Dublin Bikes Advertising Round 2

MadsL

Here we go again;

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/dublin-bikes-subscription-fee-set-to-increase-by-50-1.2619913

Whilst I don't doubt Dublin Bikes success, DCC's limited imagination once again forces advertising (this time 'interactive' LED advertising) onto the streets of Dublin. Doubtless the entire project will once again be split into hundreds of planning applications in an effort to hide the massive nature of the project. This was shown to be in breach of EU law yet the project wasn't restated for transparency. All of the previous advertising units that were appealed to An Bord Pleanála were rejected on road safety grounds, but those were brought by private appeal and hugely expensive for those concerned.
I'm all for expansion, but why can we not have a public democratic process for a single project to fund this public scheme? This would also allow the public to determine the source of funding rather than having more unimaginative advertising littering Dublin streets.

MadsL

Example of how badly this was done last time;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=56480271

spurious

I spent over two hundred euro successfully blocking two of these the last time. Even though I won, a refund isn't possible. Regardless of the bikes, the advertising things are and were a distraction and a safety issue.

Phoebas

I've nothing against using advertising to part fund this if done properly (I don't like the idea of LED ad hoardings on College Green), but isn't this the kind of thing that LPT is supposed to be for?

Gumbo

The problem here is that while I agree with you about the litter of advertising panels, how else will it be funded?

DCC already part fund the scheme to the tune of €300k plus and they are looking to end that subsidiary. If people want it, it had to be paid for. If we use subscriptions alone, then they could jump way higher than the proposed 50% increase talked about this week.

mvt

Its a bit like water charges.

If people had to pay the cost of providing them they wouldn't use it

traprunner

If they want more people to use bikes then they will have to make it less convenient and more costly to drive. More cyclists will also help Ireland meet carbon emission targets and therefore save the country money. So I'm all for adding it to the parking charges (I drive and cycle) along with more branding on the bikes. I don't like the idea of LED advertisements or any more advertisements in general. Subscription could increase but if it goes up too much it may drive people away from it.

MadsL

http://www.dublininquirer.com/2016/04/27/to-pay-for-dublinbikes-expansion-councillors-consider-options/