Journalism and Cycling 2: the difficult second album

breezy1985

Tombo2001 wrote: »

For me, Deliveroo hits a sweet spot of segments of society that its socially acceptable to "complain" about.....

Cyclist, Lower Income Workers, Immigrant.

(Note - I am not saying there is a public discourse of resentment towards lower income workers, but - it is quite common for people to talk down to shop staff or treat them badly.

And while I amnt comparing the two - there is most certainly a public discourse of resentment towards both cyclists and towards immigrants, within the media and particularly within social media - this website being a particularly guilty party).

I suppose you can make the argument that there is no connection between all the social media whingeing I have seen about Deliveroo cyclists, and the fact that they get attacked by gougers. I would see them as being related.

After hours and the IMHO sections of this site are full of class shaming and snobbery towards the working class

magicbastarder

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I suppose you can make the argument that there is no connection between all the social media whingeing I have seen about Deliveroo cyclists, and the fact that they get attacked by gougers. I would see them as being related.

just to clarify, i'm not conflating media with social media when talking about PK and his ilk.

Tombo2001

magicbastarder wrote: »

just to clarify, i'm not conflating media with social media when talking about PK and his ilk.

But surely they go hand in hand?

Thelonious Monk

magicbastarder wrote: »

they've removed the pedestrianisation from new street in malahide, too.

https://twitter.com/SaveMalahide/status/1383515717169934344

I mean businesses were campaigning for the pedestrianisation to be removed, now they've got what they want.

tomasrojo

Is there any indication what the people who lived in and around Malahide village thought?

Thelonious Monk

tomasrojo wrote: »

Is there any indication what the people who lived in and around Malahide village thought?

I've seen discussions online about it and many locals were saying restricting car access is destroying the community and what about the OAPs etc, the usual guff.

magicbastarder

i don't recall hearing of the results of any consultation; as is normal with these things, it's hard to tell what the opposition/proposition ratio is as the opposition tend to be noisier.

i'd just be curious as to what sort of regularity a local in malahide would need to drive along new street. maybe if you lived in that marina development, you would use new street when it's open to motorised traffic?

MojoMaker

Same as Strand and Beech Road maybe? Any hint of a possible restriction on "go as you please" traffic and there's uproar?

breezy1985

Due to our constant boom bust economy we seem to have a fawning obsession with business people and any single business that sounds the "ruin" cry is lapped up with absolutely no questioning of his motive or facts.

A car is far less likely than a walker to stop and browse and there is no sign that pedestrianization does anything other than increase footfall

Seth Brundle

breezy1985 wrote: »

A car is far less likely than a walker to stop and browse and there is no sign that pedestrianization does anything other than increase footfall

Actually, is there one Irish example whereby changing a pedestrianised street to mixed use, as with Malahide, has increased business/trade?

Stark

Also you're going to need to wrap all the window display items in hi-viz if you want car drivers to see them.

breezy1985

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Actually, is there one Irish example whereby changing a pedestrianised street to mixed use, as with Malahide, has increased business/trade?

All those roads do is make it easier for cars to get to the out of town outlet centres

zell12

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/courtandcrime/arid-40269938.html

Mr Blwlus had his €500 e-scooter destroyed after he could not afford the €1,200 release bill from a Garda compound following its seizure.
Sgt Moloney stated that such a case “is a very topical issue at the moment and these vehicles are in a legal limbo…our hands are tied in relation to the enforcement of these vehicles. Legislation requires the driver to be insured.”
Judge Murphy stated: “Every single mechanically propelled vehicle is required to have insurance and cannot and should not be on the road unless it has insurance.”

magicbastarder

I'm pretty sure that was reported a couple of months ago, not sure why they're running it again?

Dr_Colossus

Great country, there was the case last week of the Donegal driver with 339 previous convictions spared jail again but then this poor lad gets "justice" despite hundreds of similar scooters on the roads/footpaths.

