Journalistic review of cycling infrastructure?

monument

Looking for input before I firm up this idea...

Basically: We have been spending lots of money on cycling, but what's the quality like? Has the standard of cycle lanes since the NTA's cycle design manual was published been as good as what's in the manual?

The department of transport funds most cycling infrastructure, but it says it does not have the staff to look at the quality of the outcomes. The NTA says it will look at the detail of things it funds, but it only funds projects in the Dublin area, and the councils also fund their own work and do renewals.

Given it seems nobody else is looking at the quality of cycling infrastructure across Ireland, I'm thinking: "Why not have a look at it?" But there's quite a bit of work, so I'll likely be turning to Fundit.ie and the kind help of the public.

The NTA's cycle design manual has been officially on the books in the Dublin Greater Area as something councils must have regard to for close to a year now, it was finished months before that, and there has been nothing stopping any council from using its guidance since.

The cycle manual is said to largely be guidelines, and not rules, but there are at least things like firm minimum widths which are set out for cycle lanes and cycle tracks.

You could also look at what was put it -- How many km of cycle lanes painted on the road was done with little other work? Or were many km of footpaths converted to "shared use" without much adjustment?

It could largely be based on seeking project line painting etc drawings from the councils via FOI/AIE. And the time frame could be limited the last year / two years.

Talking about shared use, I'm also thinking of an in-depth look at how shared use has been in Ireland (for much longer than two years but including recent years too) -- I'm in two minds: One part of me is thinking its another body of work, but, on the other hand, there's a lot of crossover in the work and issues.

Any thoughts?

All comments, questions, constructive criticism, and abuse welcomed!

monument

The setup and rewards could be something like this?... http://www.fundit.ie/project/no-95-merrion-square-an-article

This is my previous project page on fundit.ie: http://www.fundit.ie/project/cycling-in-dublin-newspaper and the finished product: http://cyclingindublin.com/in-print/

Beasty

OK, a question from me. Is it only the big cities that really need a cycling infrastructure? Is that where resource (which will always be limited) should be directed?

Alternatively should we be looking at more of a national cycling network (which I would guess would take a long time to plan and implement)? Is there already something out there on this?

I guess it comes down to whether we are looking at something that is really helping facilitate the movement of people (ie focussed on commuting and inner city cycling), or should resource be directed at it to improve cycling as a leisure activity?

My personal view is probably the best "bang for your buck" will be to focus on the cities first - it also means dealing with one local authority, which is probably going to be a lot easier than getting a number to participate in "joined up thinking" (I'm not suggesting leisure cycling should be ignored btw, but probably lower down the priority list in the current economic environment)

rp

Would not a Bypad audit be a good starting point?

monument

Funding has not been focused, but rather spread around the country. Will post up a list based on Department of Transport press releases etc, later today if I can.

rp wrote: »

Would not a Bypad audit be a good starting point?

Bypad takes an overview look at cycling policy and how it does or does not translate into changes on the ground.

It's quite broad.

Iwannahurl

monument wrote: »

The setup and rewards could be something like this?... http://www.fundit.ie/project/no-95-merrion-square-an-article

This is my previous project page on fundit.ie: http://www.fundit.ie/project/cycling-in-dublin-newspaper and the finished product: http://cyclingindublin.com/in-print

Was that Cycling in Dublin paper your brainchild?

Well done!

Iwannahurl

A mammoth task, I would suspect, and not necessarily one worth a massive amount of effort.

I agree with the earlier suggestion about using off-the-shelf 'bikeability' audit tools. You'd need standardised assessment criteria, I reckon.

I don't know how many km of cycle "facilities" have been constructed/painted/bunged in across the capital, never mind the whole country, but would the total amount not be too great for anything but a large team of people to assess?

What about sampling of some sort, along with case studies of good and bad facilities, as an alternative strategy, if the aim is a "journalistic review" of cycle infrastructure?

monument

Keeping it to one or two years of new build infrastructure would act as the sample.

Mucco

What would the aim of such a report be?
Who are the key audiences?
This will affect the inputs and the overall message.

monument

Mucco wrote: »

What would the aim of such a report be?
Who are the key audiences?
This will affect the inputs and the overall message.

The aim is to answer: What are we getting for the millions been spent? Are councils improving the standards of cycle lanes? Are the min standards in the cycle manual been followed? If not, why not?

The joy about doing something like this is you can have output targeted at diffrent groups -- At one end a polished article on public spending / cycling safety for genral consumption, while you can also give those interisted access to most or all of the infromation you come across, in raw and/or structured ways.

Something like this: http://www.fundit.ie/project/no-95-merrion-square-an-article

Civilian_Target

Sounds excellent, go for it. Effective cycling is a bit of a rambling and opinionated book, but it does have some interesting materiel on the safe design of cycle lanes, and well referenced. If you haven't already given it a read, I'd recommend it!