Cycle Campaigners renew call for "cycle track network" plans to be scrapped

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release

Tuesday March 02, 2004 16:30

by Shane Foran - Galway Cycling Campaign

galwaycyclist at yahoo dot co dot uk

c/o Galway One World Centre, The Halls, Quay St. Galway

087 9935993

320km of Cycle network = 16% drop in cyclists

Cycle Campaigners renew call for "cycle track network" plans to be scrapped as Dublin figures show 16% drop in cyclists. There is widespread concern among Irish cycling activists - that government "cycling policies" are primarily about facilitating motorists and promoting a switch to mass use of private motorcars. There is established historical precedent for such attempts in other countries.

GCC Press Release 17/02/04

Cycle Campaigners renew call for "cycle track network" plans to be scrapped as Dublin figures show 16% drop in cyclists.

The Galway Cycle Campaign have renewed their call for the scrapping of plans for "cycle track networks" in Irish towns. The call comes in the wake of the revelation of a 16% drop in the number cyclists crossing the "Dublin Inner Canal Cordon" since 1997. This decline coincided with the construction of 320km of "Strategic Cycle Network" in Dublin. It had been claimed this would "double" cycle use over a five-year period. The apparent failure of the Dublin Strategic Cycle network mimics the failure of similar efforts elsewhere. From the mid-1980's the Netherlands spent the equivalent of IRP 600 million (EU 760 million) on extending their cycle path network. In 1995, it was found that these works had not resulted in any significant increase in cycling levels.

Irish cycle campaigners have long been concerned that the imposition of inappropriate cycle track/cycle lane designs is increasing the problems that Irish cyclists are already facing as a result of existing, inappropriate, Irish road traffic management practices. This has resulted in a situation where in many cases it is the "cycle facilities" themselves that are the biggest obstacles to that Irish cyclists face on their journey to work or college.

Many cycling activists suspect that most Irish "cycle facilities" are neither intended to enhance safety nor to promote and encourage cycling. Instead, it is suspected that they actually represent a crude attempt to manage and control bicycle traffic for the benefit of motorists. There is established historical precedent for such an effect. In Germany in the 1930's, the use of cycle tracks was central to Nazi traffic policy. The specific intent was to promote increased use of private motor-cars by clearing cyclists off the streets. In a pre-budget submission in 2002, the Galway and Cork Cycle Campaigns called on the Minister for Finance to take urgent action and block the use of state funds for "cycle tracks" and "cycle lanes".

The use of "cycle tracks" in other countries is associated with significant increases the rate of collisions between cars and bicycles. This is something that the Irish authorities are known to have been aware of for 28 years. At a European conference in 1991 the use of roadside cycleways was described as being equivalent to "Russian roulette". In October 2003, the Galway City Community Forum, which represents 90 community and voluntary organisations, voted to reject the use of roadside cycle-tracks on grounds of their appalling safety record.

Ends

The lessons from Germany (In german - translations to be posted to GCC web site soon)

From The Decline Of A Means Of Mass Transport To The History Of Urban Cycle Planning, