The following letter was sent to candidates running for election to Kildare County Council in 2019 whose email address was available on the internet. For those with a twitter account, a tweet was sent informing them of the questionnaire and inviting them to take part. Those without either a public email address or twitter account but to wish to take part, can simply respond by email to the three questions at the end.
Dear Candidate/Councillor,
I represent the Maynooth Cycling Campaign which is part of the Kildare Cycling Campaign and Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network. We are a member organisation of the Kildare Public Participation Network and the Maynooth Community Council. As you are a candidate for election to Kildare County Council in 2019, I’m writing to gauge your support for
- High standards of cycling infrastructure through your promotion of Cycling For All, and
- The provision of high quality cycle facilities on the Celbridge Road Maynooth.
1. CYCLING FOR ALL
What is Cycling for All? To find out more:
Most importantly, please show the cycling public and electorate that you are truly serious about changing the state of cycling infrastructure in Ireland. To be featured on the Cycling For All list, just like other candidates already are, you must:
- Read and agree to (a) the Cycling for All principals and (b) for 20% of the national transport capital budget to go to cycling and walking, then
- Email the Minister for Transport at minister@dttas.ie, and CC us at maynoothcycling@gmail.com (or Cycling for All at Cian.ginty@gmail.com), outlining how you support Cycling For All, that you want the Minister to implement the principals, and put in place the funding to make it happen.
- Ask your colleagues, party members, and supporters to sign Cycling for All, send them to the most relevant link http://cyclingforall.ie/
- Continue to seek Cycling for All in your local area, for example, by supporting projects which give space to cycling.
Once you have sent the email mentioned above, your name will appear on the list of politicians who support Cycling for All. Maynooth Cycling Campaign will also feature your support in a message to our Twitter followers. If you have any questions please email cian.ginty@gmail.com or ourselves at maynoothcycling@gmail.com .
At present, over 70 candidates/ councillors are signed up with representatives from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Fein, Labour, Green Party, Social Democrats and People Before Profit as well as Independents.
2. CELBRIDGE ROAD CYCLING FACILITIES
Maynooth Cycling Campaign proposes high quality cycling (and walking) facilities consisting of 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.
Maynooth Cycling Campaign is opposed to the current low quality proposals from Kildare County Council. See link for more details.
We often see Councillors give their full support including budget allocation to cycling projects, only to find out that the designs put in place are of a low standard. Low standard designs mean that only existing, hardy cyclists feel safe using the infrastructure and nothing truly changes. This is a waste of money, effort and time for all involved. I can provide you with examples of this throughout the Municipal District if you would like.
We are also available to show you the areas in question.
In summary, we would like your response to the following three questions:
1a. Do you support Cycling for All?
1b. Do you support 20% of transport funding for walking and cycling?
2. Do you support high quality cycling facilities on the Celbridge Road . (For candidates running in Maynooth Electoral District only)
As we will be uploading the results to our website in advance of the election, I would be obliged if you would respond by midnight on 19th May.
Kind Regards,
Gerry Dornan,
Chair Maynooth Cycling Campaign
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/maynoothcycling/
The results of the questionnaire will be published next week.
Maynooth Cycling Campaign 