Journalism and Cycling 2: the difficult second album

Someone on twitter went through the newly launched Climate Action Plan looking for bike related stuff. Its pretty crap what they found

https://twitter.com/bicycletting/status/1456357340614168578?s=20

Wildly Boaring

I read the National Development Plan cover to cover.

Almost all of that same spoof was in it.

The €360 or €350 million got mentioned about 15 times too

Was going to say wasn't that 350/360 million number for active travel also mentioned several times as a covid measure for cycling stuff last year??? A million a day wasn't it?

Yet to see it spent locally but for a few Sheffield stands that I've noticed pop up in the last few weeks in town in the most arbitrary of places, and they are the mini ones too which I think are great but they of course left the nuts exposed didn't they. Back of the town centre in Drogheda they put 1 !!!!! yes 1 and I shock my head passing it today when there is room there for about 10 or more.

Macy0161

I don't know - part of me really sees it as population attitude change as much as funding. Lack of funds isn't blocking infrastructure in our capital city - it's nimby car culture. However, it being split with tourism I do have an issue with - the greenways are great amenities (and I welcome them), but they're not generally solving an active travel issue.

There is a proposed mountains to sea greenway from Kilcoole to Glendalough - I'd welcome it, and did in my survey response, however I also pointed out it would do very little for active travel. If they want to cut car journeys, more footpaths would be better funding imo.

p15574

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118118911#Comment_118118911

Heard a little bit. They read out a text from a listener giving out about cyclists not knowing the rules of the road when they cycled 2 abreast. The irony. No-one corrected them.

Duckjob

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118122728#Comment_118122728

Not only was it read out but the presenter put it to one of the speakers as though she needed to answer for it or defend it on behalf of "her people". Pathetic really. It's really quite a bizarre mentality that's taken hold in Ireland.

Seth Brundle

(UK) Spiteful Tory councillor who opppsed cycle lane is usurped by activists...

https://road.cc/content/news/paint-it-black-or-paint-it-back-bike-lane-row-287583

zell12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118117567#Comment_118117567

How safe is Dublin for cyclists? Andrea chats to Sadhbh O'Neill about witnessing a collision with a cyclist and hears from listeners. https://www.newstalk.com/podcasts/highlights-from-lunchtime-live/it-was-just-horrific-there-was-an-incredible-crunch-as-the-suv-hit-the-back-of-the-bike

cletus

https://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-the-cycling-fans-who-hoard-hundreds-of-racing-jerseys-11626100639

Maybe it's ok to have team jerseys, as long as you don't wear them...

magicbastarder

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2021/11/06/bidens-12-trillion-infrastructure-bill-hastens-beacon-wearing-for-bicyclists-and-pedestrians-to-enable-detection-by-connected-cars/?sh=58e8230a5a3d

..

TheChizler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118130462#Comment_118130462

I've never heard something so potentially dangerous being promoted as a safety measure. Hopefully we don't have a Beacon Mega Thread in the future.

Wildly Boaring

Judge Nolan would have a field day.

"Ah so you drove over the cyclist, then reversed back over her to make sure if it, but the cyclist had no beacon so how could you have possibly avoided her?

I'd imagine there is a strong lobby for those from the likes of Tesla and others developing autonomous vehicles, rather than fix their detection issues pass the onus on to others to make themselves detectable.

If a beacon could actually stop a vehicle getting within 1.5 meters of me or block it from over taking all together while unsafe maybe I'd be in favor but it's too much about removing responsibility from those who should bear the most and putting it on others.

magicbastarder

it is a superficially good idea (i would say that because a couple of years ago i had the same idea); e.g. if a warning flashed up on the dash of a dump truck that there's a cyclist within 5m of it which the driver might not otherwise have seen, but yeah, it's a problematic idea for the reasons outlined.

Larbre34

It shouldn't be up to the cyclist to have to don a beacon or a sensor.

My wife's car has a blind-spot information system, so if she indicates left or right and the sensor notes a vehicle in either blind spot she gets an audible and visible warning.

I don't think its beyond the technology of heavy vehicle makers to install detectors for a presence of cyclists, cars, pedestrians or anything where the driver can't immediately see them, without those hazards needing any tech mounted of their own.

