Author Archives: GerryD

Cyclist.ie Demands ‘Revolution’ in Cycle Transport Funding! – PRESS RELEASE

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Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are  – Jim Frick, Notre Dame USA.

Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network, calls on the Government to implement the recommendation of the all-party Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA) Report and of its own Climate Action Plan by allocating 10% of the Land Transport budget to cycling with immediate effect from Budget 2020. Currently, despite the fact that cycling provides the highest rate of return on investment of all transport projects, as well as numerous co-benefits for health and the environment, it receives less than 2% of the land transport budget, notwithstanding recent increases. According to the Chairperson of Cyclist.ie, Colm Ryder, “10% of Transport funding is required, in order to expedite the development of a comprehensive cycle policy and long-stalled strategic cycling infrastructure projects not just in Kildare but in all of our urban and rural areas”.

Read Budget 2020 submission here: https://cyclist.ie/2019/08/cyclist-ie-pre-budget-submission-2020/ .

In addition to essential cycling infrastructure, ranging from commuter routes to greenways, Cyclist.ie is calling for the establishment of a National Cycling Office within the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport, to oversee overall development in Policy and Legislation, and for the appointment of dedicated cycling officers at senior level in all local authorities.

Cyclist.ie points out that one striking, short-sighted and regrettable omission from the Government’s Climate Action Plan is the absence of any incentives towards the purchase of electric bikes, or electric cargo bikes. This is in spite of projections from the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport that the cost of congestion in the Greater Dublin Area will amount to €2Billion per year by 2033. Instead, the very first action mentioned in the Transport Section of the Plan is to develop the EV charging network so as to support “at least” 800,000 EV’s by 2030. Modal shift is mentioned in the Plan only in the context of Public Transport. E-bikes (including e-cargo bikes) have great potential to encourage modal shift and change the transportation dynamic. E-bikes have the potential to replace a family car, enable longer commutes, enable older people to remain active for longer, facilitate cycling in hilly areas, increase levels of everyday cycling, and help to reduce congestion levels

For these reasons, from Budget 2020 onward the Government must develop and operate a purchase subsidy for e-bikes, in parallel with the subsidy for electric cars. An extra generous allowance should be given to those who show that they are replacing a car with an e-bike. It is critical that e-cargo bikes are included in this scheme as they are a cost effective and low emissions means of freight deliveries in cities, as well as potential family transporters.

Other asks in the Cyclist.ie budget submission include mandating the provision of high-volume safe and secure bike parking at all public transport hubs, all public buildings such as schools, hospitals, libraries etc, and all major event centres such as sport and concert venues as well as provision for the carriage of bikes on trains and buses. In addition, the organisation wants to see cycle training being made available free of charge in all primary and second level schools. It wishes to see greater flexibility in the Bike to Work scheme including its extension to those not in work such as students, the unemployed and retired people. Finally, Mr Ryder states that legislation and enforcement are crucial – “The long-promised safe passing (of cyclists) legislation is by far the most urgent need, but other laws, to bring us in line with our European neighbours, such as contra-flow cycling on one-way streets and turning left on red lights are required” he stated, “as well as enforcement action on parking in cycle lanes”.

ENDS

Who Decides on the Expenditure of Discretionary Grants – Councillors or Officials?

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Councillors like to think that they make policy and approve budgets while the role of officials is to implement policy. In the autumn, officials present draft budgets for the coming year for approval and after arguing over increases or decreases, councillors eventually approve the budget and strike an associated rate for business.

However, councillors are primarily concerned with discussing revenue raised by the council. The budget includes notional figures for grants from government or government bodies such as TII or NTA. These tend to be for specific projects which councillors wish to see progress. The difference between the estimated allocation and the actual drawdown is regularised when that year’s expenditure is finalised some 18 months later.

In the past, councillors have had little interest in this stream of funding from government as it was intended for specific schemes. However, in more recent years the DTTaS has allocated an element of Discretionary Funding which amounts to over €80 million nationally in 2019. Not all counties receive a Discretionary Grant. The Dublin Local Authorities do not receive anything. Kildare County Council’s portion amounts to €2.5 million – not a fortune by today’s standards but still a sizeable amount. Councillors frequently receive the response that no funding is available for a particular project. The question is who decides on its use – the elected councillors or officials? And, equally important, what proportion should be allocated to walking and cycling?

