Author Archives: GerryD

Countdown Clock to 10% Cycling

Posted on by
Reply

As we are fast approaching the government target date of 2020 for the achievement of 10% commuting trips and also 10% of total trips by bike, Maynooth Cycling Campaign decided to add a Countdown Clock to its website to mark the occasion. When we investigated how to do this, we found that there was a computer app (application) available. Based on the this assumption that progress will continue at the rate of the past five years, we estimate that the government target will be achieved in 2048. However, a problem arose, when we tried to set the countdown clock to 2048. The programme would only allow a countdown date of up to twenty years ie 2037. It would not allow a countdown far enough in the future. We managed to get around this however and our Countdown Clock shows that the 2020 target will not be achieved  for another 30 years. Don’t hold your breath!

In Response to an Article in the Leinster Leader by Paul O’Meara

Posted on by
Reply

It is not about bikes and parking. The issues are congestion, inactivity in the community, obesity , air and noise pollution and sustainability. This is not to mention the road fatalities and serious accidents in Kildare and 1200 premature deaths nationally according to the EPA. Bicycles and cycle facilities are just tools which will address (not solve) all these problems whereas more cars will just worsen them. Smart cities and towns realise that cars need a disproportionate amount of space for moving and parking and are investing in space efficient modes of transport ie in walking and cycling. Believe it or not, people actually cycle in the snow and rain and some people with disabilities use bicycles as a mobility aid. In relation to current usage of cycle lanes, if roads were low quality, disappear without warning and only cover about 1% of the journeys people want to make, car travel would be at the same level as cycling currently is.

National Road Network Indicators 2016

Posted on by
Reply

The National Road Network Indicators for 2016 which was recently published by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) makes for interesting reading.  The report is split into five parts – Network, Economic, Road Condition, Safety and Accessibility/ Environment.

Nat_Rd_Indicators_2016

 The first part deals with the extent of national roads, traffic levels, and level of service which essentially means whether a road is congested or not. Chart C1 shows the level of service during the morning peak and demonstrates that over the whole country the level of congestion is surprisingly low with congestion apparent only in the vicinity of the cities – Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.  With a surprising degree of honesty, the report admits that

                Following the substantial investment in National Roads over the last decade, most route sections are operating to the highest standard of service. However, for certain roads such as the M50, further interventions such as demand management are required to ensure that higher levels of service are achieved.

So it concedes that most of the network is operating to a high standard and accepts that congestion will worsen on the M50 unless more measures such as demand management are introduced.  As the principle type of demand management is road pricing or a congestion charge, this will not be to the liking of government which is opposed to such measures. The most interesting sections are Charts E and F which show Trip Duration and Trip Distance for National and Regional Roads and which are based on national computer models. The main findings are

  • 28% of trips last less than 10 minutes
  • 11% of trips are for a distance of less than 5km
  • 38% of trips are for less than 10km
  • 24% of trips are less than 7.5km
  • In 2016 traffic growth was 4.6% across the network
  • In 2016 growth in the Dublin region was 6.9%.

The 24% of trips less than 7.5km show the potential for substituting trips by car for trips by bicycle. It demonstrates clearly that congestion will not be solved by building more roads but by providing for more efficient modes of transport in terms of space and speed.

The second part Economy deals with estimates of future levels of population, car ownership and vehicles kilometres. By 2050 the ESRI forecast that the population will increase to between 5 and 5.6 million while TII expects total car ownership to increase from 2.5 million in 2013 to 3.5-4.0 million. The number of vehicle kilometres travelled is also forecast to increase from just over 40 billion in 2013 to between 52.0 and 58.5 billion in 2050 depending on future growth rate. Obviously, TII don’t agree with the concept of Peak Car or Peak Car Use. It also appears not to agree with Smarter Travel targets for reduction in commuting by private car although Smarter Travel uses a short time frame to 2020 while TII forecasts take a longer time frame to 2050. Although traffic growth was 4.6% nationally (and 7.4 in the Mid East region ie the commuter belt), it assumes that traffic will grow at an average rate of about 1% between 2016 and 2050 but this still implies an overall increase of nearly 40%. Just where this traffic will go is unclear but it is likely to lead to an increase in demands for yet more investment in roads for motorised traffic. This is already apparent in calls by groups like the Small Firms Association for a new motorway, the Leinster Outer Orbital Ring, to be developed to supplement the M50 at the same time as TII complains about inadequate funding to maintain existing roads.

The final section looks at Accessibility/Environment and includes the statement “the key benefit of a quality road system is improved accessibility to jobs”. This statement can be interpreted in two ways. The benign view is that a quality road system will reduce congestion and reinforce economic development thereby leading to increased employment. The alternative view is that the development of a better quality road system will lead to an increase in congestion and longer commuter times due to induced demand ie more people choosing to travel further to jobs because of an improved road system. Now looking at Dublin and the other Irish cities, I wonder which view predominates?

