360M euro per year to be spent on cycling and walking infrastructure

Hurrache

Macy0161 wrote: »

Even with the increase in traffic, there's still noticeably more tweens and teens out and about on foot and bikes where I live. It's like the freedom we may have had in our youth has been rediscovered somewhat.

Absolutely! My long ran running route I'd have mainly have to myself, and farmers, up until this year. Now I meet so many groups of kids, both sexes, out getting around and cruising. However it's used as a means to avoid the main, more direct, road into the next village as that road is long and straight and unpleasant due to the speed of traffic using it, even with the lower volume.

cgcsb

beauf wrote: »

No the one they've been talking about for a decade.

Now you mention its how is the interim route working out with far lighter than normal traffic load? Has anyone used it?

It's somewhat useful but for an inexperienced cyclist it might kill you. You have to get off the bike and walk with the pedestrian sequence to get to the start of it just before the fourcourts. Apparently you're supposed to cut across 3 lanes to get to it but there would be a lot of deaths if people actually done that. In theory when the light is red for eastbound traffic you can use the cyclist box to move to the right side from the left but in practice a typical Irish motorist doesn't understand what a stop line is so usually the cyclist box is full of cars, so nothing the cyclist can do.

Then you have the Capel St junction where for some time the cyclists have a green light and the cars also have a green light, meaning they can turn right on front of a cyclist going straight and both have the right of way it seems, they might change the light sequence after a death occurs.

Then it ends at the 'busgate' (for it to be a real bus gate it would have to actually work and not be full of cars all the time). So at the bus gate you're on your own, you have to get back over to the left side somehow.

Breezer

cgcsb wrote: »

It's somewhat useful but for an inexperienced cyclist it might kill you. You have to get off the bike and walk with the pedestrian sequence to get to the start of it just before the fourcourts. Apparently you're supposed to cut across 3 lanes to get to it but there would be a lot of deaths if people actually done that. In theory when the light is red for eastbound traffic you can use the cyclist box to move to the right side from the left but in practice a typical Irish motorist doesn't understand what a stop line is so usually the cyclist box is full of cars, so nothing the cyclist can do.

Then you have the Capel St junction where for some time the cyclists have a green light and the cars also have a green light, meaning they can turn right on front of a cyclist going straight and both have the right of way it seems, they might change the light sequence after a death occurs.

Then it ends at the 'busgate' (for it to be a real bus gate it would have to actually work and not be full of cars all the time). So at the bus gate you're on your own, you have to get back over to the left side somehow.

And this is why you need to cycle a route to appreciate it properly. I walked along it last night and was marvelling at the fact that they’d given bike priority signalling at Capel St. I didn’t cop that the green bike light continued to be lit after the green right turning car light went on. That is mental!

Getting into and out of the lane struck me as being awkward alright.

beauf

I have used bike lanes with seperate traffic lights in Germany. Didn't think anything of it then. (like 20 yrs ago)

The ones I've used here on the Canal seemed a bit redundant and largely ignored.

I haven't cycled on the quays here in over a year, and unless you are using these routes on a regular basis its hard to visualise the issues.

cgcsb

pedestrian and cycling lights here are roundly ignored because the sequences haven't actually be thought through. All over the city you can observe periods of over 10 seconds when everything is red for example. It wouldn't be acceptable in most western countries but Irish people just accept it doesn't work and then use their wits to decide whether or not to go.

The Capel st light issue in particular is alarming, if a cyclist was going at speed through a green light(not taking note the other light was also green, because why would you even think that developed countries produce such fatal design errors) they could be killed here.

Thelonious Monk

God there is so much nonsense in this thread. City centre people don't need to cycle apparently, nor do those in the suburbs? What? And it's the pursuit of the middle classes?
Our lowest paid workers are often the ones cycling to work I think you'll find, a car is very expensive to run and public transport in Ireland is expensive too, it's a large chunk of your wages if you're earning f*ck all.
The weather is grand in Dublin anyway, I have cycled in and out of town for decades at this stage and you get soaked a handful of times most years. It's about an 8km each way cycle for me now, and I don't need a shower when I get work, I just have one before I leave, and wear my normal clothes on the bike.
Given all the income tax I've paid over the year, and the amount of it that's been spent on motorways and bypasses I'll never use, it's about time something was spent on people who cycle to work, I just hope they don't waste all this money on planning and red tape.

Thelonious Monk

Hrududu wrote: »

Is that true? If so thats an incredible statistic, and should put paid to people whinging about investing in cycling infrastructure.

The dream for me is Amsterdam. I haven't been to Copenhagen to compare, but imagine cities in Ireland having that type of set up.

haha, I love your name, hrududus are the arch enemies of cyclists, and rabbits!

Mercian Pro

Hopefully the new Government will look at the factors that have delayed a whole raft of cycling infrastructure projects in the past. One of these, funding, looks like it might be resolved but Nimbyism, and worse still, Councillors reaction to it, needs a workaround.
The other issue has been shortage of experienced design staff both within the Local Authorities and the consulting firms they employ to design the schemes. I suppose if there really is a slowdown on road and motorway spending, staff could be redeploying but, if so, hopefully they will have to spend some time on a bike first.

Seth Brundle

https://twitter.com/CitizenW0lf/status/1274284067748544517?s=19

Mercian Pro

Far more annoying is the fact that the potential for a Greenway along the Boyne from Drogheda to Navan has been there for ages yet the only investment has been on the Drogheda to Oldbridge section and on misleading PR like this video. Including Newgrange and Knowth is totally misleading as there is no public access to the riverside anywhere near there. Between Slane and Navan there has been an attractive walking path for years with one short gap near Stackallen Bridge. This should have been sorted out years ago but Meath County Council seem unable or unwilling to do anything about it.

The car is likely the drone pilots

I've said it before here, they need to show some joined up thinking between the CC's and some ambition.

The section between Mornington and Drogheda has got the go ahead I think and the section between Drogheda and Oldbridge got some lighting and buttery smooth tarmac which is nice but a route from Drogheda - Slane - Navan could rival or be on a par with other routes in the country. There were proposals for a route on the railway line between Navan and Kingscourt not sure where that stands.

EDIT: This was the latest I could find on the Navan - Kingscourt route https://www.northernsound.ie/cavan-county-council-consider-agreement-facilitate-development-greenway-navan-kingscourt/ that the kind of joined up thinking we need.