Journalism and cycling

magicbastarder

josip wrote: »

Couldn't the machinery just work its way along the greenway in the same way the railroads were laid in the wild west?

possibly - does such machinery exist?

this is the crux for me - how many (publicly accessible) riverbanks are there in ireland in the condition that the barrow is in? let's assume very little, and the below is predicated on that guess.
we would be probably destroying one of the last examples of that landscape in ireland; and that alone has enormous value.

we should not be destroying something which is rare than cycling greenways, to create more cycling greenways.

Chuchote

The machinery that laid the railroads in the Wild West were mostly Irish and Chinese coolies who are reputed to have died at the rate of one man per yard of track. A bit extreme for me.

Also the tracks weren't perhaps up to today's high standards

magicbastarder

ding dong, the witch is safe.
looks like ross has retained his ministerial post in varadkar's lineup.

ED E

CramCycle

Figured as much when they announced Stepaside Garda station (as if locals did not know) so vocally this week. Undoubtedly his requirement for continued support. It is a pity, I voted for him in opposition before, guess all politicians are just a disappointment waiting to happen.

magicbastarder

i was wondering if the garda station was going to be a reward for continued support or a compensatory gesture.
meet the new boss, etc.

Arcade_Tryer

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/teenage-cyclist-14-serious-injured-after-collision-with-4x4-35827940.html

The driver, a man aged in his 30s, was uninjured in the incident.

Glad the driver is ok. Hopefully the cyclist recovers. And regardless of the details, maybe people might begin to realise the disproportionate danger facing cyclists compared to drivers in the event of collisions between both.

Chuchote

Arcade_Tryer wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/teenage-cyclist-14-serious-injured-after-collision-with-4x4-35827940.html

The driver, a man aged in his 30s, was uninjured in the incident.

Glad the driver is ok. Hopefully the cyclist recovers. And regardless of the details, maybe people might begin to realise the disproportionate danger facing cyclists compared to drivers in the event of collisions between both.

I've never seen this "the driver was uninjured" line when a pedestrian is knocked down by a car.

Chips Lovell

It's a common way of wording stories about road accidents, e.g.

Meanwhile in Navan a 33-year-old male pedestrian is in a serious condition in hospital after he was struck by a car on the Kentstown Road.

The driver of the car was uninjured in the incident, which happened at 4.35am on Saturday.

Chuchote

Olivia O'Leary has a considered and persuasive (to me, anyway) letter to The Irish Times about the Barrow towpath.

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/towpaths-and-greenways-1.3119806

John Mulligan (June 13th) points to the Deise Greenway in Waterford as a model of what should happen to the Barrow towpath. I took a 2½-hour walk along the Waterford Greenway from Kilmacthomas over the recent June bank holiday weekend. While it is a very good amenity for cyclists, it was not comfortable for this walker. Family groups cycled at a gentle pace, but there were many male cyclists who went at speed on the hard surface. As the numbers built up over lunchtime, and cyclists were coming in both directions, I found myself constantly stepping off the tarmacadam track to get out of their way. The Greenway is made for cyclists. If I were a cyclist, I would enjoy it. As a walker, I felt quite uneasy.
In any case, there is simply no comparison between the two paths. The Deise Greenway is a very nice tarmac road laid along the old railway line. While there were some pretty wildflowers along the edge, it has none of the richness of wildlife that the Barrow River towpath has with its herons, and otters and kingfishers.
The grassy surface of the Barrow towpath accommodates walkers, joggers, and cyclists – and wildlife – at a pace where no one user intimidates the other. The carpet of grass ensures quiet. All you can hear is water and birdsong. There is time to watch the fish jump, to stop and talk to the people who pass you on the way. Instead of digging up 114 kilometres of it and laying down a hard surface for cyclists as Waterways Ireland propose, why not keep it in all its unique grassy beauty and develop it as a thoughtful pilgrimage way to the seventh-century monastic settlement of St Moling in St Mullins? Pilgrims have been coming there for centuries, particularly at the time of the Black Death in the 14th century to drink from Moling’s Well which promises health in mind and body. Developed like the Camino de Santiago, with which it has a connection, it can provide a more sustainable sort of tourism. Above all, it needs to be publicised and with the public controversy over the hard-surface Blueway, visitors have increased substantially.
As to your correspondent’s claim that only a “handful of locals” opposed Waterways Ireland’s proposed hard surface Blueway plan for the Barrow Towpath, I would point out that over 440 submissions have been made to Carlow County Council – a record number,it is understood – and the vast majority objected to the plan. They came not only from locals but from people all over the country.

