Journalism and cycling

Seth Brundle

Car parks threaten to sue if Liffey Cycle Route proceeds...

https://twitter.com/Cyclistie/status/1218824581072539648?s=19

Pinch Flat

Its depressing and laughable at the same time how this vested interest has sabotaged all the plans to date for a safe cycling route along the liffey.

donvito99 wrote: »

It would be interesting to see a study of the proportion of regular cyclists who pay "road" tax and insurance on the car(s) they leave at home for the morning and evening commutes...

Although that won't make anyone commenting on Facebook less stupid

I believe it's 80% of cyclists who also drive. There was some UK data. Given out similar car culture I'd say it's around the same.

Duckjob

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Car parks threaten to sue if Liffey Cycle Route proceeds...

https://twitter.com/Cyclistie/status/1218824581072539648?s=19

On what basis would they sue ? I'm no legal eagle but wouldn't there need to be some sort of contract between DCC and the car park owners, the terms of which DCC would need to have breached ? Otherwise it strikes me as utter nonsense.

Then again, this is Ireland so you never really know what dodgy deals might have been done behind closed doors.

Won't the bus connects/corridor thing be taking cars out of the city too? Or at least thats the intention, so will they sue for that that too or did they raise an objection to that?

Sounds like codswallop too me.

Harrybelafonte

Duckjob wrote: »

On what basis would they sue ? I'm no legal eagle but wouldn't there need to be some sort of contract between DCC and the car park owners, the terms of which DCC would need to have breached ? Otherwise it strikes me as utter nonsense.

Then again, this is Ireland so you never really know what dodgy deals might have been done behind closed doors.

As it stands, I have found that many of my own age in the subarbs no longer visit the city centre, blaming the increase in tourists, cost of parking and "rough types" and as was put to me recently, "it's so gentrified I may as well just go to a shopping centre out here". A cycle lane is the least of the parking people's worries

magicbastarder

can you imagine the precedent it'd set? not just car park owners - but filling stations, tyre depots, etc.

tomasrojo

Get rid of on-street parking to drive customers towards parking garages. Win-win.

The J Stands for Jay

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

, "it's so gentrified I may as well just go to a shopping centre out here".

That to me is as alien an attitude as thinking more cyclists make congestion worse. Do they just want to be able to drive to McDonalds, Tesco, Penny's and Nandos?

Pinch Flat

tomasrojo wrote: »

Get rid of on-street parking to drive customers towards parking garages. Win-win.

I find it hard to believe there's on street parking on the quays - should be totally removed and guve the space for cycling lane and more cars going to off street parking.

The South quays at Guinness also seems to be some sort of impromptu truck park. Surely these could be diverted somewhere else and this converted go a cycle track

Duckjob

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

As it stands, I have found that many of my own age in the subarbs no longer visit the city centre, blaming the increase in tourists, cost of parking and "rough types" and as was put to me recently, "it's so gentrified I may as well just go to a shopping centre out here". A cycle lane is the least of the parking people's worries

I only go into Dublin city centre these days when I have to. It just doesn't appeal to me like it used to. Too claustrophobic, too prioritised for motorised traffic, too smelly and too noisy.

I see other cities in Europe where they understand the appeal of having attractive open space for people to move around, where people want to come and spend time there because of the attractive spaces. And then I look back at Dublin where the same tired old voices continually stifle any sort of meaningful change and we are being left far behind.

I also am put off by the scummy element in Dublin, but I view that as an unfortunate natural byproduct of not having a place that entices enough people to spend time there.

Irish cities could be amazing, but they're not because our planners and politicians are failing so badly at moving them in the right direction.

Macy0161

Duckjob wrote: »

It just doesn't appeal to me like it used to. Too claustrophobic, too prioritised for motorised traffic

I definitely find this when I'm in with the children especially. Trying to cross O'Connell Bridge, O'Connell Street etc.

blackwhite

Pinch Flat wrote: »

I believe it's 80% of cyclists who also drive. There was some UK data. Given out similar car culture I'd say it's around the same.

If anything I'd warrant that it's a higher percentage in Ireland.

London is a city where in many areas (and high-population areas at that) it's more convenient to live without a car - public transport is very good, and finding a permanent parking spot near a home can be prohibitively expensive.

