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Limerick Bike Scheme

  • 02-11-2011 2:06pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,714 ✭✭✭


    http://jrnl.ie/269519



    Do you think this will work in Limerick or could the money be put to better use?

    Any more trolling or bickering will result in a ban, see post #313 for more details.


«13456713

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,181 ✭✭✭Iang87


    i think **** off bikes. Already holdin up traffic as it is


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,916 ✭✭✭RonMexico


    How exactly does it work? I'm sure the scum will find a way to ruin it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    adaminho wrote: »
    http://jrnl.ie/269519



    Do you think this will work in Limerick or could the money be put to better use?

    I think Limerick city is far too small for such a scheme to be honest, same goes for Waterford city plus I reckon the bikes will be targets for the scum population that seem to love roaming the city centre.

    Cork might just about keep such a project going thanks to it's population and busy city centre (in comparison to Limerick city) but I reckon the figures quoted for Cork city in the feasability study are a bit on the optimistic side.

    Galway it could actually work well in during the late spring, summer, and early Autumn thanks to places like Salthill, and the walks out near Oranmore being so close to the city centre.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 464 ✭✭PJTierney


    Limerick's too small for this in my opinion, as everything in the city centre is within walking distance, and there's frequent bus services to the outer regions, like Dooradoyle, Caherdavin and Castletroy.

    That and I (unfortunately) expect them to be vandalised a lot.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,210 ✭✭✭gaf1983


    I think it could work. While Limerick City centre is far smaller than Dublin city centre, it can still take about 15 minutes to walk from one end of the city centre to the other (i.e. The Locke Bar to the O'Connell Monument, to give one example) and where the bikes come into their own is in shortening the time taken to do these short journeys.

    @adaminho - regarding the funding, the Dublin Bike scheme is funded by advertising and its users' subscriptions, so this is one model that might be used in other cities.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,106 ✭✭✭✭TestTransmission


    Iang87 wrote: »
    i think **** off bikes. Already holdin up traffic as it is

    How do bikes hold up traffic?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,181 ✭✭✭Iang87


    How do bikes hold up traffic?

    try drive up patrick street with parking at both sides and two lanes of moving traffic and meeting a bike. Nowhere to go so you gotta slow down till mr bike decides where he is going.

    Unless of course we keep the bikes and say **** off cars, I'm not too bothered, i will be intrigued to see the bike buses though


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,106 ✭✭✭✭TestTransmission


    I drive it every day, never found it a issue tbh


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,181 ✭✭✭Iang87


    I drive it every day, never found it a issue tbh

    i found it an issue earlier today. along with most parts around the outskirts of the city. Not everyday now but a lot


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,857 ✭✭✭langdang


    Iang87 wrote: »
    try drive up patrick street with parking at both sides and two lanes of moving traffic and meeting a bike. Nowhere to go so you gotta slow down till mr bike decides where he is going.
    It's their culture.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 871 ✭✭✭savagecabbages


    Iang87 wrote: »
    try drive up patrick street with parking at both sides and two lanes of moving traffic and meeting a bike. Nowhere to go so you gotta slow down till mr bike decides where he is going.

    Unless of course we keep the bikes and say **** off cars, I'm not too bothered, i will be intrigued to see the bike buses though

    Don't think I've ever had a clean run of traffic lights on O'Connell street, you'll have to stop dead anyway at least twice for traffic lights so the bike on Patrick Street isn't really holding anyone else up. Unless you're in a rush to get to the back of the traffic light queue...

    Not that I've ever been delayed by a bike on any street in Limerick.


    As for the bike scheme, there might be a future in it if they are located in good spots around the city, but the pesimist in me sees this happening:
    3901581484_dc64f10838.jpg


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,078 ✭✭✭Grumpypants


    I think this would be great if they put a depot in Corbally we will have a alternative to driving as we have a ridiculously bad bus service.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,303 ✭✭✭source


    Iang87 wrote: »
    try drive up patrick street with parking at both sides and two lanes of moving traffic and meeting a bike. Nowhere to go so you gotta slow down till mr bike decides where he is going.

