neither the driver nor the other road users with whom they share the streets.” Full article.