Grassey

Arcade_Tryer wrote:

maybe people might begin to realise the disproportionate danger facing cyclists compared to drivers in the event of collisions between both.

I hope so but doubt it. I saw a mammy in a Range full of kids come up behind a 10 year old on a roundabout yesterday, kid indicated he was talking next exit so she gunned it and squeezed past him to take exit first. Road was completely clear, yet I bet she'd be the first to scream murder if someone looked funny at her fat kids.

Arcade_Tryer

Chuchote wrote: »

Olivia O'Leary has a considered and persuasive (to me, anyway) letter to The Irish Times about the Barrow towpath.

develop it as a thoughtful pilgrimage way to the seventh-century monastic

Ugh. Send the diggers in...

Chuchote

Arcade_Tryer wrote: »

Ugh. Send the diggers in...

Heh, you think it's shectarian?

Arcade_Tryer

Chuchote wrote: »

Heh, you think it's shectarian?

Not really. Just a dig...

Chuchote

New bikeshare company starting up in Dublin next month

http://irishcycle.com/2017/06/15/e1-per-ride-stationless-bicycle-share-near-to-launch-in-dublin/

What looks to be Dublin’s first stationless bicycle share has now gone public with a brand, website, app and launch date of July 2017. It is set to cost €1 per rental, without a subscription cost.

While it is known that a number of stationless or dock-less bicycle share offerings are looking to launch in Dublin, Bleeperbike has gone public with bleeperbike.com and on its Twitter account it said it is “Launching July 2017”.

Its website states that a €5 top-up will get users 5 rental, and €25 top-up gets 27 rental. A rental is up to 1 hour.

It is understood that the system could include up to 1,000 bicycles and the operation has a depot in Portobello. A reader captured the above image of four of the bikes left on kickstands along the Grand Canal near Portobello, and the system’s app shows most of the bikes in the depot. It is unclear at the time of writing if any of the bikes are available to hire.

buffalo

Is the source of the "bike collides with car" phrasing the Garda Press Office? And then media outlets just quoting it verbatim?

http://irishcycle.com/2017/06/14/14-year-old-boy-seriously-injured-in-collision-with-driver-of-4x4-in-kildare/

Sean Mac Seoin at the Garda press office said: “At approximately 12.30pm a 14-year-old boy was seriously injured when his bicycle collided with a 4×4 vehicle. "

Hopefully the boy pulls through.

mr spuckler

Chuchote wrote: »

New bikeshare company starting up in Dublin next month

http://irishcycle.com/2017/06/15/e1-per-ride-stationless-bicycle-share-near-to-launch-in-dublin/

interesting, especially given the advice regarding how the bikes should be locked when you consider how (relatively) little proper bicycle parking / locking facilities there are in the city. i've noticed on the new coast cyclepath at Clontarf that there's not a single stand or other proper place to lock bikes. so for example if i want to cycle down to Bay restraurant for lunch with mrs & junior spuckler i have nothing to lock our bikes to...other than lampposts on the footpath....

i can't see anything on the website either about what geographical boundaries they're going to apply.

nilhg

Deedsie wrote: »

I agree with her to be honest, it would be environmental vandalism to dig up the path here and replace it with tarmac, gravel, concrete or whatever. It should be left as it is. Make it more accessible and encourage people to use the current path. This isn't anti greenway, Greenways are great, but destroying a natural amenity is a terrible idea.

