Journalism and cycling

Duckjob

Discussion on NT this morning over proposal to make parking in cycle lanes a penalty point offence.

The overall response was measured enough, although the usual obligatory ignorant text had to be read out of course, about how the texter would start listening to cyclists when they "start paying insurance and road tax and stop breaking red lights". Why does the media insist on giving voice to these half-wits and not challenging them on their nonsense ?

magicbastarder

because those half wits are their listenership.

LeinsterDub

magicbastarder wrote: »

because those half wits are their listenership.

Not according to this poll and similar polls like this they run.
https://twitter.com/BreakfastNT/status/1222065803702472704

Seth Brundle

Duckjob wrote: »

Discussion on NT this morning over proposal to make parking in cycle lanes a penalty point offence.

The overall response was measured enough, although the usual obligatory ignorant text had to be read out of course, about how the texter would start listening to cyclists when they "start paying insurance and road tax and stop breaking red lights". Why does the media insist on giving voice to these half-wits and not challenging them on their nonsense ?

I was driving in this morning and heard that.
In fairness the feedback was significantly in cyclists favour.
At the end one person mentioned insurance and road tax (sic) to which the presenter mentioned (sarcastically) that yes, and we should also make sure pedestrians pay road tax and are insured.
For once, I thought it was a reasonable discussion but then again, the likes of Ivan Yeats wasn't there to deliberately stir it up.

Edit: I just spotted this tweet byt them advertising the discussion...
https://twitter.com/BreakfastNT/status/1222047391156666368

mr spuckler

Not on podcast yet, will look out for when it is.

Pinch Flat

Duckjob wrote: »

....about how the texter would start listening to cyclists when they "start paying insurance and road tax and stop breaking red lights". Why does the media insist on giving voice to these half-wits and not challenging them on their nonsense ?

Can never understand this argument. Setting aside that roads are public utilities like a hospital, school or library in this regard. Also, if motorists did shoulder the cost of road building through their "road tax", it would mean they'd pay many thousands annually on the disc on their windscreen to pay for a multi-billion euro asset. And of course we never see calls to halt road building, because people are breaking reds, drink driving or speeding.

Such a laughable argument that goes to show how socially immature some are in this country.

magicbastarder

there was a piece on cycling in dublin city centre last night, on RTE's drivetime. i only just caught the very end, but it seemed like a sympathetic look at it. they had someone on from dublin commuter coalition and possibly someone from the chamber of commerce.

Seth Brundle

Pollution down 20% following ban on traffic outside Dublin school

Traffic pollution outside a north Dublin primary school that has banned school run traffic has fallen by 20% since the policy was introduced.

Parents were banned from dropping their children at the gates of St Oliver Plunkett's National School in Malahide by Fingal County Council.

Surveys carried out at the national school indicated a 50% increase in the number of pupils walking, cycling or scooting to school since the ban was put in place.

buffalo

magicbastarder wrote: »

there was a piece on cycling in dublin city centre last night, on RTE's drivetime. i only just caught the very end, but it seemed like a sympathetic look at it. they had someone on from dublin commuter coalition and possibly someone from the chamber of commerce.

Kevin Baker of Dublin Cycling Campaign and Richard Guiney of Dublin Town - it was refreshingly in favour. I only caught some of it too, but it seemed to be centred on at least trialling part of the Liffey Cycleway. The tone toward the end of the piece was "why hasn't it happened yet?"

Seth Brundle

Looking at Twitter, seems like Transport wasn't discussed in any meaningful way during the leaders debate last night on RTE

https://twitter.com/dublincycling/status/1221939507517362184

CramCycle

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Pollution down 20% following ban on traffic outside Dublin school[/url]

Nice to have some good news for a change, simple, easy and with a clear net positive for everyone involved almost immediately. Hopefully it will be expanded elsewhere.

magicbastarder

buffalo wrote: »

Kevin Baker of Dublin Cycling Campaign and Richard Guiney of Dublin Town - it was refreshingly in favour. I only caught some of it too, but it seemed to be centred on at least trialling part of the Liffey Cycleway. The tone toward the end of the piece was "why hasn't it happened yet?"

https://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/11147076

50:40s in.

Melodeon

Interesting item on taking up road space, as found on Reddit:
Cycling Activists Build Bamboo Car Skeletons to Demonstrate Space Taken by Single Occupancy Cars
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/10/lets-bike-it-bamboo-car-skeletons/?fbclid=IwAR16RZAVrUZBMPADtgIcVcAPqsZNtH3npQhlnV4ajg_V0euCun91UFZJKbQ

I can only imagine the outrage this would generate if replicated in Dublin!

work

Melodeon wrote: »

Interesting item on taking up road space, as found on Reddit:
Cycling Activists Build Bamboo Car Skeletons to Demonstrate Space Taken by Single Occupancy Cars
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/10/lets-bike-it-bamboo-car-skeletons/?fbclid=IwAR16RZAVrUZBMPADtgIcVcAPqsZNtH3npQhlnV4ajg_V0euCun91UFZJKbQ

I can only imagine the outrage this would generate if replicated in Dublin!

Very funny, they were probably driven mental by the lack of progress they made. Unfortunately they may not have survived this stunt without their Hi-Vis and helmets, hope they were lucky!!
There is a great picture of a bunch of cars versus a bunch of bikes on a road, really scary the space difference. It may have been posted here already?

MiskyBoyy

This one?

Corca Baiscinn

Breezer wrote: »

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...

It was in Sunday Times. Presumably some smart-ass sub editor titled it. I'd be disappointed if it was Valerie Flynn herself as she normally writes positively.