    Isn't that more the fault of those parking illegally on the left side of Patrick Street?? If they weren't parking there, then the cyclist would be able to stay to the far left. If they cyclist could stay to the far left then there wouldn't be a problem.

    So your beef is with the drivers not the cyclist.

    As for the bikes coming to Limerick, I don't think there's really any great need for it in Limerick. If they do it right and have drop off zones in UL, LIT, Mary I, The Crescent Shopping Centre, and the Art College, etc etc etc, it may have some hope of being a success and a useful addition to the city. If however it's confined to the city centre then there's no point.

    I would also echo the comments about vandalism, I can see the repair bill being quite high in this city.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    Kess73 wrote: »
    I think Limerick city is far too small for such a scheme to be honest, same goes for Waterford city plus I reckon the bikes will be targets for the scum population that seem to love roaming the city centre.
    Tbh, exactly the same argument were made about Dublin. The general consensus was that nobody would use them because the streets are too dangerous & you can get everywhere by walking anyway, and within a month all of the bikes would either be in the Liffey or have crap kicked out of them.
    It's the most used scheme in world and none of the bikes have been stolen (one was, but was then later returned), and a number of the stations are located in the worst parts of the city.

    What the bikes do is turn a 20 minute walk into a five minute cycle. Doesn't sound like much, but when you're going in or out of work or only have an hour for your lunch, being able to save those 15 minutes is fantastic. I think though the most important thing about them is that they're someone else's problem. You pick up the bike and drop it off, you don't have to worry about locking it in a secure place or what to do with it if you fancy a few beers after work, and so on.

    Having been in a Limerick a few times I think they could work great in that city. It's nice and flat and large enough that there's a benefit to being able to cycle instead of walk.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    seamus wrote: »
    Tbh, exactly the same argument were made about Dublin. The general consensus was that nobody would use them because the streets are too dangerous & you can get everywhere by walking anyway, and within a month all of the bikes would either be in the Liffey or have crap kicked out of them.
    It's the most used scheme in world and none of the bikes have been stolen (one was, but was then later returned), and a number of the stations are located in the worst parts of the city.

    What the bikes do is turn a 20 minute walk into a five minute cycle. Doesn't sound like much, but when you're going in or out of work or only have an hour for your lunch, being able to save those 15 minutes is fantastic. I think though the most important thing about them is that they're someone else's problem. You pick up the bike and drop it off, you don't have to worry about locking it in a secure place or what to do with it if you fancy a few beers after work, and so on.

    Having been in a Limerick a few times I think they could work great in that city. It's nice and flat and large enough that there's a benefit to being able to cycle instead of walk.


    Dublin has the sheer size and a massive population compared to Limerick though. It can afford to have a much lower % of it's population interested in the scheme and still make a profit


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,996 ✭✭✭two wheels good


    seamus wrote: »
    What the bikes do is turn a 20 minute walk into a five minute cycle. Doesn't sound like much, but when you're going in or out of work or only have an hour for your lunch, being able to save those 15 minutes is fantastic.

    Exactly! Plus the benefit of reducing the number of car journeys; less congestion, less pollution, less imported oil.

    Thanks for the info OP. I see Cork is also among the schemes being considered. I might try to attend the meeting on Monday


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    Kess73 wrote: »
    Dublin has the sheer size and a massive population compared to Limerick though. It can afford to have a much lower % of it's population interested in the scheme and still make a profit
    The area covered by the Dublin scheme isn't much bigger than the main Limerick city as far as I can see.

    Economies of scale apply anyway, you wouldn't have the same number of bikes and stations as Dublin. I don't know if the Dublin one does make a profit, it's run by a 3rd party company in exchange for advertising space, so the net cost/profit to the city is zero.