How cycle friendly is Dublin?

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If Ireland is really interested in increasing the level of cycling rather than just ticking the cycling box, it needs to pay attention to the views of international experts.

Bicycle Dutch's avatarBICYCLE DUTCH

I couldn’t remember when I last felt afraid on my bicycle. Not just anxious, but genuinely fearing for my life. I do now, after I cycled in Dublin last week. The 4-kilometre-long ride from my hotel near the Phoenix Park Gate to the Conference Centre of Dublin was just one long straight line on the quays of the river Liffey. The route couldn’t be easier. According to plans from 2011 there was supposed to be a cycle route here, but there wasn’t. Instead, there were multiple lanes for motor traffic. The drivers of most vehicles showed little respect for cycling. I can’t tell you what was worse; the quays during rush hour, with the many large vehicles that you had to find (and fight) your way through, or the quays outside rush hour, with motor traffic passing just centimetres from you at incredibly high speeds. The leap·frogging with the many…

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Big data surprises

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Interesting article including information on benefits of cycling in Utrecht.

stripymoggie's avatarCargobike Dad

It has been quite the week for data.

The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have launched their annual Staff Travel Survey. Last year’s results are available in the Trust’s Travel Plan. It reveals that 9% of staff cycle to work:

The official figures for Belfast indicate cycling is somewhere between 3 and 5%, with cycling across Northern Ireland at 1% stubbornly refusing to move out of the statistical noise (i.e., the margin of error in the stats is greater than the reported number) in the past decade.

The 2018 staff travel survey shows the number of cycling commuters are at least double the city’s average.

This has big consequences for Belfast. The Trust is responsible for 1/3 of Belfast traffic. And how Trust staff travel has a real effect on congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions.

The targets for 2020 are mind-boggling:

The Trust are aiming for a 16%…

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SCC 5 Tests for All-of-Government Plan for Climate Action

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Stop Climate Chaos

With the EPA confirming that Ireland will fail to meet its obligations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, the Cabinet will meet shortly to consider the contents of the new All-of-Government climate plan which is intended to set out the roadmap to a carbon free future. The Stop Climate Chaos Coalition (SCC) has developed 5 tests for this new plan:

1. Does the plan acknowledge the scale of the challenge?
Does the plan accept that Ireland needs to get to net-zero emissions by 2050 and that our 2030 targets must be strengthened in line with the Paris Agreement and the IPCCC science? Will Ireland finally join with other countries calling for the EU’s ambition to match its rhetorical commitment to the Paris Agreement?

2. Does the plan commit to putting the Oireachtas recommendations on governance into law by the end of the year?
Will the Government bring forward legislation before the summer recess to amend the Climate Action Act in line Chapter One of the Joint Oireachtas Committee report to be enacted before Christmas? That includes putting our new 2050 target into law, 5-year carbon budgets voted on by the Dái l, a strengthened Climate Action Council (and a standing committee of the Dáil to act like the Public Accounts Committee for carbon emissions.

3. Does the plan cut emissions in every sector?
Does the plan include new measures to cut emissions in every sector of the economy? And not just “consider” or “explore”. John FitzGerald, chair of the Climate Advisory Council famously called the Government’s last climate action plan in 2017 “100 good ideas but no new decisions”. The decisions in the plan have to be definite enough to allow the EPA to revise its emissions projections.

4. Does the plan “do the math”?
Does the plan quantify the emissions reductions for every measure? And does it add them all up and benchmark them against our existing 2030 target and our 2050 goal. Does it express them as a carbon budget?

5. Does the plan make clear how the Government will devise the next set of actions?
The Oireachtas Committee makes clear that even its full suite of recommendations does not achieve our fair share of climate action. Does the Government plan acknowledge that too and, crucially, lay out a process and a timeline for developing and adopting the next round of actions?