Thargor

MiskyBoyy wrote: »

This one?

I always wonder about that pic, why arent the cyclists sitting on their bikes? They literally double the space taken up for no reason and halve the pics impact...

CramCycle

The same Brendan O Connor who was a trumpeter for property as the cracks began to show or the same one who as a comedian was turned down by everyone, sent home with his tail between his legs but was somehow picked up by RTE. It wouldn't surprise me if he wrote it himself, no talent hack is the poster boy for turning papers into clickbait holes.

Eamonnator

Thargor wrote: »

I always wonder about that pic, why arent the cyclists sitting on their bikes? They literally double the space taken up for no reason and halve the pics impact...

For the same reason, that they're not sitting in the bus or sitting in the cars.
It shows the amount of space taken up by bus, bicycles and cars. The number of people remains the same.

fat bloke

Anyone see the end of the journal.ie article this morning?

https://www.thejournal.ie/cycling-general-election-2020-4981654-Jan2020/

It's a run down on a questionnaire on where the parties stand on cycling ahead of the election.

Lots of replies and detail from the main parties but this, from Renua, was quite astonishing:


"Renua Party Chairman Séamus Ó’Riain, however, told TheJournal.ie that cycling in Ireland is “not top of our priorities” in light of recent violence in Co Louth and Co Cork.

“A young man was chopped up and put into plastic bags in Drogheda,” Ó’Riain said. “Another stabbed to death in Cork.”

“You’ll have to forgive us but worrying about how the average metro sexual cycles to work at Google is not top of our list of priorities.”


It's one thing to prioritise a major (though minority) public disorder issue, but to simultaneously insult, dismiss, disparage, belittle and reveal an unbelievable ignorance of an issue with which a huge proportion of the electorate are engaged... that's pretty special!

Idioteque

Caught a small bit of some Newstalk show this morning just before 9am. Some man rings in to say the reason for traffic congestion in the city is mainly all of the cyclists and also some of the new scooters. Best bit was how “Cyclists are clogging up all of the junctions” and causing extra traffic for cars.

In fairness to the presenter he didn’t agree with the caller. Caller also went on to say how Facebook moving 6000 people to Ballsbridge is going to be chaos due to all of the “cyclists and scooters”

You can’t make this stuff up.

magicbastarder

not about cycling, but not bad news for cyclists:
New device to detect cars being driven without insurance issued
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/new-device-to-detect-cars-being-driven-without-insurance-issued-1.4154915

apart from the mangled headline, the journalist should be shot for this basic error:

In 2019 the bureau received 2,540 insurance claims, down 12 from 2,552 in 2018. This represents a change of less than 0.01 per cent.

mr spuckler

Also Aontú - get cyclists out of the way of motorists.

The Aontú candidate is in favour of segregated cycle routes through parks, coastlines and towns “or along green spaces to encourage greater enjoyment of the exercise and less traffic congestion,” she said.

Tóibín is in favour of RSA campaigns highlighting cyclist safety and said, equally, cyclists should be aware of their own vulnerability at higher speeds.

Seth Brundle

Cycling to work? You may live longer

People who cycle to work have a lower risk of dying, a New Zealand study has found.

The study, by researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington, the University of Melbourne and the University of Auckland, has just been published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Lead researcher Dr Caroline Shaw, from the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington, says people who cycled to work had a 13 per cent reduction in mortality during the study, likely as a result of the health benefits of physical activity. There was no reduction in mortality for those who walked or took public transport to work.

Seth Brundle

Dublin drivers spent nine days in their cars last year

Dublin is the 17th most congested city in the world.

Motorists in the capital spent almost nine days in their car in 2019, according to a new Tom Tom report.

Congestion is also up one percent in Cork and Limerick, placing them 68th and 108th on the list respectively.

Bengaluru in India is the worst city globally for traffic, with Moscow the worst in Europe.

blackwhite

fat bloke wrote: »

Anyone see the end of the journal.ie article this morning?

https://www.thejournal.ie/cycling-general-election-2020-4981654-Jan2020/

It's a run down on a questionnaire on where the parties stand on cycling ahead of the election.

Lots of replies and detail from the main parties but this, from Renua, was quite astonishing:


"Renua Party Chairman Séamus ӒRiain, however, told TheJournal.ie that cycling in Ireland is “not top of our priorities” in light of recent violence in Co Louth and Co Cork.

“A young man was chopped up and put into plastic bags in Drogheda,” ӒRiain said. “Another stabbed to death in Cork.”

“You’ll have to forgive us but worrying about how the average metro sexual cycles to work at Google is not top of our list of priorities.”


It's one thing to prioritise a major (though minority) public disorder issue, but to simultaneously insult, dismiss, disparage, belittle and reveal an unbelievable ignorance of an issue with which a huge proportion of the electorate are engaged... that's pretty special!

It also gives a very strong hint that Renua believe themselves incapable of dealing with more than 1 issue at a time

Seth Brundle

https://twitter.com/NoonanJoe/status/1222446961497866240

McGrath5

Not exactly exclusively cycling related, but I found last nights episode of Eco Eye very interesting on how we have "suburbanized" over the last 50 years and moved away from the centre of cities and towns to a car dependent life.
It explains how public transport and cycling can help improve the quality of peoples lives in and revitalize currently derelict areas by removing the car and making it more people focused.

Roadtoad

RTE Seán O Rourke 11.25am: I think Conor Faughnan got a bicycle from Santa, he was positively gushing about bike users just now. Take your chapeau!

Chips Lovell

Conor Faughnan has been cycling to work for years.