[PR] Dublin Cycling Campaign Annual Lecture - Planning for Pedals

Victor

Dublin Cycling Campaign Annual Lecture

Planning for Pedals - Thursday 15 May 2008, 8.00pm

Emmet Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin
(accessed from Nassau Street or from main College Green entrance). Free of Charge

Dr. John Parkin will give the Dublin Cycling Campaign Annual Lecture 2008. His talk will explore policies for promoting cycling, based on a UK study of cycle use for commuting. He'll ask, what factors affect bicycle use?

Gender; socio-economic class; income; ethnicity; infrastructure; weather; hilliness? He'll explain policies of creating bicycle networks and consider the importance of accounting for the effort of cycling and the concept of 'permeability' of an area to cyclists.


Dr. John Parkin is Reader in Transport Engineering and Planning at the University of Bolton and has wide interests that encompass quality design, innovation, sustainability principles, evaluation, safety and community benefit. He divides his time between teaching, research & consultancy

He is the principal author of the design guidance Lancashire the cyclists' county and delivers training on this manual and the London Cycle Design Standards. He is engaged in research on the impact of cycle training interventions and in monitoring cycle use levels for after infrastructure interventions.

The Dublin Cycling Campaign is a voluntary body working to represent the interests of Dublin's everyday cyclists, and to lobby to make Dublin a bicycle friendly city.

www.dublincycling.ie

Victor

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Press Release: Minister Dempsey introduce's "Planning for Pedals" lecture

From: Dublin Cycling Campaign

Date of PR: Tuesday 13 May 2008

Time of Event: Thursday 15th May, 8pm
Location of Event: Trinity College Dublin, Emmet Theatre, Arts Building


PRESS RELEASE

The Dublin Cycling Campaign (DCC) host's its Annual Lecture this Thursday evening. Dr. John Parkin from the University of Bolton will deliver his paper on "Planning for Pedals". Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey will introduce the talk.

The purpose of the DCC's annual lecture is to stimulate debate and discussion on how to promote cycling in Dublin city. The lecture affords the cycling community and decision makers the opportunity to listen to the experiences of cycling planning specialists from abroad in how to improve cycling safety and increase cycling numbers. The lecture aims to improve transportation professionals' knowledge of the latest thinking in the field and to facilitate communication between the wider cycling community and traffic engineers, transport planners, urban planners, architects and public health professionals.

The lecture comes at an opportune time as the Department of Transport is currently preparing a National Cycling Policy. Dr. Parkin's talk will include explaining about the importance of good planning so as to make areas permeable for cyclists (and pedestrians) - i.e. that cyclists do not have to take long detours as is often necessary when developments are planned with only the car in mind. Good cycle-friendly planning facilitates in making trips as direct as possible for cyclists.

MORE DETAILS
See www.dublincycling.ie for the work of the Dublin Cycling Campaign.

Victor

http://www.transport.ie/viewitem.asp?id=10611&lang=ENG&loc=2261

Speech by Mr Noel Dempsey TD, Minister for Transport, at the opening of Dublin Cycling Campaign's Annual Research Lecture
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16 May 2008

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY


I was delighted to be asked by Dr. Mike McKillen of the Dublin Cycling Campaign to open proceedings here this evening. I say this because tonight will be remembered as the occasion when a Minister for Transport finally got serious about cycling.

I don't have to tell this audience that where transport is concerned, sustainability is THE keyword. As Minister for Transport, I am stating clearly without ambiguity that sustainability must be right at the centre of my Department's agenda. That's the easy bit.

The hard bit is to make sure that the sustainable transport agenda will become embedded in the consciousness of the wider public. I'm up for that challenge as well.

As most of you are aware, I launched public consultation on the issue of Sustainable Travel and Transport in February just gone.

In the period up to 2020, this country will face ENORMOUS challenges in terms of transport emissions, congestion in our cities and towns and the impacts of these on the basic quality of life of all our citizens. Even when I launched that consultation process, it was clear to me that FUNDAMENTAL changes to travel behaviour are unavoidable.

Bringing about fundamental change will require commitment from all sectors of society. Through the consultation process, I was looking for a significant level of buy-in from day one.

We got that buy-in. In fact, we received well over 400 responses to the consultation document from a wide range of stakeholders. As cyclists, you'll be interested in the fact that a substantial number of these came not only from cycling groups but also from individual members of the public who strongly support the promotion of cycling.

While the Government's Action Plan on Sustainable Travel and Transport that will emerge later this year will include commitments to cycling, it cannot focus on cycling alone.

So, in the clear knowledge that cycling must play a key part in developing a sustainable transport system for Ireland, I directed my Department to commission research into a potential National Cycling Policy, concurrently with work on the development of the Action Plan.

