The rise of the 'cyclivist'

jive wrote: »

It is good work they are doing and highlights the issues whether you agree with their approach or not. I cycle to and from work every day but there's no chance I'd let me kids cycle to school along the same route; the 'stress' of cycling around Dublin does inhibit a lot of people.

Infrastructure/rules being more respected and increased segregated lanes where relevant would massively increase the number of cyclists. You don't need to look much further than the segregated lane along the canal to see evidence of this. It's a win-win for all road users in terms of health, traffic management, cost-efficiency, etc.

This is the bit that always has me scratching my head......is Dublin really that stressful a city to cycle around?

Personally, I find it a great city to cycle in - generally flat, generally dry and plenty to see. I know there are idiot road users of other classes you have to contend with but no more so (in fact less so) compared to other cities I've cycled in.

.....that's not to say there isn't significant room for improvement and enhancement but I think its wrong, in my experience, to somehow equate the unrealised potential of the city to it being stressful or dangerous to cycle around it.

I'd see protests such as this as highlighting a negative about the city in terms of cycling, whereas I'd prefer my protests to be a bit more positive......ymmv.

Maybe a few more 'critical mass' type events to get people on bikes rather than standing on the road.

TallGlass wrote: »

You've to question the mentality of some drivers, yesterday I literally witnessed a driver behind a guy turning right, only that his path wasn't clear so he done the correct action and didn't turn till clear as it was a yellow box. Yet the clown behind him was hockying the horn out of it for him to do something illegal.

The Gardaí Corps should assign two members to just literally get a dart board out and place a map of Dublin on it, fire it at said board and then patrol that street and surrounding streets for the day, literally handing out tickets for everything they can, bike lanes, red lights, yellow boxes, parking, bus lanes, drivers phones. Plain cloths if needs be, in fact have one in uniform and one in plain cloths. The best thing is you never know what street it will be on.

Personally, I'd prefer that if the Guards had 2 spare bodies they put them both in plain clothes (or plain lycra:D) and send them out with go-pros just to ticket all the dangerous over-takers and cornerers.

Thus tackling directly a genuine safety issue in a focused and sustainable way, rather than just setting out to antagonise a corner of the city.

magicbastarder wrote: »

there's another 'critical mass' style ride on sep 10th.

Having them on Sunday isn't really the point though? Is it?

magicbastarder wrote: »

but you mentioned that one of the concerns you had about the bike lane action was that it is 'escalatory rather than conciliatory' - and one of the issues people have (whether you agree with their conclusion or not) with weekday critical mass bike rides is that they create traffic jams for motorists - many of whom may be 'bike friendly' - for no other aim than visibility for cyclists.

whereas these bike lane actions are specifically targetting *only those* motorists who would choose to ignore the law, while still maintaining visibilty. i'd see these as less escalatory.

There is a difference between using the streets and getting people to use them in a way that says "we're here" and simply occupying a static location. One action sets out to prove a positive.....that cycling is both enjoyable and a viable way to move around the city, whereas the other aims to make a point by being narrowly disruptive.

.....plus, encouraging drivers, public transport users etc to get on a bike and enjoy a day of commuting as part of a wider social, critical mass grouping is much more likely to convert people to the merits of the bike as a mode of transport than occupying a location, even if it is for the purposes of deterring behaviour non-compliant with road traffic legislation.

Can't see too many drivers giving up their car to spend an hour standing beside a bike lane, but they may be minded to try an ol' spin on the bike if they could, within the safety a larger group offers.