Journalism and cycling

magicbastarder

or else we were the most honest.

meeeeh

While I have no doubt there are aggressive car drivers but as foreigner I found the behaviour of pedestrians in Ireland fairly strange. Two things I find especially baffling, women out with buggies for a walk cutting across at a crossroads 50m away from zebra crossing. The other one is complete disregard for traffic lights. I'm more comfortable with German attitude where you stand at the zebra crossing waiting for green light even at three o'clock in the morning when the place is deserted (same goes for other users).

Mc Love

Just spotted this on the Times UK website:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cyclists-accuse-garda-of-ignoring-dangerous-overtaking-vb5ljm63k

meeeeh

magicbastarder wrote: »

or else we were the most honest.

Or stuck the longest in traffic. I absolutely dread the use of phones, especially of social media but I'd very surprised if Italians are better behaved. I'm in favour of drink driving type penalties for phone use so this is not an excuse I just wonder how reliable the research is.

Tell me how

Mc Love wrote: »

Just spotted this on the Times UK website:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cyclists-accuse-garda-of-ignoring-dangerous-overtaking-vb5ljm63k

Interesting how it is the times UK and they make no mention of it being an Irish story and then part of the article states "In some parts of the UK".

Only read bit outside paywall, sure they clarify.


That aside it's not ideal. Think they must have the approach that a near miss is not an incident.

magicbastarder

if you try going to the times ireland, it still brings you to thetimes.co.uk

CramCycle

Tell me how wrote: »

Interesting how it is the times UK and they make no mention of it being an Irish story and then part of the article states "In some parts of the UK".

Only read bit outside paywall, sure they clarify.


That aside it's not ideal. Think they must have the approach that a near miss is not an incident.

It points this out to show what could be done here with relative ease. As in, in the UK, helmet and dash cam footage can be uploaded and used to report, over here, it is pot luck if the Garda at the desk will even take it.

buffalo

buffalo wrote: »

I've seen recent comments from DCC...

https://www.dublininquirer.com/2018/09/11/a-push-for-more-zebra-crossings-may-leave-some-pedestrians-behind

Wasn't DCC themselves, but some NGO reps:

“Your average sighted person, waiting at a zebra crossing, looks for an approaching car and makes eye contact,” says Fiona Kelty, of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI). “A blind person can’t do that.”

...

Everybody should have equal access to public roads, Kelty said. That includes crossings. “If you don’t have a pedestrian crossing with audible signals then a blind person cannot do that independently,” she says.

In addition to presenting difficulties for people who are visually impaired, zebra crossings present challenges for people with intellectual or cognitive difficulties, says Gary Kearney, spokesperson for the Disability Federation of Ireland.

Anything but a controlled crossing is “dangerous”, says Kearney, who suffered brain damage nearly 10 years ago. Zebra crossings create an added level of uncertainty that can be difficult to navigate, he said.

“I have friends who won’t cross at them,” he says. “They go further along to a controlled crossing.”

A lot of this would indeed be sorted with better enforcement.

Macy0161

CramCycle wrote: »

It points this out to show what could be done here with relative ease. As in, in the UK, helmet and dash cam footage can be uploaded and used to report, over here, it is pot luck if the Garda at the desk will even take it.

This is pretty much it. I think Phil Skelton contributed to it - I think most of the salient points were on the "Stayin alive at 1.5" Facebook page.

I would say it's 100% that the gardai, like the majority of drivers, don't consider it a dangerous overtake without contact.

Hurrache

magicbastarder wrote: »

actually, this is the exact response (andrew montague asked on my behalf about provision of a zebra crossing at castle market - basically crossing from the powerscourt centre over to grogans):

Isn't the road markings there different anyway? A lot pedestrians and motorists seem to treat that crossing point as being pedestrian anyway.

buffalo

magicbastarder wrote: »

actually, this is the exact response (andrew montague asked on my behalf about provision of a zebra crossing at castle market - basically crossing from the powerscourt centre over to grogans):

That whole street should just be pedestrianised. Or at the very least the car parking taken out and the tiny one-person wide footpaths broadened.

