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LAST MONTH, A vigil was held outside Leinster House in protest at the number of cyclists who’ve died on the roads this year.
At the time of writing 15 cyclists have died on Irish roads, making 2017 the deadliest year for cyclists in over a decade.
This has made the issue of safe cycling a vital one and none more so than in Dublin, where the Luas Cross City was accused of ignoring the needs of cyclists.
With a city growing ever busier, and a finite enough space available, Dublin City Council says planning for cyclists’ safety is something that remains a priority.
Brendan O’Brien of DCC’s traffic department says each tragedy is assessed to see if a repeat can be prevented.
“For any fatality that may happen we will speak to the guards to see if there’s anything that could be done on the roads, to see if anything needs to be changed,” he says.
Building out the whole cycling network in the city is part of that whole process of trying to make things a lot safer.
Dublin’s cycle network is one that is subject to great debate with cyclists and cycling groups arguing that making proper provision for cyclists is about more than painting lines on the road.
The Green Party were among those who criticised a September decision by the National Transport Authority to remove funding for a segregated cycleway along the Liffey from the Docklands to Heuston Station.
A segregated route exists for cyclists along the Grand Canal on Dublin’s south side but one is also planned for the north of the city. DCC’s plan will see that route run from the Convention Centre along the Royal Canal towards Ashtown.
O’Brien says that segregated routes for cyclists are certainly appropriate for some areas but that in others they are not needed.
On the main routes into the city, where higher speeds are the norm, segregated routes may be preferable but in the city they are less required, and perhaps les possible too given space constraints.
One such recent example has been the complaints that the construction of the Luas Cross City was undertaken without the needs and safety of cyclists being considered.
O’Brien points out the controversial “cyclists dismount” signs that were put up near the Luas tracks around College Green were placed by the Luas operators and not Dublin City Council, and are therefore safety advice rather than a legal direction.
Asked about whether the needs of cyclists were ignored when the route of the Luas Cross City was being designed, O’Brien says the charge doesn’t really stack up because the planners had little option.
“You’re putting a tram track into a very narrow space in the city, going down Dawson Street into Nassau Street, there is no space,” he says.
“So that would be a correct accusation if we had a lot of space and we didn’t make any specific provision, but there’s barely room for the two trams. There’s certainly no room either side for cyclists.”
You can can make the same argument elsewhere, the State built billions on building up motorways and cyclists can use motorways. We’re not saying they can’t use tram tracks, but we are saying ‘look, you’ve got to be careful’.
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Was in O’Connell Street yesterday for the first time since the new Luas line opened. Crossed the street twice using the beeping audio at the pedestrian crossings because I cannot see traffic coming, was cycled in front of twice by cyclists, ignoring the red light. This happens every time Remind me why I should care about their safety?
@Neal Ireland Hello.: because they are people too.
@Neal Ireland Hello.: let’s not have that debate again please…it’s already been concluded on many other threads…there are always pedestrians, cyclists and drivers that will break the rules, but ALL are not the same. What’s provided to cyclists in the city and suburbs is not adequate.
@Neal Ireland Hello.: If cyclists, had a registration plate on their bikes for id purposes and made get insurance for cycling? You’ll see these guys cop on, fairly fast.
@Stephen murphy: my sister has 6 kids and every one of them has a bike, two have rollerblades and another a skateboard. Should they all have reg plates and insurance on these transport devices? It’s not practical. Jaywalkers are as capable of causing an accident at an intersection as cyclists, should pedestrians have reg plates? Build the infrastructure and segregate them from cars, trucks and vans which can kill them. Problem solved for the most part. You will always get clowns breaking lights but this is an educational thing as much as anything else. Every kid should be thought basic rules of the road in school.