Grassey

"without those hazards needing any tech mounted of their own"

The vehicle is the hazard, not the "cyclists, cars, pedestrians or anything where the driver can't immediately see them"

Duckjob

It's stunning what an outstanding job the car industry has done of making driver responsibility a quaint notion over the last 2 decades

Rechuchote

The most valuable thing Biden could do to make pedestrians and cyclist safe is much simpler: presumed liability of the driver under the law in any crash involving a driver and pedestrian or cyclist. It's logical too, since 90% at least of all such crashes are the fault of the driver.

magicbastarder

can you imagine the deafening howls of outrage that would have caused in the states?

Unlike some of you I'm not totally against the idea it just depends on how it's implemented. AEVs or Autonomous Electric Vehicles do have benefits for society such as allowing people who can't drive for whatever reason a path to more independent. And yes I'm aware that public transport exists but sadly it's not always a convenient option or simply does not exist in many areas.

Wildly Boaring

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118135124#Comment_118135124

I've nothing against cars.

I drive one every day of the week.

Kinda impossible visit 3 spread out construction sites any other way.

The beacons are the issue.

Car manufactures should be taking the onus here to avoid bikes and walkers.

Not forcing us all to be chipped so they can just avoid the chip

And obviously when driving you need to avoid the other road users.

Macy0161

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118135221#Comment_118135221

Pity Bill Gates didn't combine the beacons with the chips in the covid vaccines...

magicbastarder

if cars are so dangerous that we're talking about placing beacons on pedestrians, beacons on pedestrians is the answer to the wrong question.

Enduro

I was running up a road on Saturday afternoon and saw a herd of 5 deer on the road in front of me. On average during winter I reckon I see a deer on the road about once a fortnight. I'd be very confident that none of these deer are likely to be wearing any chipped items of clothing :)

Macy0161

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118135475#Comment_118135475

It'll have full motorist support, until they realise that means them too, when they park up (2 wheels on the pavement, on double yellows, hazards on) to nip into the shop!

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118136702#Comment_118136702

We will need to do a national deer cull just to ensure that both the deer themselves and simultaneously people in cars are kept safe frm the dangers of road collisions. While we're at it, there will be a need to cull all livestock as the potential is there for them to escape increasing the potential for a tragedy. Other wild animals such as badgers, foxes, rabbits, hares, hedgehogs, otters, stoats and pine martens too would require humane culling for their own benefit - obviously many of these are cute and we don't want the risk of them getting killed on the roads.

tomasrojo

Not the most common news source to appear in this thread, but backs up previous reporting on pollution being much worse inside cars than outside.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Jo_Earlsfield/status/1457768687381925889

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/air-sensors-cop26-emissions-school-pollution-london-b964978.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1636376325

Larbre34

https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2021/1109/1258759-metrolink/

Indirectly related to the fortunes of safe cycling, we see today that the NTA, under the auspices of Minister Ryan, have decided to put their most ambitious heavy and light rail objectives onto the long finger.

While still warming his arse at COP26, his agency has pulled the chair out from under him and compromised all the Government's carbon reduction ambitions for the capital city.

These projects have always been my white whale as a Planner. The only way you achieve modal shift and free up the street network inside the M50 and inside the canals is to intercept road traffic at the earliest opportunity and carry the occupants onwards in a segregated, speedy and comfortable network of strongly interconnected public transport. That gives you a freer hand to reallocate for cycling, bus corridors and an expanded public realm.

I was hoping a Green influence on an ambitious public transport strategy might expedite it, but it turns out they have had no measurable effect. What a pity.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118141721#Comment_118141721

10 years of worsening traffic will really be something to see in Dublin, its already unbearable. I wonder if we'll ever see a real crisis point where you get one of those events from China where people are stuck in their cars for 24 hours or something like that.

Macy0161

My understanding is not much has really changed, despite the headlines. Again, there was massive opposition to the metro southside. Unfortunately, there'll continue to be opposition to bus connects taking road space and land (even if it wasn't that great for cyclists as per the last plans, with lots of convoluted routes.).

imo, it's too easy to blame Government and the NTA when every proposal is met with nimby opposition. There needs to be some element of political consensus - notwithstanding how it's progressing, a Slaintecare for Transport Infrastructure so no one can take political advantage.