Tag Archives: Infrastructure

Cycle lanes / paths and other interventions, but excluding Greenways

Irish Posts

Cycling Budget Must Be Increased

Leave a comment

From Cycling Ireland

The cycling community has lost another member to the roads. This year has seen eleven people die while cycling their bike on the road. The circumstances vary, city cycling, rural cycling, commuting, recreational cycling, day and night. This is no longer a debate about who deserves the road more, the finger pointing has to stop and a commitment from the government to an increased investment in cycling must be agreed before this number becomes twelve.

Currently less than 1% of the transport budget is spent on smarter travel – or cycling and walking. We need this to increase in order to make the roads safer and more user friendly for everybody. The Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme for 2016-2021 was published last September, proposing that out of a €10 billion transport budget, €100 million would be spent on Smarter Travel.

Read full article

Similar article in the Irish Times

Irish Posts

Waterford’s 46km Greenway opens for cyclists and walkers

Leave a comment

Off-road track, along an old railway, includes coast, viaducts, tunnel and spectacular gorge

It’s been nearly 140 years since business was this brisk at O’Mahony’s pub in Durrow, Co Waterford. During the construction of the Waterford-to-Mallow rail line, the pub – which opened in 1868 – catered for thirsty railway workers.

Now things have come full circle, says proprietor Helen O’Mahony. These days, she and her husband Tom are kept busy serving drinks and ice cream to people on the Waterford Greenway – a 46km off-road walking and biking trail built along the railway line, which officially opens on Saturday (March 25th, 2017) – 50 years to the day after the last passenger train travelled the route.

Read article

Dublin

Motorists support introduction of 30km/h speed limits

Leave a comment

More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of motorists support the introduction of 30km/h speed limits in city centre areas.

The annual 123.ie car review survey of nearly 4,000 motorists, found large-scale support for plans to lower limits in residential areas. Plans for the phasing in of such limits throughout Dublin city and suburbs were approved by the city council in December, despite opposition from AA Ireland.

The 30km/h limit will apply on almost all roads and streets as far as the council’s boundary with the four other Dublin local authorities, excluding “arterial” roads.

Read more

Northern Ireland

New EU funding for cycling projects in Ireland announced!

1 Comment

At the beginning of December an official press release for the funding of three cross-border greenway projects in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland was announced that will open up new sustainable cross border travel routes for both cyclists and pedestrians. The EU’s INTERREG VA Programme has offered approximately €23.27 million.This will fund the development of greenways in three different areas including one joining Carlingford to Newry, a route from Monaghan into Armagh along the Ulster Canal and three different routes in the North West, one from Strabane to Lifford and two from Derry/ Londonderry into Donegal. One of these routes is good news for the further development of EuroVelo 1 in Ireland. Read article

Irish Posts

Meath Co Co Rejects Maynooth Cycling Campaign’s Submission

Leave a comment

Maynooth Cycling Campaign’s submission here

Meath County Council has rejected all the points raised in Maynooth Cycling Campaign’s submission on the Moygaddy Road, part of the proposed ring road around Maynooth.

The main point concerned the separation of an off road cycle track from the road. The council proposed a separation of 1.5m whereas Table 4.3 of TD300 Provision of Cycle Facilities in Rural Areas requires a minimum separation distance of 2m for speeds of 80km/h or less. The council’s response was “The separation distance at 1.5m is deemed to be appropriate”.

The second point of the submission was differentiation of cycle track from the footpath in level and material. Meath County Council responded that there would be suffice demarcation with different materials.

The third point was for the provision of filtered permeability on the existing road. Meath County Council undertook to implement some traffic calming but did not state whether or not filtered permeability would be included .

A common aspects of all three responses is that they fail to address the points raised in the submission and recommend no changes regardless of standards, best international practice or any other arguments or precedents. This continues the practice in most local authorities of looking for public submissions but rejecting submissions from cycling groups if it does accord with their proposals