I'd image there's an unusually high number of non-drivers in London as a result of that, and that would depress the overall national average percentage of cyclists who also drive in the UK.

Seth Brundle

How a Belgian port city inspired Birmingham's car-free ambitions

...
The Birmingham transport plan, launched last week, was influenced by Ghent’s zone-centred traffic circulation plan of 2017. This medieval Belgian city – a quarter of the size of Birmingham – demonstrated that it was possible to switch attitudes overnight. Streets were blocked to motorists one Sunday evening and – to the disappointment of the waiting media –there was no wailing, no gnashing of teeth, no gridlock.

Motorists have since found that, while their journeys are longer in distance, they take less time because there are fewer fellow travellers on the roads. Motor vehicles used to make up 55% of trips in Ghent – that number has now fallen to 27%.

Retailers and restaurants that had warned of Armageddon discovered that takings did not plummet.

“Actually the economic situation has improved,” says the Green politician who led what had been controversial changes. Filip Watteeuw, deputy mayor of Ghent, points out there “has been a 17% increase in restaurant and bar startups, and the number of empty shops has been arrested”.

A year after the imposition of the traffic circulation plan – in news that may encourage similarly minded politicians around the world, Watteeuw was re-elected with an increased majority.

Another advantage of the intervention is that it is remarkably cheap to implement; Ghent’s plan cost just €4m (£3.4m) to implement. By comparison it costs an estimated £20m-£30m to build just one mile of motorway.
...

“We had people complaining that a drive of 300 metres became a car journey of two kilometres,” remembers Watteeuw. “We had to explain that we don’t want people to use a car for 300 metres: they should walk.”
...

Harrybelafonte

McGaggs wrote: »

That to me is as alien an attitude as thinking more cyclists make congestion worse. Do they just want to be able to drive to McDonalds, Tesco, Penny's and Nandos?

No. Their point is, I think, that the city centre has become quite dull. Most of the places we would have visited when younger are gone and it's filled with "high street" stores, which also exist in Blanch, etc.

Most of these places are closer to them than the city centre and quicker to get there, and parking would be free if they did have to drive, so town no longer has anything to offer them. I'm in my forties now, so their kids would have a lot to do with this too.

Macy0161

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

No. Their point is, I think, that the city centre has become quite dull. Most of the places we would have visited when younger are gone and it's filled with "high street" stores, which also exist in Blanch, etc.

Shopping wise, most of Dublin City Centre could be any town or city in Britain or Ireland, just the same as the shopping centres. It's the unique things that will make the city vibrant - museums, theatres, tourist attractions, restaurants, bars.

As someone with an 11 and 12 year old, it's a pain in the arse to shepherd them around Dublin, especially when it's busy. And that's with it being easier than when we used to do it when they were younger. If they want to shop, it's shopping centres. If it was a better pedestrian experience, the city centre would come more into play.

CramCycle

I bring my son to town to see the Natural History Museum (he spotted a mistake with the naming of one of the Whales and now likes to keep a close eye on the place :pac: ), walk around, maybe have a coffee and a bit of food, and look at a few niche shops not anywhere else eg Music, Comics, not big stores. The idea that anyone comes into town to do big shops from anywhere past a km or 2 sounds insane, regardless of transport mode. My partner and daughter haven't went to town for shopping in years bar in an emergency where they would have to pop in from work on a lunch break, and even then, they would normally just call Dads Bike Courier service.

eeeee

CramCycle wrote: »

I bring my son to town to see the Natural History Museum (he spotted a mistake with the naming of one of the Whales and now likes to keep a close eye on the place :pac: ), walk around, maybe have a coffee and a bit of food, and look at a few niche shops not anywhere else eg Music, Comics, not big stores. The idea that anyone comes into town to do big shops from anywhere past a km or 2 sounds insane, regardless of transport mode. My partner and daughter haven't went to town for shopping in years bar in an emergency where they would have to pop in from work on a lunch break, and even then, they would normally just call Dads Bike Courier service.

I'm gonna be needing a book from you and Enfilade of yer lovely family times!

eeeee

eeeee wrote: »

I'm gonna be needing a book from you and Enfilade of yer lovely family times!