    I'm curious though as to why you seem to be so set against it? Assuming that it operates to the Dublin one and costs the city nothing, would you oppose the scheme being rolled out in Limerick?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    Exactly! Plus the benefit of reducing the number of car journeys; less congestion, less pollution, less imported oil.

    Thanks for the info OP. I see Cork is also among the schemes being considered. I might try to attend the meeting on Monday

    The benefits of such a scheme in a busy city are exactly as you have said, but does anyone really think that Limerick city centre is a busy city centre?

    It does not suffer from massive traffic congestion most of the time, it does not have crowded footpaths pretty much all year round, and it does not have the footfall that Cork or Galway have in the city centre during the daytime.

    I like the idea of bikes being used more often and when I lived in Southern Germany I loved renting bikes and loved the bus and rail systems there, but I just don't think that Limerick would be a good fit for the scheme. Would love to be wrong on that, but if the feasibility results reckon Cork could have a bit over 2,000 using the scheme on a regular basis, does anyone think that Limerick would have even half that number using the bikes every week. Some of the footfall figures for many of the bigger name shops in Limerick are scarily low, which is a pretty good indicator as to how many people don't use the city centre compared to how many use the Crescent shopping centre and those that go out of Limerick. For Limerick city to be hitting say 1,100 regular users a week then that would require a fairly high % of city goers to use the service compared to the population and compared to the small numbers tnat use the city centre. Also Limerick city has a much higher % of it's population unemployed than Cork or Galway, and has had a higher % of businesses close over the last three years, which makes for less disposable income and less reasons for people to be in the centre to use the bikes in the first place.

    And another issue is the scum issue. Whether people living here in Limerick like it or not, there is a more visible scum presence in the city centre than there is in Galway or Cork. Not saying those places are problem free, but I think Limerick has a less policed scum population in the city centre.


    The one way I think it could work well is if it was tied in with the pedestrianisation of O'Connell street once it is done, and if someone has the cop on to try and get new retail business signed up to that project for when it finishes, rather than the usual bluff about how massive company X and massive company Y are just about to open in Limerick.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,048 ✭✭✭Amazotheamazing


    I think it can work, the Dublin bikes have security features to stop them being stolen. I don't know how they prevent vandalism but I assume no one thinks Dublin (where the scheme is a massive success) is vandal free?

    Limerick is a city suited to cycling, as much as any Irish city (apart from Dublin), wider roads than Galway, less hills than Cork.

    Obviously it depends who's in charge of maintenance? I'm not certain I'd trust the council with it.

    Where's best to put the bikes though? Out by Thomond, Corbally, UL as well as city centre I assume?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    seamus wrote: »
    The area covered by the Dublin scheme isn't much bigger than the main Limerick city as far as I can see.

    Economies of scale apply anyway, you wouldn't have the same number of bikes and stations as Dublin. I don't know if the Dublin one does make a profit, it's run by a 3rd party company in exchange for advertising space, so the net cost/profit to the city is zero.

    I'm curious though as to why you seem to be so set against it? Assuming that it operates to the Dublin one and costs the city nothing, would you oppose the scheme being rolled out in Limerick?



    Where did I say I was set against it? At no point did I say I was against the idea, what I am saying is that I don't think it would work in Limerick, and I gave some of the reasons as to whyt I think it would not work. Big difference between a person being set against something and a person who thinks it would not work for various reasons.

    I love the idea of Limerick having better facilities, but I am too used to hearing about lots of new facilities, projects and ventures and either not seeing them happen, or seeing half assed versions of them come about.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    I think it can work, the Dublin bikes have security features to stop them being stolen. I don't know how they prevent vandalism but I assume no one thinks Dublin (where the scheme is a massive success) is vandal free?

    Limerick is a city suited to cycling, as much as any Irish city (apart from Dublin), wider roads than Galway, less hills than Cork.

    Obviously it depends who's in charge of maintenance? I'm not certain I'd trust the council with it.