How much does Ireland spend on cycling?

Posted on by
Reply

Local and central governments are fond of ‘promoting cycling’. They have been promoting it for some twenty years with grants here and there, photo opportunities at the opening of cycle facilities, giving out hi vizjackets, exhortations to get on your bike, advertisements in the media and so on. In most of this time, cycling nationally has declined. Brendan Behan once suggested that in order to revive the Irish language, books which were banned for their sexual content in English should be printed in Irish. Perhaps local and central government should trying promoting car use – the outcome could hardly be worse!

There is a lack of knowledge of how much Ireland actually allocates to cycling.  It is difficult to be precise as cycling infrastructure can be provided  by funding from central or local government but can also be provided by private developers in the same way as other infrastructure such as road or sewers. Furthermore, some types of cycling infrastructure such as shared footpaths or greenways are provided to be shared with pedestrians so how do you determine the separate contribution for cyclists from pedestrians?

In most countries the critical figure is the amount of funding provided by central government. In 2014 in response to a question in the Dáil from Deputy Catherine Murphy, the Minister for Transport reported that a total of  €11.1 Million was allocated by his Department and gave a breakdown of the allocation to individual local authorities. However, this was only the direct budget allocation from the Department.  The National Transport Authority also provided funding of €8.2 Million to local authorities In the Greater Dublin Region and in May the government announced a Stimulus Programme which included funding of €10 million for greenway developments. Finally, in November, a supplementary budget was passed which included funding of €1.6 million also for greenways. Overall it is estimated that funding of €21.2 million was directly and indirectly provided for cycling by central government. With a population of 4.66 million, this equates to an expenditure of €4.55 per person for 2014.

How do we compare internationally? Well pretty badly. The Netherlands spends approximately €30 per person per annum. In the UK, politicians at Westminster estimate that expenditure of £10 per head per annum is required. Norway, with a similar population as Ireland has just announced an investment of almost €1 Billion in cycling infrastructure although it helps if you have extensive oil resources.  What is clear that unless spending is increased substantailly, the level of cycling in Ireland (outside of the capital) will remain under  3%.

Cycle Right – No Substitute for Infrastructure

Posted on by
Reply

Maynooth Cycling Campaign welcomes the launch of Cycle Right and congratulate Cycling Ireland and Celbridge’s Barbara Connolly on their leading role in its development. We now hope that the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport will follow up with the second essential element to achieve mass cycling to school – increased funding for the provision of high quality infrastructure. Being able to cycle is not the same as willing to cycle and unless the road environment is made safe for all ages the Minister’s hope for support from parents and for more children to choose cycling will remain that – a hope.

In his press release, the Minister also expresses a hope  that the initiative will ‘show his commitment to improving road safety and reducing the number of fatalities’. Considering that the bulk of fatalities involved drivers and pedestrians, it is hard to see how cycle training will improve road safety generally.  His use of ‘we’  as in  …we must … remember to take particular care around vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists… reveal with which group of road users his empathies lie. While details of the rollout of Cycle Right have not been revealed, the key figure will be the outcome of cycle training – that is the increase in the number of children cycling to school. This will show the Minister’s true level of ambition and commitment to cycling.

Most countries provide cycle training to children as a means of encouraging cycling. In the Netherlands, having learnt how to cycle from their parents at a young age, children undergo a cycle test at the age of eleven so the test is in reality a confirmation of their ability rather than the acquisition of a new skill. In the UK, most parents do not cycle and it is likely that many feel that they do not have the skills to teach their children. While children there are being trained in large numbers, this does not lead to them cycling. Conditions on UK streets simply remain too unpleasant and too dangerous for more than a very small proportion of parents to allow their children to cycle. Unless additional funding for infrastructure is provided, the mistakes in the UK will be repeated in Ireland.

Irish Independent & Victim Blaming

Posted on by
Reply

We are only three weeks into January 2017 and already there has been 11 fatalities on our roads. Seven are pedestrians, two are drivers and two are passengers. The reactions of government and government organisations are remarkable. Although drink driving has been identified as one of the causes of the increase in fatalities, Shane Ross, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has outlined how he wants to ‘name and shame’ the offenders. Well name them anyway. It is debatable how many will feel any shame.

Of the seven dead, one happened in an urban area, two had just come off a bus, two were walking along a national road – one in daylight, one in the dark, one died on the M50 while the last was walking along a regional road on the fringe of the city. The first four out of the seven were killed in a situation where motorists should have seen or anticipated vulnerable road users. In an article on road safety in the Irish Independent, the journalist Luke Byrne referred three times to the Road Safety Authority urging pedestrians to make themselves more visible.  In contrast, there was only one reference urging drivers to slow down. It is not known if this emphasis was as a result of the Road Safety Authority briefing or journalistic licence. Either way, the primary responsibility does not lie with vulnerable road users – they are the wrong target.

