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A NUMBER OF cyclists have spoken of their experiences of falling from their bicycles while traversing the Luas Cross City works on O’Connell Street in Dublin city centre.
At the GPO, the street is currently reduced to one lane, shared by mostly buses and cyclists, with the Luas tracks, not yet in use, running down the centre.
Cycling alongside in-service Luas tracks can be hazardous as one or both wheels can easily become trapped in the rails’ grooves. That is exactly what has happened to many people in recent weeks.
Currently, Luas Cross City is installing a track link between the Red and Green routes, together with the tram service’s expansion towards Broombridge in Cabra on Dublin’s northside.
51-year-old John Brereton was cycling along the O’Connell Street single lane corridor on his way home from work last week when his wheel became trapped, sending him flying over his handlebars with a bus directly behind him.
“It could easily have been fatal,” he told TheJournal.ie. “If I’d fallen any other way, there was a bus behind me which missed me by a foot.
It’s really easy to slip into the groove, I must have lost concentration for a second when it happened, I went face down just before where the pedestrians cross.
I’ve had loads of other people contacting me saying the same thing had happened to them. They need to do something because it’s just lethal at the moment, a tragedy waiting to happen.
Bar “a few cuts and bruises” John was relatively unscathed following his accident. Tracy Cassidy meanwhile suffered the same fate at the same spot on Friday 13 January, but her head took the full impact of her fall.
“I used to take that route every day so I was well aware of the danger of it, but now that they’ve extended the works into the street there’s no way of avoiding the tracks,” she says.
Before I knew it I’d tipped over with a bus right behind me. My head is still completely numb all over. The ambulance guys told me if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet I wouldn’t be here today.
While Tracy was being treated at the side of the street, another two cyclists became trapped in the embedded rails. A man working on O’Connell Street who came to her aid told her the accident was the eighth he’d seen that day in the same place.
“They need to tell people to avoid O’Connell Street. I definitely won’t cycle around there now. It’s an accident waiting to happen alright,” Tracy says.
Blackspot
TheJournal.ie paid a visit to the single-lane works site. At present, the lane is being shared by buses and cyclists with about a foot-and-a-half of clearance on the left side of the lane for those on bicycles to navigate.
Luas Cross City told us that the grooves had been filled to bring them to the same level as the road surface and while this appears to be the case a significant indent of about an inch was still visible upon inspection between the rail grooves and the tarmac.
Yellow and orange signs warning cyclists of the presence of tram lines are in place on O’Connell Bridge and on O’Connell Street before the GPO (although there are no signs that we could see to tell cyclists of the impending single lane).
“I avoid O’Connell Street myself, although I have heard of people falling off at that place,” said Mike McKillen of the Dublin Cycling Campaign. “A girl spoke to me last week who said she had fractured her wrist at the site, and another two cyclists came into me today with the same problem.”
The toll is mounting up and more needs to be done than is currently the case. Last week I asked Luas Cross City if they were going to indicate a direction for cyclists to approach tram lines at right angles. But they should really be telling people not to cycle down O’Connell Street at all.
McKillen added that Luas Cross City could face legal action over the accidents.
Once accidents start piling up the obvious thing to do is to bar access. Then it might force the city to solve the problem.
Luas Cross City
A spokesperson for Luas Cross City told TheJournal.ie that necessary works have created the “pinch point” at the O’Connell Street site.
“It is an unusual area,” they said.
What we have done is filled in the tracks with temporary fill on that part of O’Connell Street, but it is a bit of an anomaly of a location where the road has been narrowed.
Signage should be in place to alert cyclists to tracks.
In TheJournal.ie’s observation of the site, many cyclists are in fact choosing to dismount and walk along the parallel pedestrianised area beside the GPO rather than risking the single lane of traffic. Many more, however, are continuing to use it in tandem with swiftly-moving buses.
“The safety of cyclists has to be an imperative,” says Fine Gael councillor (and prominent cycling advocate) Paddy Smyth. “If there are going to be spaces where cyclists are using the same space as Luas trams then we have to make it as safe as we can.
“If people are falling then it has to be sorted out as soon as possible,” continued Smyth, adding that he would be submitting a motion to council to ensure the issue “is a priority for the local area”.
If this is happening on O’Connell St, then it has the potential to happen elsewhere.
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Best wishes in your recovery
Best wishes. Health is your wealth
Congratulations Barry, the hard work starts now and no doubt you are well up for the task. Best wishes to Brian and his family on his long road to recovery.
Best wishes Barry and let’s hope Brian will.be home with you all again soon.
Brian never looked a picture of health and politics is a very unhealthy lifestyle. Unfortunately it looks like it caught up with him in the end. I didn’t agree with some of his policies but I appreciate his service to our country and wish him a full and speedy recovery.
.change.org/p/dail-eireann-barry-cowen-to-be-dismissed-from-his-new-position-of-minister-for-agriculture-in-ireland
This man condones puppy farming where animals are kept in terrible conditions to be sold for huge profits.
@Johnny 5: Signed
@The Risen: SF have condoned worse….a lot worse.
@Canyon: sorry bud but this is not a party thing its a welfare thing. This is not a sinn fein thing. If Mary Lou or even gandhi was doing it I’d sign.
@Canyon: Hope Brian Cowan makes further progress.
Johnny 5 condoned the ‘bumping off’ (as he put it) of Lawlor on the Belfast murder thread but that’s ok cause he cares about puppies!
@Fionn Darland: Puppies don’t chop children up and discard their body parts around the housing estates of Dublin. You seem more concerned by the death of an absolute psycho than you do about animal cruelty.
@The Risen: You’ll be busy signing petitions and being outraged here and on Twitter for the next few years.
@Johnny 5: The rule of law should apply to all J5. Some of us still don’t approve of a shoot to kill policy, even against psychos. I am 100% against animal cruelty by the way but will not sign a petition recommended by you. FF living rent free in sf heads!
@Fionn Darland: The rule of law? You mean the revolving door for serious criminals where it’s a gravy train for judges, barristers and lawyers! Don’t make me laugh.
Politics definitely doesn’t come into something like that….Best wishes to Brian Cowen on his recovery
I wish Mr Cowen a full and speedy recovery back to full health.
Speedy recovery to Mr. Cowen and best wishes
To his family.
Good News
Brian was such a down to earth individual. Wishing his continued recovery.
Speedy Recovery to Brian Cowan.
Oh that’s good news. He was on my mind since Barry’s appointment.
Great day for Barry and his family and delighted to hear Brian is improving, looking forward to him making a speedy and full recovery.
Darragh Colleary must be rightly pissed off – Biffo Junior got a ministry ahead of him.
I wish Brian Cowen a full recovery.
As for his brother Barry, I hope he will be removed from his ministerial position in the department of agriculture. He will be a disaster for animal welfare.
A speedy recovery and I hope he has a long life.
I hope he makes a full recovery and one day faces justice for what he has done. If he loses his memory or speech that possibility will be taken from us sadly.
@SC: I hope it never happens to you or any of your loves ones,
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