Dáil Bike Shed

There has been a lot of comment in the media about the extraordinary cost of a new bike shed at the Dáil which cost approximately 336,000 euros. The Minister for Finance was quoted as describing it “as a total waste of money”. The Minister should recognise that cyclists as well as car drivers, require parking facilities for their chosen mode of transport. The issue is not that people require cycle parking but whether what was provided was value for money.

The bike shed was designed to cater for some 36 bikes which amounts to 9,333 euros for each bike. TDs are looking for the Office of Public Works to appear before a Dáil committee to account for this expenditure. In contrast, five years ago Utrecht built a state of the art multi storey bike parking facility for 12,500 bikes at a cost of 30 million euros which works out at a cost of 2,400 euro for each bike space.

Cycling Without Age

Despite the wet weather over the summer months, the Cycling Without Age trishaw has had good usage over the summer months thanks to Genil Training/St. John of God. However, the objective was that pilots would volunteer at weekends to offer rides to members of the public who could not cycle for whatever reason. While Cycling Without Age has received broad public recognition and support, it has turned out to be a case of “Cycling Without Passengers”. Maynooth Cycling Campaign proposes to hold a public meeting in the near future to discuss where we go from here.

Trans Atlantic Way

Everyone has heard about the Wild Atlantic Way which links Donegal to Cork along some of Ireland’s most spectacular scenery. While the Wild Atlantic Route was designed primarily for car drivers, most people are not aware that there is also a 2,400km cycle race called the TransAtlanticWay which follows the same route. It consists of a single self supported stage between Derry and Cork. The race is not aimed at the common cyclist – rather the focus is on endurance cyclists. The race for individual riders was recently won by Benny Cassidy who completed the longer Cu Chulainn route in 6 days. While road racing is not within the general focus of Maynooth Cycling Campaign, we have to admire the stamina of the cyclists who not only race but also have to carry their own gear.

Maynooth and Environs Local Area Plan (LAP) 2025-2031

Everyone in Maynooth is now aware that the Chief Executive of Kildare County Council has published her response to the LAP public consultation. It must be said that any changes accepted appear to be fairly minor.

After a briefing to advise councillors, councillors can agree motions in the next number of weeks to vary the report. Approving planning policy is a reserved function for elected councillors rather than elected officials but changes have to be agreed bya majority of councillors.

Dublin Traffic Management Plan

Dublin City Council has implemented the first stage of their traffic management plan which seeks to restrict traffic rat-running through Dublin City Centre. Despite alarms expressed by various car park operators, the sky has not fallen in.

The City Council published their first report into its operation and according to the IrishCycle.com website the findings include:

● Bus journey times have reduced by over 20%

● Footfall in Dublin City Centre is up

● Traffic levels in the centre section of the quays are down by more than 60%.

This is not a surprise to Campaign members as it follows similar experiences elsewhere.

Maynooth Cycling Campaign is an non-party political cycling advocacy group.