Who Benefits from High Quality Cycle Facilities?

This is a simple question – cyclists obviously benefit from cyclist facilities but who is a cyclist? The common perception is a male of a certain age dressed in lycra and helmet and riding a bike  with dropped handlebars but who really benefits from good quality cycling facilities?

               Families                                                         Dog walkers              

                        Disabled                                                                Skaters                                                                                       

         Elderly                                                    Grandparents     

                                              The Mobility Impaired

Those on the School Run                                         

              Those in a Rush                             Those Getting a Lift from a Friend          

                Travellers                                                               Lovers

Everyone benefits from high quality cycle facilities. These picture from the Netherlands show high quality cycle facilities attracting a wide cross-section of the population. This same wide cross-section is starting to appear in London with the opening of the high quality superhighways. For the first time, parents feel subjectively safe in cycling  with young children and mobility scooters and skaters have started to appear without causing conflict with pedestrians.

It must not be forgotten that pedestrian too gain from this. Cyclists have a safe place to cycle away from pedestrians. Shopkeepers benefit if people do not have the expense of a second car. Finally motorists benefit – if people have the option of short trips by bicycle, the roads would be freed up for those who have no choice but to travel by car. This is our vision for Maynooth.

Maynooth Cycling Campaign is a non-party political cycling advocacy group. Further information on meetings and  activities is available on our website. We are affiliated to Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cyclist Advocacy Network and through it to the European Cycling Federation.