It's nonsense: https://goo.gl/maps/hESABDuMErj

CramCycle

Retractable bollards for overnight/early mornign deliveries and emergency vehicles at either end, or at least from Butlers to the AA offices.

De Bhál

High Street Kilkenny is a an example of zebra crossings working well. There's a fair few crossings and as far as I can recall, no lights. Cars are expecting people to walk out on to them at any time so seem to go slower. Pedestrians on High Street it appears to me have priority.
There's lights in Dublin from my own experience at Harts corner in Glasnevin where you're waiting so long to cross, people start taking chances and run across between cars.

ED E

buffalo wrote: »

That whole street should just be pedestrianised. Or at the very least the car parking taken out and the tiny one-person wide footpaths broadened.

It's nonsense: https://goo.gl/maps/hESABDuMErj

They've been trying since like 2004 or something. Any movement towards it is blocked by the car parks. Same happens all over with sensible traffic planning.

rubadub

Is there a name for this type of yellow box linked below. The one spanning the road, the one in front is cars exiting a car park.

https://goo.gl/maps/9PDe3G8hdRk

I sometimes see cars coming to a sudden halt as though its a zebra crossing, and cars nearly going into the back of them.

I remember first being in UCD and myself and others freaked out that people actually obeyed the zebra crossings.

ED E

Thats an M121 school warden crossing patrol point.

Not a common one. You more often see RRM010 thats the Zig Zag school keep clear area along the pavement.

Cetyl Palmitate

Who belongs in the Everyday Cycling Hall of Fame?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2018/nov/01/who-belongs-in-the-everyday-cycling-hall-of-fame?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

Any Irish nominees to this imaginary HOF?

buffalo

Cetyl Palmitate wrote: »

Who belongs in the Everyday Cycling Hall of Fame?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2018/nov/01/who-belongs-in-the-everyday-cycling-hall-of-fame?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

Any Irish nominees to this imaginary HOF?

Andrew Montague.

magicbastarder

buffalo wrote: »

That whole street should just be pedestrianised. Or at the very least the car parking taken out and the tiny one-person wide footpaths broadened.

It's nonsense: https://goo.gl/maps/hESABDuMErj

It should be. But it's used for the exit for brown Thomas car park. One of the most colossally stupid planning decisions dublin has seen.

CramCycle

ED E wrote: »

They've been trying since like 2004 or something. Any movement towards it is blocked by the car parks. Same happens all over with sensible traffic planning.

How do they block it though is what gets me. It is obvious and just because one vested interest objects, I just can't understand it. Give them warning and permission to change the designated use of the building to something else, be it office, shops, accomodation or otherwise and a 3 year time span to wind it up or sell it.

rubadub wrote: »

I remember first being in UCD and myself and others freaked out that people actually obeyed the zebra crossings.

Those days are gone

magicbastarder wrote: »

It should be. But it's used for the exit for brown Thomas car park. One of the most colossally stupid planning decisions dublin has seen.

As above, so what, shut it down and let BT Car Park find another use. It is prime property in Dublin, I can't imagine they make more from car parks than they would from office or retail space, or accommodation

Weepsie

Macy0161 wrote: »

Well really motorists should be prepared to stop with anyone close to the crossing.

From the rules of the road, with their bolding...

As ever, rotr are not statute. They're guidelines and sometimes a bit vague. They need to be rewritten, as do swathes of the road traffic act. Acursory glance at the RTA and there's nothing about having to stop at them unless a pedestrian is on the zebra crossing already.

Chiparus

CramCycle wrote: »

How do they block it though is what gets me. It is obvious and just because one vested interest objects, I just can't understand it. Give them warning and permission to change the designated use of the building to something else, be it office, shops, accomodation or otherwise and a 3 year time span to wind it up or sell it.

Those days are gone

As above, so what, shut it down and let BT Car Park find another use. It is prime property in Dublin, I can't imagine they make more from car parks than they would from office or retail space, or accommodation

Probably takes 3 million plus turnover, with relatively small overheads. Conservative value 20 million plus.