    Where's best to put the bikes though? Out by Thomond, Corbally, UL as well as city centre I assume?


    I think the bits in bold are very valid questions to ask.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,048 ✭✭✭Amazotheamazing


    Kess73 wrote: »
    The benefits of such a scheme in a busy city are exactly as you have said, but does anyone really think that Limerick city centre is a busy city centre?

    It does not suffer from massive traffic congestion most of the time, it does not have crowded footpaths pretty much all year round, and it does not have the footfall that Cork or Galway have in the city centre during the daytime.


    It's not necessarily about footfall in the city centre. Say you wanted to go from Dolans to Nancies, or from your accountants in the Crescent down to the tax office, it's not a very long walk, but it's long enough to be inconvienent. In that respect I think the scheme could be great.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,714 ✭✭✭adaminho


    Let me just state that I've no objection to this. Im merely asking if it would work in Limerick. A city like Dublin has a large population living in the city who might have to work further out. Limerick is the opposite. Cities like Dublin also have a large police presence to keep an eye on the bikes.

    Having in lived in Hamburg where cycling is the main form of transport I can see the benefit of such schemes. But would it not be more cost efective to place secure bike parking in the city for private bikes? Plenty people have bikes that they would bring to town if you knew it was going to be safe.

    Finally motorists, cyclists and pedestrians need to cop on to the rules of the road in relation to each other. Cars need to realise that a cyclist is entitled to the same space as a car on the road. Cyclists need to realise that this means the rules of the road apply to you when it comes to footpaths and lights. Pedestrians need to watch out for cyclists when you walk out onto the road without looking.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    Kess73 wrote: »
    I reckon the bikes will be targets for the scum population that seem to love roaming the city centre.

    Same thing was said about Dublin, the bikes will be trashed and will end up in the canals. I was one of the naysayers

    But happy to be proven wrong, was a big success and the same can happen for Limerick.

    Colbert Station is very central, a bike stand there would be very popular to get people into town


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,048 ✭✭✭Amazotheamazing


    adaminho wrote: »
    Having in lived in Hamburg where cycling is the main form of transport I can see the benefit of such schemes. But would it not be more cost efective to place secure bike parking in the city for private bikes? Plenty people have bikes that they would bring to town if you knew it was going to be safe.


    I don't think it should be either/or. We should look into this scheme and it should be safe to have a bike in town.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    It's not necessarily about footfall in the city centre. Say you wanted to go from Dolans to Nancies, or from your accountants in the Crescent down to the tax office, it's not a very long walk, but it's long enough to be inconvienent. In that respect I think the scheme could be great.


    Yeah but you cannot just get a bike from anywhere, there would be set pick up/drop off locations. So all journeys would be dictated by such. Unless the idea would be to have drop off/pick up locations pretty much everywhere you would still have to walk to the nearest pick up point to get a bike and then cycle to the bearest drop off point and then walk to your destination.


    Dublin has lots of locations where the nearby facilities draw in big numbers of people, and as such the bike stations are placed near those locations, I just don't think Limerick has enough such locations that would have a large number of people wanting to use enough of the routes on a daily basis, which could leave Limerick getting a small number of bikle stations which in turn limits where you can get/leave the bike.

    Inner Dublin has something like 40 to 50 bike stations to cope with demand and the number of bikes needed. Limerick would only get a fraction of that, and if Cork is looking to have something like 20 stations and 200 odd bikes, then Limerick will probably be half that or less again.

    I just think that the city would need more attractions and facilities to make the bike idea one that could be implemented properly and one that would be a genuine success.

    Mind you if getting the bikes in puts a stop to the "Limerick Luas"* idea that the council were spoofing about for a while then it is another positive.














    *Yes I know a monorail would be better and that Beer Baron could run it. :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,484 ✭✭✭The Snipe


    I can picture hammered idiotic students (not all students, but some!) And scumbags will end up pissing all over them on a night out.. :/


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    I can picture hammered idiotic students (not all students, but some!) And scumbags will end up pissing all over them on a night out.. :/



    Bit low talking about Arthropod Superleader like that. :pac:;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,882 ✭✭✭Poxyshamrock


    A lot of the people who use it in Dublin appear to be non-national professionals/students.


