It’s on.
Finally.
The Dublin Cycling Campaign writes:
Cycling continues to get the crumbs at the table when it comes to overall national transport spend. Of the €10billion allocated for transport investment in the Capital Investment Plan for 2016-2021, active travel (encompassing walking, cycling and other such measures) is allocated just €100million.
That means that cycling is to receive approx 0.5% (half of one percent!) of the transport pie. If that wasn’t bad enough, we heard in the last few weeks of further cutbacks in future funding for cycling projects for Dublin City Council by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport – as reported on Irishcycle.com.
This all comes at a time when we have had nine cyclist fatalities in Ireland this year already, the most recent of which was the tragic death of Donna Fox at the junction between Seville Place and Guild Street in the north inner city.
Dublin Cycling Campaign is calling on everyone who uses a bike in Dublin – for transportation or for leisure – to join our protest on Monday 3rd October so as to send a loud-and-clear message to the Minister that he needs to recognise that the status quo is not good enough – cycling needs proper funding to make it safer and to enable Dublin to reach its potential as a world class cycling city.
We are calling on the Minister to allocate cycling a better share.
Gulp.
Cycle Protest to Demand Proper Funding for Cycling! (Dublin Cycling Campaign)
Poster: Andrea Figueira
Worryingly, there is no mention of cyclist training – ie how to obey the rules of the road!
DCC truck blazed through the red (not amber) lights ahead of me as I was waiting on my bike this morning. Should I extrapolate on this also about driver training, or would that just be petty and small-minded?
That truck driver has a licence which they could lose
So you are suggesting a licensing process for cyclists?
What about instead we just have safe, segregated cycle lanes?
Harry also drives to the office, sharing his road with cyclists is a real pain as you can imagine
I get public transport to my office
Sure you do, everyone believes you
everyone has an opinion on this? strange world you inhabit my friend.
More notions from Harry
You still on the bus yea
“That truck driver has a licence which they could lose”
That’s his problem. He’s a grown man, he can make his own decisions.
What I got annoyed by is our friend Daithi’s kneejerk nonsequitur about ‘bike training’ and the rules of the road. What the hell has that got to do with funding for better bike infrastructure? Herp derp I saw cyclists go through red lights. Well guess what I see plenty of drivers doing it too (in much more dangerous one-ton metal units), but it’s totally irrelevant.
fair enough
Up to 3 ton. Cars have got heavier.
Training, sure. Will people obey the rule barbecue they’ve been trained?
Dickwads will always be dickwads. no matter if they’re driving, walking or cycling.
It’s not worrying, there is a particular goal here of improving infrastructure for cycling which is poor in Dublin and in Ireland generally and investment is low.
Daithi drives everywhere and wants the road to himself nothing wrong with that
There’s a lot wrong with it.
CycleDub will be creaming his lyra
Who says we want to be a world class cycling city……..not me anyway.
We should be making the roads better and safer first…more people drive than cycle…prioritize this first.
Oh Goo-ter, bless your tiny mind!
And we should listen to you why?
I agree, let’s make roads safer – let’s ban all private motor vehicles!
Sorted!
More people walk than drive. Prioritise that first. Ban all motorised vehicles. We need to make all places that people can walk safer.
The idea is to get you out of your car. Imagine that!
Crazy… init
The laws need to change regarding electric bikes too. The law currently mandates that you need to be “actively pedalling” on a bike for the electric motor to kick in, which is an archaic notion. This keeps the design of in the shape that most people know, a regular bikelooking with mutant size bulges for battery packs. In places like China there are millions of people who use electric only scooters to get themselves around. These are small, light and cheap, they extend the bicycling commute distance and they mean you don’t arrive into work in a sweaty mess. With the cost of road tax we really need to make it more friendly for electric biking in Dublin. I’d urge you to write to he minister of transport.
“Dear Government. I have a proposal for you that will reduce your tax take…”
*toss behind shoulder*
let’s start with a discussion on
cyclists who use lanes as contra flow….
break red lights
use footpaths
wear dark colours
And don’t forget cars who hit and run
That’s a bit like saying that they shouldn’t fix any roads or improve driving infrastructure until people stop drink driving, driving while on the phone and driving through red lights. You cool with that, yeah? Good man.
First three would be solved if there was sensible cycling infrastructure in place.
You forgot the epidemic of cyclists with no lights who now become (in)visible as the days shorten.
They are paid up members of Isis according to asspants
Cyclists need lights so cars can see them. With separate, protected cycleways, cyclists don’t need to look like Christmas trees.
Why shouldn’t I wear dark colours? I’ll wear whatever I like, thanks. Is your car fluorescent yellow?
Is any car made of flesh and bone? They’re throwing themselves into the road gladly!
Cars aren’t made of flesh and bone, but of course their drivers are and can be injured in crashes (and more importantly can injure less protected people around them). Bright colours would make them more visible, and presumably less prone to collisions, but we do not require bright colours of cars.