Next chapter will be our trip to the soon to be reopened to the public Fry model railway in Malahide!!!!!!!!!!

Was on the news this evening and the girls were rattling with excitement, the youngest is having a Thomas the tank engine phase and the eldest just likes things that ain't cars and their mammy isn't from these shores so never had a school trip to see it when it was in the castle. Best way to there from Drogheda? On the train !!!! The 18 month old will lose her **** big time

How is this cycling related ? I'm nearly certain I saw it the summer Roche won the tour.

Ferris

Congestion charge article from David McWilliam, nothing ground breaking but nice big picture piece where proceeds from a congestion charge are funnelled into public transport and cycling infrastructure.

http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/introduce-a-congestion-charge-and-make-public-transport-free/

eeeee

Deleted User wrote: »

Next chapter will be our trip to the soon to be reopened to the public Fry model railway in Malahide!!!!!!!!!!

Was on the news this evening and the girls were rattling with excitement, the youngest is having a Thomas the tank engine phase and the eldest just likes things that ain't cars and their mammy isn't from these shores so never had a school trip to see it when it was in the castle. Best way to there from Drogheda? On the train !!!! The 18 month old will lose her **** big time

How is this cycling related ? I'm nearly certain I saw it the summer Roche won the tour.

Ah-maaaazing. I can't wait for the report!

Seth Brundle

Phasing Out Cars Key To Paris Mayor’s Plans For 15-Minute City

Should she get reelected as Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo plans to turn the French capital into a myriad of neighborhoods where “you can find everything you need within 15 minutes from home.”

But, preferably, not by car. Instead, the Socialist Party politician wants more Parisians to walk and cycle.

Plans for the “city of fifteen minutes”—or, Ville Du Quart D’Heure—were unveiled on January 21 by Hidalgo’s reelection campaign, Paris En Commun.

The plans, which aim to transform Paris into a people-friendly city, build on Hidalgo’s transport changes made during her current term of office, which has included removing space for cars and boosting space for cyclists and pedestrians.

Hidalgo wants to carry out what she calls an “ecological transformation of the city,” aiming to clean the city’s air and improve the “daily life of Parisians.”

...

Duckjob

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Phasing Out Cars Key To Paris Mayor’s Plans For 15-Minute City

Can we steal her and ship her over here ?

Seth Brundle

Whilst I can't see it happening, it's great that it is getting out there and isn't being ridiculed...

New York State Governor Mulls Car Helmet Compulsion To Discourage Motoring

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo told a press conference on January 23 that cars were “paralyzing” New York City and that motoring had to be discouraged with measures such as congestion pricing. When one reporter asked him if he would mandate car helmets for motorists—a measure that would likely dampen demand for motoring—he did not laugh off the suggestion. Instead, he called for data on whether the measure could save lives.

Breezer

I’ve just heard Brendan O’Connor announcing one of the Sunday papers (I didn’t catch which one) saying “Green Party manifesto allows cyclists to break red lights.”

I just had a look at the manifesto there. It allows for a left turn on red, giving way to pedestrians in the crossing. Which is a bit different...

MiskyBoyy

Cyclists protest over delays to Liffey Cycle Route development

Seth Brundle

Positive article about the protest in the IT...
‘It’s survival of the fittest’: Dublin Cycling Campaign urges safety measures

magicbastarder

Cycling advocacy group listed alongside extremist groups on counter-terror list
Critical Mass appear alongside extremist organisations in policing guidance - but top officers say listing is not sign of counter-terror interest
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/critical-mass-cycling-group-terror-watch-list-home-office-a9301516.html

the british police have really handled the recent climate change and XR protests badly compared to the gardai.

eeeee

It's extraordinary.
I think the UK may have run out of sharks to jump at this stage :rolleyes:

Seth Brundle

No so much cycling but road safety related...
'Smiley faces' on speed detector signs effective at slowing down drivers, gardaí believe

Breezer

Seth Brundle wrote: »

No so much cycling but road safety related...
'Smiley faces' on speed detector signs effective at slowing down drivers, gardaí believe

You know what else is effective at slowing down drivers? Fully automated speed/average speed cameras with ANPR.