@Stephen murphy: That’s an interesting theory, Stephen. So you seriously believe that having a reg plate and insurance stops people from breaking red lights? Do you wear blinkers on the road, or is there some other reason that you don’t see the endemic red light breaking by registered and insured motorists at every junction at every change of lights? : https://youtu.be/Vc5VGuJvOVk
@Neal Ireland Hello.: You never will Neil, because when you can be that self obsessed and subjective that two idiots on bikes can make you not care about the safety of thousands of people there is no talking to you.
@Richard Wright: Richard have you got any proof of this wild accusation on the perfect character of Neal Ireland Hello.
@Batster: The latest I just heard is Copenhagen cyclists boasting about their numbers exceeding those of PEOPLE on the street – is that because they’ve managed to run enough pedestrians off the street? Towns and cities are for people, not cyclists!
‘You can can make the same argument elsewhere, the State built billions on building up motorways and cyclists can use motorways.’
Since when have cyclists been allowed use motorways??
A comment as to why movable rubber infill hasn’t been used at critical crossing points would have been helpful.
It would also help if there was an explanation as to why no cycle markings have been put in that would encourage cyclists to cross tram tracks at 90 degrees, rather than meeting at awkward angles as now occurs – where thin wheels of bikes easily slip into the grooves, resulting in the cyclist falling off. This issue is particularly noticeable at corners – such as St. Stephen’s Green / Dawson Street. Such markings are common practice in other jurisdictions. Arising from such absence, motorists do not understand why a cyclist might ‘suddenly’ veer into the middle of the road at such locations… All of which is quite predictably dangerous – and I would have thought, the responsibility of the local authority.
@Ruadhán MacEoin: “half arsed” is the term I would use when it comes to any cycling infrastructure.
@Ruadhán MacEoin: Planners, can’t even plan for transport or housing and you expect them to sort out track for the bike.
@Ruadhán MacEoin: I think that quote was meant to say “and cyclists can’t use motorways.”
@Richard Wright: jesus that’s slander there Richard you can be running around making claims like that without attached proof
Cycling in Dublin is far too dangerous due to our unfit for purpose cycle lanes. As far as I can see the vast majority seem to be just painted on to an existing road in an effort to be able to boast to Europe that we have X amount of kms of cycle lanes. Many roads are too narrow for a bike and a car and I often see arguments between cars and bikes as a result. That’s not to mention the pot holes and dead ends.
Maybe the standard of cycling is a reflection in the increased number of deaths.
@Paul Matthews: the lack of cycle lanes, lack of segregated lanes, poor quality of cycles lanes…pot holes, broken tarmac, uneven surface, shores not flush with the road surface..etc…, sudden dead end of cycle lanes, lack of respect from drivers and pedestrians of lanes may also have been a contributing factor .
There are tits that use all modes of transports but lets not kid ourselves, the standard of driving with so many people having their head stuck in their phones are the real danger to all out there. The full details of all these deaths need to be released. The majority of the rural deaths, the vehicle has been traveling in the same direction as the cyclist which indicates they have attempted to pass to close, on a dangerous bend or simply did not look possibly due to using mobile.
@Paul Matthews: There is no evidence to support this theory.
@Paul Matthews: disgraceful comment…simply disgraceful…15 people dead and you come back to the shite: maybe it was the cyclists fault in the 15 cases…Shame on you mate, hope you don’t loss anybody in the future in an accident….
@Richard Wright: more slander
As a cyclist, the two biggest issues I experience are cars turning left, crossing a cycle lane (I’m certainly not clear who has right of way, but I realise trying to enforce my will could be fatal) and cyclist ignoring red lights. The latter is mind boggling and so pervasive, that it almost seems like a right, but is so, so dangerous and just down right stupid.
@MK76: Of you are in front of the car they have to give you right of way. If your behind and this means behind a front bumper you have to give way. But as it’s pointed out here throughout this comment section theirs untold mumpties who just ignore the rules of the road. A lot of driver’s and cyclist’s really treat them not as rules but suggestions. Yellow light speed up, red go faster!