There is a former railway in Carlow that's been long closed down, why is that not being considered for a greenway?

The closed railway goes from Bagenalstown to Palace East and actually mirrors the river Barrow.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Map_Rail_Ireland_Viceregal_Commission_1906.jpg

From a quick look on google maps that old railway line is a bit like the old west Wicklow one, it's been completely removed and reabsorbed back into the agricultural landscape, mostly all that remains are the road bridges.

https://www.google.ie/maps/@52.6674271,-6.9641155,3a,75y,36.25h,79.37t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swddaP6vpt2LMxcbXqNPG5A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656


When discussing the barrow blueway it should be remembered that none of it is natural landscape, it's all been modified by man, there was no towpath there pre the canals. Also most of it is canal bank, the which I don't think would be anywhere near as controversial to develop as a blue/greenway, in fact quite a bit of it is public road already.

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.0251485,-7.0359286,3a,75y,272.68h,86.79t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1spGlz0Lm_Aq2Y6ILBLK4E-A!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DpGlz0Lm_Aq2Y6ILBLK4E-A%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D352.66357%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Chuchote

buffalo wrote: »

Is the source of the "bike collides with car" phrasing the Garda Press Office? And then media outlets just quoting it verbatim?

Yes, it's a stupid cliche that the gardaí copy-and-paste every time a bike is hit.

mr spuckler wrote: »

interesting, especially given the advice regarding how the bikes should be locked when you consider how (relatively) little proper bicycle parking / locking facilities there are in the city.

i can't see anything on the website either about what geographical boundaries they're going to apply.

I'm hoping it's Greater Dublin. Didn't see the advice on locking (other than not bringing your own lock and using it).

nilhg wrote: »

When discussing the barrow blueway it should be remembered that none of it is natural landscape, it's all been modified by man, there was no towpath there pre the canals. Also most of it is canal bank, the which I don't think would be anywhere near as controversial to develop as a blue/greenway, in fact quite a bit of it is public road already.]

Most canals have two banks - would it be possible to have a greenway on one side and a meditative mooch on the other?

Doctor Bob

Arcade_Tryer wrote: »

Ugh. Send the diggers in...

The Diggers?

ED E

@TodaySOR

There are almost 8,000 drivers on our roads with multiple concurrent disqualifications on their licenses, we speak to Claire Doyle now

Le sigh.

ED E

More positively:



St Dominic's NS‏ @stdominicsns 14h14 hours ago
@bikeweekie @sdublincoco @GreenSchoolsIre 40+ pupils travelled to school by bike today. All received lovely Goodie Bag. Thanks to SDCC. pic.twitter.com/4bdDOST5VU

AndrewJRenko

mr spuckler wrote: »

interesting, especially given the advice regarding how the bikes should be locked when you consider how (relatively) little proper bicycle parking / locking facilities there are in the city. i've noticed on the new coast cyclepath at Clontarf that there's not a single stand or other proper place to lock bikes. so for example if i want to cycle down to Bay restraurant for lunch with mrs & junior spuckler i have nothing to lock our bikes to...other than lampposts on the footpath....

Why not ask the restaurant what they can do to accommodate cycling customers? I noticed my local pub has a bike stand at the entrance. It's a crap stand, that you can only lock your wheel to, but it's a start.

Chips Lovell

buffalo wrote: »

Is the source of the "bike collides with car" phrasing the Garda Press Office? And then media outlets just quoting it verbatim?

It just seems to be a standard way of phrasing things involving two vehicles rather than any anti-cyclist agenda.

"[Person most seriously injured/killed] when vehicle they were travelling in/on collided with other vehicle. Driver of other was [vehicle uninjured/less injured].