The outputs of this research are VISIONARY, holding the tantalising, yet REALISABLE, prospect of a culture of cycling in Ireland by 2020, with 10% of all trips by bike. I'm committing to that tonight.

Non-cyclists in the audience may not fully appreciate the scale of this vision. So let me expand briefly.

In 2006, the modal share enjoyed by cycling stood at just 2%. Increasing the modal share to 10% would move as many people on to bikes as the public transport element of Transport 21 could accommodate and we are investing no less than €18 billion in public transport.

Achieving a shift to bike of this magnitude will require actions like

* Training every schoolchild in the country in safe cycling
* Providing safe cycle routes to schools, colleges and workplaces
* Re-prioritising existing roadspace in favour of cyclists and walkers and designing new roadspace with cyclists' needs in mind
* Rebalancing road traffic law to improve the lot of the cyclist vis-à-vis the motorist
* Ensuring that traffic engineers are skilled in providing properly for cyclists on the roads that they have every much a right to use as motorists
* Providing decent infrastructure for cyclists including secure parking and, where appropriate, proper and well maintained cycle lanes, unlike some of the shabby examples we all know of.

I would be dishonest if I were to promise the National Cycling Policy in a matter of weeks. Bringing it to life will require agreement between a range of Departments and agencies. It will also require to be explored with the cycling community. On this basis, my intention is to publish the Policy by the end of the year and earlier if I can.

In the context of exploring the draft cycle policy with the cycling community, Mike McKillen mentioned to me that the various cycling campaigns around the country are forming an umbrella organisation. I want to warmly welcome this development. I'll need all the help I can get if I am to overturn the prevalent view that cyclists are second-class road users. You are not and a powerful cyclists' voice is needed to counter the vocal motoring lobby groups.

At this point, I want to extend a special Céad Míle Fáilte to Dr John Parkin from the University of Bolton who is, correctly, the main attraction tonight.

As I understand it, Dr Parkin's presentation will touch on the factors that affect bicycle use and policies for creating bicycle networks. He'll also be dealing with the concept of permeability of areas to cyclists. These are all issues that will be listened to very attentively by my Department's representatives here tonight because they'll be crucial in the work that remains to be done on our National Cycling Policy.

<snip>

Finally, I'd like to thank the Dublin Cycling Campaign for organising tonight's and, indeed, previous years' events. These events are hugely important as we ensure that cycling the green and efficient travel mode strengthens its position in the hierarchy of travel options.

ENDS

Irish Times

Dempsey expects 'vibrant culture of cycling' by 2020

JOHN LAWRENCE

NEW RESEARCH carried out on behalf of the Department of Transport has indicated that 10 per cent of all journeys here will be undertaken by bicycle by 2020.

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has reported that international cycling consultants, hired by his department as part of a national cycling policy study, have outlined the “prospect of a vibrant culture of cycling” in Ireland within the next 12 years.

“In 2006, the modal share enjoyed by cycling stood at just 2 per cent. Increasing the modal share to just 10 per cent would move as many people on to bikes as the public transport element of Transport 21 could accommodate,” said Mr Dempsey, who also encouraged cyclists to be as vocal as the “well-organised motoring lobby”.

Mr Dempsey was speaking at the annual lecture of the Dublin Cycling Campaign in Trinity College last night and said he hoped to be able to formulate a national cycling policy later in the year.

In late February, public consultation on the issue of sustainable travel and transport was initiated.

The Minister said more than 400 responses had been submitted, with a substantial number of these coming not only from cycling groups but from members of the public who strongly supported the promotion of cycling.

The Governments action plan on sustainable travel and transport “that will emerge later this year, will include support for, and promotion of, cycling as one of its key commitments”, he added.

Mr Dempsey also said an environmentally friendly workplace travel initiative for staff at his department would be rolled out for all Government departments.

Meanwhile, before last night’s lecture, Dr John Parkin of the school of the built environment and engineering at the University of Bolton, told The Irish Times that a “truly permeable network” for cycle traffic needed to be created in Irish and British cities.

This would encourage bicycle use and would help people to steer around urban areas quickly and safely.

Mr Parkin said good value-for-money measures to do so would include: an exemption for cyclists from turn left/right restrictions; allowing a cycle contra-flow on one-way streets; converting bridges for both pedestrian and cycle use; the erection of visibly clear route signs for cyclists and the creation of off-highway shortcuts.

The former civil engineer also suggested that strong policies needed to be formulated to support existing one-car households – “who may see the bike as the equivalent of the second car” – to discourage the need to purchase another vehicle.

Previously, there was a perception that the bicycle was the poor man’s mode of transport, Mr Parkin added, but now in England and Wales, the socio-economic class with the higher prevalence of cycling was the higher professional group.