We look forward to see what decisions the government takes.

 

Cycling for All – Kildare Supporters

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Maynooth Cycling Campaign, on behalf of Cyclist.ie (the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network), contacted candidates running for election to Kildare County Council and sought their commitment to high quality cycle facilities through support for Cycling for All.  Maynooth candidates were asked a further local question – to support high quality cycling facilities to two primary schools on the Celbridge Road serving some 700 pupils.

Well the election is now imminent – so what is the position on cycling of candidates? One canvasser said in response to a query “Isn’t everyone in favour of cycling?” Well actually no.  All or practically all are in favour of cycling but support ranges from strong to very soft.

The candidates who pledged support for high quality cycle facilities by endorsing Cycling for All are listed in Table 1 below. We wish them all well in the election and hope that you, the voter, will remember them in the polling booth.

Electoral DistrictNamePartySupport for High Quality Cycling on Celbridge Rd Maynooth
MaynoothPeter Hamilton Green PartyYes
MaynoothCllr. Tim Durkan Fine GaelYes
MaynoothRioana Mulligan Fine Gael 
AthySamantha Kenny Soc Demsn/a
CelbridgePhilip Slattery Fine Gaeln/a
CelbridgeCllr. Brendan Young  Independentn/a
ClaneCllr. Padraig McEvoy Independentn/a
ClaneEoin Hallissey Green Partyn/a
KildareDeclan Crowe   Independentn/a
LeixlipCllr. A. Larkin  Independentn/a
NaasCllr. Sorcha O’Neill Independentn/a
NaasBill Clear Soc Demsn/a
NaasCllr. Carmel Kelly Fianna Fáiln/a

In the report entitled International Cycling Infrastructure Best Practice Study on behalf of Transport for London, consultants identified a number of characteristics of locations where cycling was either strong or where there was strong commitment to increasing the level of cycling. The first characteristic was

There is strong, clear political and technical pro-cycling leadership which is supported through all parts of the lead organisation.

Strong clear political leadership is generally lacking in Ireland but support for Cycling for All shows that that is now changing. More than 120 candidates  have signed up which includes representatives from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Fein, Labour, Green Party, Social Democrats and People Before Profit as well as Independents.  

What Do They Love More – Their Cars or Their Kids?

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Screenshot 2019-05-18 at 14.30.25

A number of Moyglare Abbey residents have complained about the proposed narrowing of the entrance to the estate from the Moyglare Road as part of the provision of cycle facilities to the new school campus.

Arising from issues raised, Kildare County Council undertook to carry out a review of the proposed junction and in a letter the Senior Executive Officer stated that

With reference to the entrance to Moyglare Abbey, the proposed works to the entrance are to ensure compliance with DMURS.

This statement is incorrect. The internal roads of Moyglare Abbey were designed at a time when engineers considered that wide roads were beneficial for road safety reasons. It is now realised that on the contrary wider roads encourage faster speeds which makes it more dangerous particularly for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

The Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS) sets out current thinking on the design of urban roads and streets. The emphasis is on the design of “streets” in urban areas as the word “streets” suggests multi users as opposed to “roads” which suggests priority for cars and motorised traffic. Leaving aside the term streets, roads are categorised as either arterial roads, link roads or local roads. Internal estate roads like in Moyglare Abbey are local roads – they cater for local only as opposed to through traffic. Section 4.4.1 of DMURS includes Figure 4.55 which gives widths for different categories of roads. The following, an extract from Page 102, defines the widths for local roads ranging from 5 to 5.5m:


If the entrance was in accordance with DMURS, it would be within this range. Instead it is 7m wide which is narrower than it was but which shows how badly designed, by current standards, many of our existing roads and junctions are. If councillors are interested in road safety, they should ask three questions:

  1. What Is the width of the junction and where is it set out in DMURS as being applicable for a local road?
  2. What are the the kerb radii and where is it set out in DMURS as being applicable for a local road?
  3. Does the junction design prioritise cars or pedestrians and cyclists as set out in the DMURS hierarchy of road users?