    I don't think Limerick has many of these.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭gloobag


    I can picture hammered idiotic students (not all students, but some!) And scumbags will end up pissing all over them on a night out.. :/

    In Dublin, the bikes are taken away at night by the company that runs the scheme, so no risk of that happening.

    My girlfriend lives in Dublin and she swears by the bikes. I think it would be great if this came to Limerick. Depending on where they place the stations, it might get some people back into the city centre.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    gloobag wrote: »
    In Dublin, the bikes are taken away at night by the company that runs the scheme, so no risk of that happening.
    Actually they're not, they're left in place. The stations "lock" after midnight so it's only possible to return a bike, but not take one till the morning.

    There are no issues with vandalism or anyone pissing on the bikes, despite being in massively busy areas with huge amounts of drunk students passing by.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭gloobag


    seamus wrote: »
    Actually they're not, they're left in place. The stations "lock" after midnight so it's only possible to return a bike, but not take one till the morning.

    There are no issues with vandalism or anyone pissing on the bikes, despite being in massively busy areas with huge amounts of drunk students passing by.

    Well, I've actually witnessed the bikes being taken away myself, at least at the GFs local station. I've also passed numerous stations during the early hours of the morning and they were empty. Maybe they're being taken away for maintenance or something, but I've seen it with my own eyes quite a few times now.

    The GF has also told me that they get cleaned in the mornings or something. Not, sure if that's true, but I will say that I've never seen one that looked like ****. They always seem to look like new, so they're obviously being well looked after.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    gloobag wrote: »
    Well, I've actually witnessed the bikes being taken away myself, at least at the GFs local station. I've also passed numerous stations during the early hours of the morning and they were empty. Maybe they're being taken away for maintenance or something, but I've seen it with my own eyes quite a few times now.
    They get redistributed overnight. Obviously the outer stations are busiest in the morning, so bikes get moved from inner to outer stations overnight to ensure there are enough bikes the next morning. The same redistribution happens during the day and the inner stations are filled up so that there are extra bikes for the evening exodus. Not sure about the cleaning but I've never encountered a bike that seemed particularly dirty, so maybe they get a wipe down when they're being moved.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,428 ✭✭✭busyliving


    Iang87 wrote: »
    try drive up patrick street with parking at both sides and two lanes of moving traffic and meeting a bike. Nowhere to go so you gotta slow down till mr bike decides where he is going.

    Unless of course we keep the bikes and say **** off cars, I'm not too bothered, i will be intrigued to see the bike buses though

    More like cars getting in the way of cyclists...Horses and Bikes have the right of way on roads as they both pre-dated cars...its in some old law that has yet to be updated...God I hate cars creating traffic


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭gloobag


    seamus wrote: »
    They get redistributed overnight. Obviously the outer stations are busiest in the morning, so bikes get moved from inner to outer stations overnight to ensure there are enough bikes the next morning. The same redistribution happens during the day and the inner stations are filled up so that there are extra bikes for the evening exodus. Not sure about the cleaning but I've never encountered a bike that seemed particularly dirty, so maybe they get a wipe down when they're being moved.