@Richard Wright: yeh I see drivers and cyclists break reds every day. More cyclists do that drivers cause it’s easier then more pedestrians do than cyclists cause it’s easier again. Until those laws are enforced we won’t see a change in behaviour I reckon.
@Richard Wright: I have been cycling on one of the busiest routes out of Dublin, for ~6mths now and have yet to see a car break a red light. However, at nearly every light at least one cyclist flies through and then gives out if a car dares beep at them.
@Richard Wright: yes me as well it’s scary watching the disregard driver’s and cyclist’s have for lights, stop signs and yields.
I always maintained that the city would make a fortune from red light cameras . There could be one for bikes as well say an RFID embedded in a disk or adhesive tape. This could be made mandatory, for bikes with wheels over 18 inches. You in to add small road tax of €5 to cover costs. Also make them take a written test to allow them to use the road. After all car driver’s must take a written and practical before they can operate a vehicle on the road.
@Rory Pearse: no vehicle of any type is allowed cross the path of another in a separate lane of any type.
https://www.nationaltransport.ie/downloads/archive/provision_of_cycling_facilities_ch4_2006.pdf
On road cycle tracks are to be treated like any other Lane by drivers. Drivers MUST yield to Cyclists. Read page 89 4.5
It’s about time drivers were educated in this instead of making up their own moronic rules
What type of person hails it a victory to be allowed cycle on a road where they have been advised they may be squashed by a tram ???
@Sean Higgins: cyclists do
Putting cycle lanes into a city and reducing an already narrow roadway to do so is completely wrong.. it causing accidents ..the same can be said for putting in bus lanes.. it’s all wrong..some of the city streets were never designed for the volume of traffic there now handling.. making them narrower isn’t solving anything..
@OCallaghan TP: it’s hard to believe someone just wrote that….so your answer to the increasing volume of traffic is not to put bus lanes or cycle lanes in.
@OCallaghan TP: An underground might help. Every cyclist is one less car on the road, so I don’t see why people who drive everywhere are having a go at cycling. They would be better off encouraging cycling.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: Fiona try organise 3 kids to school do a twenty mile comute on a bicycle, impossible the school bags are to heavy
@Fiona Fitzgerald: Try walking! Use public transport…
@OCallaghan TP: Well, I agree that there’s no room for cyclists in Dublin. That said, we do have to invest in public transport – Bus Connects could, if done right along with proper park’n'ride sites, make quite a difference in the short term – we still need a metro system though.
Next election, Green Party getting my vote
@Stevie Doran: Are you prepared, for more taxes then and that’s what they do.
@Stephen murphy: that is what people think. When they were in power they were blamed for increases in taxes but they were actually already agreed beforehand by other parties. Their worst sin was taking the fall for these as they believed they were all good initiatives.
Keep cycle lanes out of pedestrianized zones, as planned for College Green, or we’ll have something resembling skittles. Vulnerable pedestrians in particular, will have no protection.
@245hkJ01: no problems with cycling in pedestrian areas in germany either . Everyone gets by just fine with it
@245hkJ01: how about pedestrians stay out of cycle lanes too. Needs to be fines brought in for pedestrians.
@245hkJ01: Absolutely!
@Kal Ipers: The pedestrian comes first!
Since all these new measures to slow down traffic,ramps,traffic lights,single lane,bus lanes, bringing traffic to a slow crawl the smell of fumes is becoming stiffiling as a part time cyclist ,they to be only moving the deck chairs around in circles if they think they’re doing good, predestrines and cyclists more likely to develop breathing problems and more serious health conditions..!!!
@Gerard Heery: actually studies show you breath more fumes in sitting in car in idling traffic is by far worse than cycling. The exhaust pipe lines up with the air intake for the car behind.
@Kal Ipers: answer get traffic moving faster
Is there nothing to be said for a bunny hop? Joined up thinking would be a great, but a bunny hop world get you across the track. Therefore the council should give lessons in bunny hopping.
Yes there is, it is completely stupid idea
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