The Moyglare Abbey access road is different from many other estates in that it also serves a farm. As the entrance must also work for the farm, councillors should ask a fourth question :

    4.  What is the width and frequency of “farm” traffic.

This may lead to a wider entrance than specified by DMURS but an increase should be reasonable. It should not, as in the past, be designed for the  widest vehicle. 

Screenshot 2019-05-18 at 14.41.10

Photograph showing Entrance to Farm off Moyglare Abbey

Those who oppose the narrowing of estate junctions increase the risk to children and other vulnerable road users. The Moyglare Residents Association erected the sign below to alert drivers of the presence of children but in deciding on speed most drivers take their cue from the road form rather than from road signage. At the end of the day, people have to decide what do they love more  – their cars or their kids? 

moyglare

Postscript – The road/laneway to the farm is only 2.45m so the entrance to a residential estate is nearly three times the width of a road for farm machinery. Crazy!!!

Celbridge Road Needs High Quality Cycle Facilities

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Election time is an opportunity by cycle campaigners to reassess progress and to set out new goals for the future. From earlier this year, we identified one glaring omission in Kildare County Council’s proposals for Maynooth – the failure to provide for cycling facilities to the two primary schools on the Celbridge Road. Planning for these schools commenced nearly twenty years ago with little or no consideration on how children would cycle to school and last year, Kildare County Council’s Area Engineer was quoted as stating that there was no room for cycle facilities.  As it turned out, draft plans have recently been drawn up to provide cycle facilities on the Celbridge Road and we are grateful to Cllr. Tim Durkan for informing us. However, the use of the terms “provide” and “cycle facilities” is somewhat arbitrary. The proposed cycle track does not connect with the Straffan Road cycle track and doesn’t extend as far as either of the two schools. It is also discontinuous at Laurence’s Avenue and its effective width is 1.5m which puts it in the category of low quality. The County Council seems to think that cyclists have need to travel in one direction only as the cycle track is unidirectional. Overall, it is an appalling design and once again the council is “ticking the box” for cycling but doing nothing to enable people who want to cycle. Maynooth Cycling Campaign proposes a 2m footpath and 2m cycle track with 1m buffer either side of a 6m road, requiring an overall width of 16m. The existing cross-section of the Celbridge Road varies along its length but there is generally an available width of 14m. So where does the other 2m come from?

Existing Cross-section adjacent to Rockfield

At Rockfield Estate, the 2m could be made up from grass verge on the Laurence’s Avenue side.  Between Rockfield and the Maynooth Educate Together School, it will be necessary to acquire a strip of land at the front of two properties either by agreement or through the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order. Compulsory purchase orders are a normal procedure for providing new roads and it is proposed to used the procedure as part of the Bus Connect project to acquire additional space.

Proposed Cross-section (Typical)

It is accepted that close to the junction with the Straffan Road a pinch point does exist which will require an imaginative solution. The location of two bungalows close to the road complicates the use of CPOs and while there is also a lack of space at Maxol, only a short length is affected. Consequently, a reduction in standards over a short length or, alternatively,  a reduction to a single traffic lane with flow in one direction (after the construction of the relief road between the Celbridge and Straffan Roads) may be acceptable. A detailed survey of the area will allow all options to be considered. Discussions will be required with adjacent residents as part of the design process. However, this must be balanced against the needs of the wider community and government policies on climate and health. High quality cycling facilities on the Celbridge Road is supported by Maynooth Cycling Campaign. It also has the support of the Parent Teacher Association of Maynooth Educate Together and the Parent Association of Gaelscoil Uí Fhiaich. For some twenty years, Kildare County Council has been providing low quality cycle infrastructure which has had negligible impact on levels of cycling. If it continues to provide such quality, there will be negligible change in the next twenty years. Maynooth Cycling Campaign proposes to lobby candidates for the Maynooth Municipal District to support high quality cycle facilities on the Celbridge Road and to publicise the results in advance of the election.