    Ah yeah, that would make sense actually. I only ever saw the empty stations in the city centre, so they must be waiting for the bikes used by people on their way into town for work.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,127 ✭✭✭ZombieBride


    I can't stand Sebastians (the name I have given to all cyclists, pedestrians are Nikita, motorbikers are Bruce and other motorists are just MoFo, it's easier to talk to them when I'm driving that way), I'm terrified that I'm going to knock one down.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,635 ✭✭✭xsiborg


    i think the scheme wouldn't work as the only cycle lane i know of is the one out near raheen industrial estate. i bought a bike with the intention of losing a few pounds and getting fit, etc, so i decided one day to cycle out to pc world- what a nightmare, is all i can say! traffic coming at me from all sides round arthurs quay, and if i wasnt getting off quick enough after a red light turned green then i was beeped out of it, bloody embarrassing, not to mention trying to navigate my way around the parkway roundabout to get into pc world!

    so then i decided to restrict my cycling outings to carrying my son to and from school in the child-seat i had fitted to the back of the bike, had yet more nightmares in traffic trying to get up along henry street and because south circular is only one way up by Mary I, i'd to come back into town by going out along the dock road. yeah, that was fun at 9 o clock in the morning!

    about three weeks later my bike, which was chained to a railing, was stolen, including the child seat still on it. i was in two minds as to whether it was a curse or a blessing in disguise, as i was also in two minds about the safety of trying to get around limerick city on a bicycle. but i went down to henry street and handed in the usual pictures, serial numbers and custom identification marks to look out for, and i suppose i got the answer i was expecting- "we'll keep a look out for it".

    tl;dr: can't see too many taking up the offer, this isn't amsterdam where bicycles outnumber cars on the roads and cycling everywhere is part and parcel of their culture, not just some hair-brained "lets go green" ill-thought out half wit idea with no thought put into the actual infrastructure that should have been put in place beforehand to accomodate it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,078 ✭✭✭Grumpypants


    The main plus for me is that i would love a bike but without a shed and a pain in the ass Side gate that had to be reinforced to keep dogs in, it would be a nightmare to have a bike at the house. Being able to use this would be great, i could potter into town in the morning and potter home when traffic is very light anyway.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,075 ✭✭✭leakyboots


    Would be ideal for heading out to Thomond on matchday.

    Kess73 - Quit the negativity, give the bloody thing a chance - it's not costing the city much/anything


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 57 ✭✭niceview


    I don't get all the negativity about this! (and on this forum in general to things in Limerick) The attitude seems to be "It won't work, so fcuk it, let's not even try."

    I think its a great idea and if it arrives in Limerick, I for one will be signing up. People are arguing saying it won't be used, the demand isn't there. Well I would image that one thing a scheme like this does is change habits. I'm sure there are people in Dublin who hadn't sat on a bike in years and now swear by the bikes up there.

    Let's give it a go.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,048 ✭✭✭Amazotheamazing


    niceview wrote: »
    I don't get all the negativity about this! (and on this forum in general to things in Limerick) The attitude seems to be "It won't work, so fcuk it, let's not even try."

    Age old problem around here and maybe around the city.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,882 ✭✭✭Poxyshamrock


    So where would ye place the bike stands?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,181 ✭✭✭Iang87


    busyliving wrote: »
    More like cars getting in the way of cyclists...Horses and Bikes have the right of way on roads as they both pre-dated cars...its in some old law that has yet to be updated...God I hate cars creating traffic

    to quote jeremy clarkson "who pays the road tax"


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,106 ✭✭✭✭TestTransmission


    Iang87 wrote: »
    to quote jeremy clarkson "who pays the road tax"

    We pay motor tax in this country , not road tax ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 937 ✭✭✭Icky Thump


    i have a great idea lets all start slating this idea and finding every little flaw that could be an issue so that way when they do a feasability study they find their is no support for it and then we can bitch that limerick isnt gettig what the othr cities are.....................

    i mean come on people are you serious here??????

    it woul be great for the city to have somethin like this. there is a huge % that wul use such a thing.

    the city center int busy????? have you not been in town on a saturday????even with the very few shops remaining i can assure you as someone who lives in the city center there is a huge footfall of people that go through the city every day let alone a busy saturday.

    city center outside pennys or arthurs quay, outside the bus station, dock road, university, parkway, raheen ind est, regional, cresent shopping center, roxboro shopping center. all places that could strive from such a thing.



    stop being so negative. yes we have scumbags. but here i a closely guarded secret......................................... so does dublin


