First day back at school
Deane Roundabout (junction of Western Distributor Road & Seamus Quirke Road) clogged with motorised traffic as children return to school on a dry sunny morning.
Child cycling 3 km to primary school cannot cross the road because the useless uncontrolled crossings are blocked by cars. A large sign names the agencies responsible for this recent project: Galway City Council; European Regional Development Fund; Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport; Border, Midland & Western Regional Authority; National Roads Authority; Hyder Tobin Consultants.
28th August 2014
The race we don’t want to win: Tackling Ireland’s obesity epidemic
Two out of every three adults and one in four children in Ireland are overweight or obese. In addition to the many serious health impacts, obesity also has a significant negative economic impact, costing the Irish state an estimated €1.13 billion in 2009. Continue reading The race we don’t want to win: Tackling Ireland’s obesity epidemic
Commuting by walking or cycling ‘can boost mental wellbeing’
New research on walking and cycling supports NICE recommendations that active travel can help boost mental wellbeing.
Researchers, publishing in the journal Preventive Medicine, found that people who walked or cycled to work benefitted from improved mental wellbeing in comparison with those who travelled by car. Read article
From The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care.
Chris Boardman: ‘This is the biggest opportunity cycling is going to have’
The cyclist-turned advocate is addressing the Labour and Conservative conferences on why the UK needs more bikes
Chris Boardman is best known for riding and making bikes. But this morning he was instead talking about bikes, and in an unusual setting: the Labour party conference in Manchester. Read article
A day in the life of a Dublin bike
Five years ago, if you commuted to work and wanted to go from Dublin’s IFSC to Grafton Street’s Brown Thomas during your lunchbreak, you would have had very little browsing time, even if you had travelled by taxi. – See more
Cycling MLA of the Year 2014
The Northern Ireland Assembly witnessed an unprecedented rise of the bicycle onto the political agenda in 2013-14. Even the expected boost from the Giro d’Italia couldn’t mask an emergence of everyday cycling issues being promoted by more politicians than ever before. But could anyone unseat the DUP’s Peter Weir as the 2-time reigning, defending Cycling MLA of the Year? Read more
Parking Day
Parking Day is turning car parking spaces into public parks, games or art installations for one day every year in September. Park(ing) Day is intended to promote creativity, civic engagement, critical thinking, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play.
Cambridge University launches lorry safety scheme to protect cyclists and pedestrians
A major safety scheme to protect cyclists and pedestrians from lorries in the city launches today.
All contractors working for Cambridge University are being asked to make safety improvements to their vehicles and to provide additional staff training.
The initiative will run on a voluntary basis for one year and will become compulsory in new contracts from the second, with penalties set to be levied for non-compliance.
Walking or cycling to work ‘improves well-being’
Switching from driving a car to walking or cycling to work improves our well-being, a study suggests.
Active commuters felt better able to concentrate and under less strain than when travelling by car, University of East Anglia (UEA) researchers said.
Even going by public transport was preferable to driving, data from 18,000 UK commuters over 10 years suggested.