#Allocate4Cycling Working Group

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Following the launch of its Budget Submission 2019 in September 2018 and the Lobby Day in Buswells Hotel, Cyclist.ie set up a working group to progress the #Allocate4Cycling Campaign which involved individuals from a number of campaign groups including Maynooth Cycling Campaign.

There were five objectives to our work:

  • Create a logo for #Allocate4Cycling
  • Clarify government expenditure on cycling
  • Make a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport with an objective of being invited to present before them
  • Engage with political parties, and
  • Publicise our efforts through the issue of press releases.

We designed a logo for #Allocate4Cycling to try and create a recognisable brand. #A4C LogoOriginally it was similar to a speed limit sign – with black text, white background  and surrounded with a red circle. After mature reflection, however, it was thought  that such signs indicate prohibition rather than approval so the colour was changed to white text, blue background and white circle. The intention was that the  logo would appear on websites and correspondence with external parties but the outcome has been patchy at best.

Estimation of government expenditure  was linked to engagement with political parties. We contacted all the parties which had indicated their support for #Allocate4Cycling as well as some independents and asked them to put down parliamentary questions on finance to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. Some of the department responses were so obtuse that they shone no light on the issue at all but gradually the picture began to get clearer although we still require one final answer to fully resolve the question or as least as much as is possible.

We wanted to raise an issue with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport (JOCT) which might get have the same impact as Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA). We contacted Catherine Murphy TD who is an Oireachtas committee member for advice on how to raise such an issue. We had already made a submission on Budget 2019 and decided to submit a related one to the secretary of the JOCT. This may seem strange as the JOCCA has already endorsed the recommendation that 10% of transport capital funding should be allocated to cycling. However, it was felt important that the issue should be kept in the news to ensure that the recommendation is carried through to the All of Government Plan for Climate Action. This is especially important as the main government party representatives, Fine Gael, voted against the 10% allocation but were outvoted on a motion submitted by Eamon Ryan and supported by the members from other parties and independents.

One of the greatest difficulties for Cyclist.ie is having an impact in the media. Cyclist.ie is made up of a number of geographically spread  groups which are trying to make an impact in their own locality  as well as nationally. We have learnt lessons from our support for Stop Climate Change and the campaign for Active Travel. However, it would be fair to state that we have still to make an impact on this area  but hope to do better in the future. All in all though, we feel that progress is being made but that the next twelve months will be critical due to elections  (local, European and probably national),  the All of Government Report on Climate Action and Budget 2020.

Health Bodies Call for Active Travel in Climate Action Plan

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Major Health Bodies support call for Active Travel to be an integral part of the forthcoming All of Government Climate Action Plan

The Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society, Diabetes Ireland, Irish Doctors for the Environment, the Association of Health Promotion Ireland, Professor Donal O’Shea (National Clinical Lead for Obesity and Hon. President of Cyclist.ie), and the Irish Pedestrian Network have signed an open letter from Cyclist.ie to the Taoiseach asking for concrete measures to facilitate active travel to form an integral part of the forthcoming All of Government Climate Action Plan.

The Department of Transport’s walking and cycling budget is increasing this year, but planned expenditure comes nowhere near the 10% level demanded by Cyclist.ie for cycling in its Pre-Budget Submission 2019 and endorsed by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA). The ground-breaking report by the JOCCA makes a very strong case for active travel with the statement – “active travel measures are also among the most cost-effective emissions reduction strategies”. Our particular focus is how this needs to happen on health grounds. There is overwhelming evidence that lack of physical activity is a contributory cause in a host of debilitating chronic illnesses, including heart-disease, stroke, some cancers and diabetes. Hence the endorsement of the letter by all of the above health bodies. The forthcoming Climate Action Plan presents an opportunity to set targets for active travel which will contribute to reducing emissions and promoting health.

The Taoiseach, Ministers for Health, Transport and Climate Action have been invited to an event in Buswells Hotel on Wednesday 17th April at 4:15 pm at which Professor O’Shea will make a public presentation of the open letter addressed to An Taoiseach, Mr Varadkar.

Public representatives, the media, and anyone who supports greater investment in active travel, to promote health and support climate action, are invited to attend.

Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Buswells Hotel, Molesworth Street