I have no problem with people wearing fluorescent jackets, but the constant emphasis on high-vis, defensive clothing frames cycling as more dangerous an activity than it is, stigmatising it. Lights at night are crucially important, but I’m not being negligent if I don’t put on a fluorescent plastic vest.
Start a discussion on? Where have you been? That’s all motorists talk about!! Let’s start a discussion on cars breaking red lights, breaking pedestrian lights, parking in cycle lanes, using their phones while driving, speeding, drinking, driving down one way streets, ignoring time specific signs, ignoring no right turn signs, ignoring signs in general, not looking in mirrors, not checking blind spots, parking illegally, driving illegally and basically being unaware of how shite they are on the roads and hypocritically accusing cyclists of far less dangerous infractions than themselves? Christ, you would think all the motorists in Ireland are Mr. Green Cross Code!
Yes, Jame Tanner!
€100MILLION for cycling and that appears not to be enough….. how much did homelessness get recently €6m….
And what difference does it make to Terrorist Cyclists out-there. you will just cycle with your own route and your personally preferred rules of the road…..
Cop on!
You’ll be happy with 100 million for motorways over five years then? Yeah. Great, we’ll give the rest to the homeless.
Terrorist cyclists hilarious people watch out, Isis on two wheels
“Terrorist Cyclists” it’s gold isn’t it :) :) :)
Im laughing at you not with you chief
The premise of this post is the usual nonsense.
“That means that cycling is to receive approx 0.5% (half of one percent!….”
Rubbish. That is only if you assume that cyclists are banned from using the fruits of the other 99.5% investment. For example if they have no access to say, new roads, or new bridges.
From the LSD school of economics?
At the moment, according to these guys, bicycles are the only means of transport that can use the road, cycle lanes and the footpath.
I’d be in favour of additional investment if we can also introduce legislation to give priority back to pedestrians, where it belongs.
This is all very worthy. Cycling infrastructure is sub-par in Ireland. I know, because I am a habitual cyclist.
The problem is that bicycles will never carry large numbers of people at peak time around Dublin. For this HIGH-SPEED UNDERGROUND RAIL is the only solution! Most European cities of equivalent size have big tunnels with trams and trains running through them. We should too!
It is a pity that there is no pressure group in favour of Dart Underground and Metro North and that it is so low down the list of political priorities right now.
was far more important to connect the Luas red line and green line
I remember for year people were trying to come up with a way to avoid walking Westmoreland Street.
Finally, we’re on the brink!
Indeed.
But there is an obvious upper limit on the number of humans you can convey through narrow city streets be it on trams, on foot, in cars, on bikes etc.
Tunnels are the obvious way to go and it is a shame that they have never been built in Dublin.
BUT THURLES NEEDS A NEW STATION!
THERE HASN’T BEEN A RAILWAY LINE IN DONEGAL FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!
PEOPLE ARE STARVING IN THE STREETS IN ROSCOMMON AND YE DUBS ARE GETTIN FANCY UNDERGROUND TRAINS!
Etc…
Would a Dublin Bikes station do?
In Thurles?
Yep. Munich, same size as Dublin, has a superb underground railway system. We should have the same, and not only in Dublin but in Galway and Cork and Belfast and Derry.
If everyone who was physically able and travelling up to 8km was on a bike instead of car then of course they could. That’s a half hour commute by bike.
Cyclists are fierce wingers.
Left or right?
Jeff or Debra?
Road tax for bikes to fund off-road tracks. Its up there with my growing policy wish list that includes teaching nutrition, cooking, health and money matters from primary school age to a mandatory year or two off between secondary and college to either volunteer, work to save fees or my personal favourite, military service. Time to generally grow up and cop that an Arts degree is useless and that the world does not revolve around you.
so my 12 year old nephew would need to pay road tax to cycle to school?
Yes. He pays VAT on his happy meal. No?
Sure, why not, or his parents can pay it. I’m sure they’re probably funding a smart phone already. He’s a road user yeah? Pay for it, like the rest of us. Should pay some insurance too, be prepared when he eventually learns to run through red lights and flattens a pedestrian. Or takes a car’s wing mirror off.
You’re unbelievable.
Jesus, that angry rant escalated quickly. And nice to know that the world would be a better place with all higher education funnelled solely into wealth-creating, tax-incurring roles. God knows that’s all we’re here on this earth for.
If you want to study Arts, go to a library or do it on your own dime with the OU. After you’ve learned to do something useful that contributes to your being able to support yourself and gives something back to your community. Arts is for sponges.
No.
Grand. Once you’re forced to emigrate, you’ll be someone else’s problem anyway.
Nope.
100 million? Give me a break. Thats lobby extortion. 10 million over 5 years would be enough.
Shane Ross is turning out to be such a go-getter, isn’t he?
Jesus, have I walked into a Flann O’Brian story?
‘Tis true, I find myself of late spending a lot of time leaning with one elbow on walls or standing propped by one foot at kerbstones.