I'm assuming reporting of all road accidents follows a similar template lest attribution of cause be implied by differing wording prior to investigation.

mr spuckler

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Why not ask the restaurant what they can do to accommodate cycling customers? I noticed my local pub has a bike stand at the entrance. It's a crap stand, that you can only lock your wheel to, but it's a start.

i've started doing that in several places - our new medical centre doesn't have any bike parking (the place they moved from has) so have requested they they install some racks at least. they've agreed to do it

in the example of Bay restaurant above though, they've almost no space outside the restaurant whereby the cycle path across the road from them is pretty much at its widest there. just seems like a no brainer to me - you see people locking their bikes to the lampposts at various points.

AndrewJRenko

ED E wrote: »

More positively:



St Dominic's NS‏ @stdominicsns 14h14 hours ago
@bikeweekie @sdublincoco @GreenSchoolsIre 40+ pupils travelled to school by bike today. All received lovely Goodie Bag. Thanks to SDCC. pic.twitter.com/4bdDOST5VU

Shock horror - kids on bikes without being wrapped up in hi-vis and helmets? RSA will have a hissy fit!

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

It just seems to be a standard way of phrasing things involving two vehicles rather than any anti-cyclist agenda.

"[Person most seriously injured/killed] when vehicle they were travelling in/on collided with other vehicle. Driver of other was [vehicle uninjured/less injured].

I'm assuming reporting of all road accidents follows a similar template lest attribution of cause be implied by differing wording prior to investigation.

Yes, it is probably not part of any Agenda - but it is misleading. It is given as a statement of fact at a very early stage, when there is almost certainly no evidence available as to who collided with who. They should just come up witha neutral construct like - a car and a bike collided - or similar.

Chips Lovell

I think it's intended to be neutral. Every accident is described in almost exactly the same way, with the same order of information. Personally, as a cyclist, I've never read those reports and assumed they were inferring a cyclist (or indeed a motorist) was to blame for an accident.

check_six

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Yes, it is probably not part of any Agenda - but it is misleading. It is given as a statement of fact at a very early stage, when there is almost certainly no evidence available as to who collided with who. They should just come up with a neutral construct like - a car and a bike collided - or similar.

Yeah, I find it very misleading too. It implies in this case that the injured party did the colliding off their own bat and the 'uninjured' motorist was just minding their own business. This is not a neutral telling of the incident. This is biased in its own way.

nilhg

Deedsie wrote: »

Much of the route can still be seen. For sure much of the former railway would need to be purchased from landowners. It is their property now. This is definitely the way I think Carlow CoCo should go. Reclaim the old railway is far more desirable than destroying habitats of birds, otters etc etc



I dont think that is at all relevant whether this is a naturally occurring landscape or not. The fact of the matter is the towpath has been reclaimed by nature, it is now home to various species and it should be protected. We dont have to tar everything. Its ugly and bleak.

Someone above made a comment on the lack of biodiversity along the Deise greenway. I would hope in time, wild flowers, native trees, birds and fauna will take hold along the length of the greenway.

These greenways/blueways have excellent potential as environmental sanctuaries.

I accept that you can see the old railway route on the satellite view, you can also see houses built on it, places where the hedges have been removed and it now crosses the middle of big fields, I would say that you might as well pick any arbitrary line and use that.

I can't agree with your assertion that the towpath has been reclaimed by nature, if it had it'd be unpassable due to vegetation, briars and the like, it's a managed public space, I'm sure it's mown regularly to allow the walkers down, what we are talking about here is a change of surface on 2.5m of towpath from hardcore covered by grass to hardcore without grass, hopefully that can be done without much disturbance of surrounding areas.

Personally if there are any particularly sensitive areas, I'd have no issues with bypassing them, but it's surprising how often the most sensitive areas are beside particularly vocal folks houses....

nilhg

Chuchote wrote: »

Most canals have two banks - would it be possible to have a greenway on one side and a meditative mooch on the other?

Of course it would.