What's the holding fee, hardly €120 per day or how can a relatively small item such as an e-scooter rack up a €1,200 release fee? Do they not usually sell the vehicles/items to cover costs or why do they have to be destroyed, sounds crazy.

MojoMaker

It's a smokescreen really.

Zero chance that item was destroyed - now enjoyed by one of the children of a compound worker more like it.

CramCycle

I am shocked at the accusation :eek: shocked I tell you

breezy1985

MojoMaker wrote: »

It's a smokescreen really.

Zero chance that item was destroyed - now enjoyed by one of the children of a compound worker more like it.

Like when they would take your cans when you were a young fella bush drinking

LollipopJimmy

breezy1985 wrote: »

Like when they would take your cans when you were a young fella bush drinking

Or your cocaine if you're in Donegal

Hurrache

I don't think it's an issue of perspective, but doesn't it look like the example given of how to overtake a tractor, the car doing the overtaking has no view at all as to if anything is coming before it pulled out as it was too close to the tractor and in too far to the left to be able to see around it?
https://twitter.com/SafeCyclingEire/status/1385471202521649154

Seth Brundle

Letter in today's Irish Times..
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/time-for-councils-to-prioritise-cycling-1.4545973?mode=amp

Time for councils to prioritise cycling

Sir, – There has been a lot of coverage of the various cycle schemes in Dublin, and most recently in terms of some of the objections. Whatever the outcome, people in Dublin who care about sustainable travel can at least gain some comfort from knowing that there are people in their local authorities who were prepared to try.

Here in Galway we can only look on in envy. Salthill Prom is one of the country’s best-known leisure amenities, and it’s a fantastic place for both visitors and locals. However, it’s a pretty unpleasant place in which to cycle as the rows of parked cars and fast traffic leave very little room for error. On top of this, the council has erected signs on the prom itself banning cycling. The recent Covid lockdowns have prompted much discussion about the possibility of a cycle lane along the Prom (for which there is plenty of space without losing much parking), and there have been a public consultation, offers of central Government funding, and plenty of constructive suggestions from local groups. The council’s response has been to largely ignore all of the above without offering much in the way of convincing explanations.

Anyone who has visited Galway will know how car-dependent it is, and for a small, dynamic city the fact that it’s such a hostile place to cycle is nonsensical. If Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan is serious about reducing transport emissions, then making places like Galway more cycle-friendly is surely in the category of “low-hanging fruit”, and adding a few kilometres of bike lane along a spacious scenic amenity area is a complete no-brainer. So I’d urge him to think of creative ways of putting a bit more pressure on reluctant councils to act in a positive way. – Yours, etc,
DAVE MATHIESON,
Salthill, Galway.

tomasrojo

I used to cycle everywhere in Galway city, but I was one of a pretty small number of people I knew who did so. For a small city, it has some outlandishly LA-like road schemes.

magicbastarder

https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1385662655898210305

buffalo

magicbastarder wrote: »

https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1385662655898210305

Was this framing deliberate or accidental? Those bollards are doing a great job anyway.

Thelonious Monk

What kind of residents group backlashes against safer streets?

https://twitter.com/dublincycling/status/1386566207751573504

magicbastarder

lest it need to be mentioned, the screenshot in that tweet is from a letter, not from an actual IT opinion piece.

Thelonious Monk

magicbastarder wrote: »

lest it need to be mentioned, the screenshot in that tweet is from a letter, not from an actual IT opinion piece.

It's just unbelievable and irresponsible of them to be publishing that nonsense.

magicbastarder

if the IT fact checked every letter that was sent into them, and only published factually correct ones, there's probably be about three letters each day which could be published.
well, and the usual inanities that the letter writer's golf buddies laughed at politely, so he decided to share it with the irish times.

breezy1985

It's the usual double standard. All bikes are a problem cause they go too slow and hold up traffic while at the same time all going 60kph and flying round the place

Grassey

If a bicyle can quietly sneak up on you at 60kmh wait until they hear about the electric automobile