Duckjob

Not necessarily cycling related although it might be-

Heard on NewsTalk this morning that they are doing a feature all next week (through multiple shows AFAIK) on commuter hell,

NewsTalk wrote:

We'll be exploring ways to improve our commute and asking the relevant stakeholders what they are doing to help

I find it fascinating these days how unwilling and unopen many people in Ireland are to taking on fresh approaches.

In the context that we are hurtling towards a climate crisis, it will be interesting to see if there's any attempt to talk of encouraging people out of their cars and into more healthy and sustainable habits, if that sort of approach is explored at all, or if it's just motorists complaining about the government not making enough space for them to continue driving their 1 person chariots into Dublin city center.

zell12

Duckjob wrote: »

Heard on NewsTalk this morning that they are doing a feature all next week (through multiple shows AFAIK) on commuter hell, ..

Paul Williams mentioned specifically that the schools are back next week and people will be stuck in [car] traffic, roads congested.
No mention of rail, boats, bikes or pedestrians
Commuter appears to be focused on car users

Worth firing off a few tweets to
@BreakfastNT @HenryMcKean @BarryWhyte85 @IvanYatesNT etc

Duckjob

Ivan "my wages are paid by Volvo" Yates ?

I'd imagine if he opens up the subject of cycling at one it will be how cyclists should be off the road because as well as being a menace they dont pay road tax and they're the ones slowing everyone down and causing the pollution you know.

Some of these people wear blinkers the size of planets when it comes to their cars. People need to get it into their heads that it's not up to the government to "sort out the traffic", its up to people individually to open their minds and change their ways in order to make a collective change for the better.

No government can bend the laws of physics and fit 200,000 cars in a space that only takes 100,000

zell12

https://twitter.com/BarryWhyte85/status/1058308661750173696

ED E

CramCycle wrote: »

How do they block it though is what gets me. It is obvious and just because one vested interest objects, I just can't understand it. Give them warning and permission to change the designated use of the building to something else, be it office, shops, accomodation or otherwise and a 3 year time span to wind it up or sell it.

Those days are gone

As above, so what, shut it down and let BT Car Park find another use. It is prime property in Dublin, I can't imagine they make more from car parks than they would from office or retail space, or accommodation

Its the principle of the thing, Parkrite have like 20 carparks and QPark have another load. They'll throw their weight in whenever anyone threatens any anti private car changes to improve overall transit and liveability in the city.

average_runner

Duckjob wrote: »

Ivan "my wages are paid by Volvo" Yates ?

I'd imagine if he opens up the subject of cycling at one it will be how cyclists should be off the road because as well as being a menace they dont pay road tax and they're the ones slowing everyone down and causing the pollution you know.

Some of these people wear blinkers the size of planets when it comes to their cars. People need to get it into their heads that it's not up to the government to "sort out the traffic", its up to people individually to open their minds and change their ways in order to make a collective change for the better.

No government can bend the laws of physics and fit 200,000 cars in a space that only takes 100,000

But a government could make better infrastructure though. Our governments are short term voting thinkers. The luas should be expanded all over Dublin.

I don't drive into the city, i get the bus or run in. Both give me "me time" where I can watch movies on the phone or just enjoy a nice run.

Duckjob

average_runner wrote: »

But a government could make better infrastructure though. Our governments are short term voting thinkers. The luas should be expanded all over Dublin.

I don't drive into the city, i get the bus or run in. Both give me "me time" where I can watch movies on the phone or just enjoy a nice run.

Better infrastructure for who though? If you mean for people to cycle run and walk then I agree with you 100%. If you make more space for cars, then more cars with appear to fill that space.

The dutch model of liveable cities didn't just involve making things better for people on bikes, it simultaneously involved making things worse for people in cars. People need stick as well as carrot to encourage them out of the cars. Trouble is, anything like that is not going to be popular with the Ivan Yates crowd, and politicians know this well, and so the car-centric society continues.

Thinkingaboutit

PR-STV voting makes penalising a section of voters with lobby groups unwise, particularly given the last year or so of minority govt, so the current mess has a long time to run.