    Dublin has just as much scum as we do. in fact percentage wise they would be alot higher. have you ever tried to wait for a bus or the luas????

    my point is that for what ever reason this works in dublin so why can it work here??

    the bikes have a security feature that stops them from being stolen.

    vandals are a concern but persevere and they will stop.

    after one day the bikes where vandalised in dublin and still every so often one or two are. the same in paris according to the article.
    http://www.herald.ie/news/free-bikes-scheme-is-hit-by-vandals-after-just-one-day-1885887.html


    the only cost of running the scheme is the actual bikes and docking stations. so i cant see how this cant make a profit(not that making a profit shuld be the only point since its a public funded scheme aimed at making the city a better place to live in)


    finally our tax euros are being spent on us and what do we do????? bitch online that it wouldnt work

    pathetic


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    leakyboots wrote: »
    Would be ideal for heading out to Thomond on matchday.

    Kess73 - Quit the negativity, give the bloody thing a chance - it's not costing the city much/anything




    Sorry for having an opinion and giving my reasons for that opinion. :rolleyes:

    I keep forgetting that trying to give reasons in a polite way about why you think something would or would not work is frowned upon by many on here. Much better to just tell people to not have their own opinion and trot out the usual Limerick has a rugby ground drivel.

    If you bothered to read my posts you will see I am not against the concept as I loved it abroad, but I have serious doubts about how well such a project would be rolled out in Limerick based on the mickey mouse way other things have been done in the town, and I have doubts also thanks to the large scum population Limerick city has.

    Limerick is a very small city that has traditionally had one of the highest unemployment % in Ireland even during the so called boom years, and right now it is close to twice the national average in terms of unemploytment. It is also the city with the highest % of social housing in Ireland, and the city with the highest % of unit closures in the city centre. I see those things as being major obstacles to the bike idea compared to rolling it out in Galway or Cork.

    What I did say was that it could be a very good idea IF it was rolled out as part of the pedestrianisation of O'Connell street, which I think starts next year, if that pedestrianisation project has factored in getting new retailers signed up to bring numbers and life back to the city centre.

    In short the bike projects stand or fall based on being in a city centre with a good footfall numbers. Limerick city needs to reverse it's sharply declining footfall numbers to allow a good idea like bike rental to work. A bike rental scheme in a city with very little by way of genuine attractions is not going to get the usage by locals that it would need long term.

    Good idea? Yes it is. Does it need other things in place to make it a success? Yes it does.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,606 ✭✭✭Jumpy


    This could easily be worth ten million to the city.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,484 ✭✭✭The Snipe


    Jumpy wrote: »
    This could easily be worth ten million to the city.


    I was waiting for someone to say it!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 937 ✭✭✭Icky Thump


    Kess73 wrote: »
    ....................................................................................................
    In short the bike projects stand or fall based on being in a city centre with a good footfall numbers. Limerick city needs to reverse it's sharply declining footfall numbers to allow a good idea like bike rental to work. A bike rental scheme in a city with very little by way of genuine attractions is not going to get the usage by locals that it would need long term.

    Good idea? Yes it is. Does it need other things in place to make it a success? Yes it does.


    Genuine attractions????? like the way Cork Waterford Galway and such have yea???

    there is alot of places to go in limerick and alot to do in limerick. like quiet a few on here id love to go for a cycle without having to worry about locking up the bike. there are alot of places to go cycling around our fine city.

    the city center is improving at a huge pace and something like this can only help


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 88 ✭✭Red Neck Hughie


    Iang87 wrote: »
    i think **** off bikes. Already holdin up traffic as it is

    I either cycle the pushbike, drive a car or ride a motorbike from Castletroy to Thomond everyday - depending on the humour. The car is definitely the slowest of the three and I'm one of the slowest cyclists out there. That's in spite of a mile of dual carriageway for the cars to catch up. Holding up traffic me arse.:rolleyes:


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