Cycling in Irish Cities
Cycling in Irish cities. Cycling is the perfect form of urban transport. It is healthy, environmentally friendly and - relative to current average urban traffic speeds - fast. But compared to elsewhere in Europe, Irish towns and cities present a treacherous environment for the cyclist.
Main roads and streets are dominated by traffic all day long and facilities for cycling - particularly outside Dublin - are often poor or non-existent. By failing to provide an attractive cycling environment, there is a sense of a wasted opportunity to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality by reducing car use.
The problem is, while some of the larger cities have
cycle-lane networks, the lanes are usually located right beside the traffic on heavy-use arterial routes. The result is that motorists are not coaxed out of their cars, and cycling is left to the hardened minority who are willing to endure the fumes, dirt, noise and danger of cycling beside the traffic.
In order to bring about a substantial increase in cycling numbers, the cycling environment must be made safer and more appealing to use. We must begin to consider introduction of the proper, separated cycle lane networks as found in cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen. In those cities, men and women in office clothes breeze happily around on bikes (as do students and senior citizens) - a currently unimaginable sight in the Irish cities.
Also needed is further identification and creation of what have come to be known as cycle ‘green routes’; where the cyclist is removed altogether from traffic – e. g. routes alongside rivers and canals, through parks, campuses etc. We are probably losing a large number of potential cyclists because of the lack of minimally-trafficked or traffic-free ‘green routes’...