Limerick Bike Scheme

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Poxyshamrock

So where would ye place the bike stands?

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"

TestTransmission

Iang87 wrote: »

to quote jeremy clarkson "who pays the road tax"

We pay motor tax in this country , not road tax

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

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.

Jumpy

This could easily be worth ten million to the city.

The Snipe

Jumpy wrote: »

This could easily be worth ten million to the city.

I was waiting for someone to say it!

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

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:

wingnut

To echo sentiments already I think the city is too small for the scheme.

What Limerick DOES need is a safe supervised place to leave your own bike in the city centre. In Dublin some of the multi stories have set aside an area for bikes in front of the security stations. I think this is a great idea.

I would have no problem paying 50c or so to leave a bike in town and have peace of mind. I live in the county, its a nice 30min cycle into town but I don't do it because I have decent bike and don't want it nicked/saddle nicked spat on etc which have all happened in the past.

http://www.dublincitycycling.ie/blog/index.php/2009/10/new-cycle-parking-facility-on-drury-street/

Poxyshamrock

Yeah, it would be great if someone like Tony Clarke turned some spaces in his carpark to bike spaces. I'm sure 5 car spaces would create room for at least 15-20 bikes!

niceview

Kess73 wrote: »

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.

Do unemployed people or people living in social housing not use bicycles? Should they not be afforded the opportunity? And before you say that argument is related to cost, it is €10 for an annual subscription in Dublin and €2 for up to three hours use. A lot cheaper than a bus and healthier too.

http://www.dublincitycycling.ie/public-bike-scheme/introducing-dublin-city-councils-dublinblikes

And if someone does not have a credit card they can use a smartcard which is an option anyone can avail of.

That point is a ridiculous one.

highlydebased

Well it says Cork would need "235-265 bikes to cater for an estimated 2,250 subscribers"- surely Limerick would have less again than this so it's not like there would be a bike per head of population, so I think thats an appropriate number for them to have.

I'd certainly be all for it.

Icky Thump

as a pure guess and not knowing how many stations and such they plan to have or area they would cover id say they would only need about 100-150 bikes in limerick and that would probably be plenty.

the arguement that limerick is too small is stupid. surely a smaller area is easier to control and keep track of the bikes. there are plenty of cycle routes in the city and plenty of routes to go for a random cycle.

stop being negative

Story_Bud

Why are people so negative .. i cycle on my bike and it is annoying when cars beep at me when i am on the road! Where am i meant to go ? i find it a great way to get around limerick and as it is very small it doesnt take that long to travel from one side to the other! I have had my bike stolen in carherdavin but you gotta take it on the chin .. it happens everywhere and i feel confident that when i leave my bike in limerick that it will be safe!

thesimpsons

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Yeah, it would be great if someone like Tony Clarke turned some spaces in his carpark to bike spaces. I'm sure 5 car spaces would create room for at least 15-20 bikes!

agree - would love to be able to cycle to town but don't feel bike would be particularly safe in the new bike racks round town, and don't want dogs p*ssing up against it either. A supervised area which is ticketed in and out same as cars are would be addition to city centre.

Icky Thump

all that is really needed is have indoor carparks cater for bikes aswell. surely they wouldnt take up alot of space. as someone said above 2 car spaces could cater for a good few bikes. you dont exactly need 100 spaces. you could charge a quid to park your bike for the day and people would pay it easily.

idealy you would be able to leave your bike into a cage type room (thinking of costelloes:D) and you get a ticket when you leave it in and must show your ticket when you are getting it back out any business in town with an empty store room could facilitate this on the side of whatever kind of business they run.

there are so many empty shops around im suprised someone hasnt tried this already.

as for the bike rental. hopefully it wil make the ciy more aware of the need to be bike friendly as in have a place to park your bikes.

i wouldnt even mind if there was a security camera on the bikes so we could identify anyone who tries to steal them or mess with them

Poxyshamrock

Anyone at the meeting on Monday?

Cpt_Blackbeard

It should be a great way of getting students from UL and LIT into the city centre. All you really need is one station in the city centre (Outside Penney's or by Burger King?), one in the crescent, one in UL, one in LIT and one in Corbally. That should cover most areas around the city.