Stop Climate Chaos -Discussion on Strategy

Posted on by
Reply
The Letter below was sent to the Stop Climate Chaos members including Cyclist.ie (of which Maynooth Cycling Campaign is a part) on a Draft Strategic Plan which was discussed on Thursday 12th January.
From: Oisin Coghlan – Friends of the Earth <oisin@foe.ie>
Date: Tue 10 Jan 2017 at 17:47
Subject: [SCC members] Document for discussion and decision at Thursday morning’s meeting in Concern
To: stopclimatechaos@googlegroups.com <stopclimatechaos@googlegroups.com>

 
Dear all,

You will remember last year that our coalition decided that we should review our ambition and our structure in the light of the increased urgency of climate action on foot of the Paris Agreement and our own Climate Action Act.
A small Review Group was set up last summer: Lorna from Trocaire, Phil from An Taisce, Sorley from Christian Aid and myself. We were mandated to look at what was happening in England and Scotland, consult various external stakehoders, and come back to you the members with a proposal.
That proposal is now attached in the form of a draft Strategic Plan and Thursday’s meeting is to consider it and the next steps.
The Plan takes as its starting point the campaign vision we agreed last year: “That Ireland makes a rapid and just transition to a carbon free future”.
It proposes three strategic objectives, in the following areas
1) Growing the climate movement
2) Influencing policy
3) Engaging the widest possible public audience
Thursday’s meeting will be asked to approve each of these objectives.
The second part of the Plan is about about “Delivering our Vision”
That involves a proposal for an independent chairperson as our chief spokesperson, clear governance procedures and a process to enable us to increase SCC’s staff capacity from about 0.6 FTE (i.e. around one person on average 3 days a week) to about 1.8 FTE (full-time equivalent).
The last element of this is the financing, which has two dimensions. Firstly, a renewed and if possible enhanced buy-in from the member organizations of SCC. And secondly a proposal that SCC should for the first time apply for institutional grant funding. Lorna will outline the first opportunity for this at the meeting on Thursday for your consideration.
I’ve often said that Stop Climate Chaos is the smoothest running and most effective coalition I have ever worked in. That is down to the enthusiastic participation of many members over the years and the rock solid trust and commitment of all members. The current climate policy landscape in Ireland means there are big opportunities for our coalition. Thursday’s meeting is about gearing up to make the most of them, rather that risk missing them. We very much hope you can join us at 10am on Thursdsay in Concern in Grantham Street.
Yours,
Oisin
on behalf of the SCC Review Group

Increased Number of Cyclist Fatalities but Slight Dip in Trend

Posted on by
Reply

At the end of December, the RSA issued their customary end of year press release on road fatalities. In 2016 there was a 15% increase in fatalities as 186 people were killed on Irish roads including 10 cyclists. This was one more cyclist fatality than in 2015 and the second highest since the low point in 2009.

For cyclists the 3 year average shows a slight dip compared to 2015. The general trend since 2009 shows increased fatalities following increased traffic as the economy recovers rather than any safety in numbers effect from more cycling.

2016-fatalities                  Number of Cyclist Fatalities 1996 – 2016 (No. of Fatalities vs Year)

Although the large increase in fatalities had been well flagged from earlier in the year, the response of Shane Ross, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport was to issue a press release reminding people to share the road and a promise of more legislation rather than a government commitment to enforce existing laws. We expect  this to have a similar impact on road fatalities in 2017 as Project  EDWARD. For those who do not know, Project EDWARD (European Day Without A Road Fatality) saw European police forces and road safety organisations tackle road safety by urging motorists to sign a pledge. In Ireland, on that day two people died.

Meath Co Co Rejects Submission on Moygaddy Road

Posted on by
Reply

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 .

SUBMISSION ON NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAMME 2017-2022

Posted on by
Reply

Maynooth Cycling Campaign welcomes the public consultation on National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme 2017-2022 and the proposed expansion in the monitoring nationally.

We note from the Consultation Paper that

            The criteria for the selection of Tier 2 AQIH monitoring stations ……….. is as follows:

  1. a) Inclusion of all urban areas with populations greater than 15,000. The rationale for inclusion of these areas is to provide information to the public on air quality in those            areas of highest population density.

We propose that Maynooth be added to the towns monitored on the basis that its population is above the 15,000 threshold ie 15,909 according to the results of the 2016 Census. Although the people of Maynooth are currently highly car dependent, the National Transport Authority is providing funding for improved walking and cycling facilities so the town would potentially be a good location to monitor changing air quality resulting from transport modal change.

Yours sincerely,

Maynooth Cycling Campaign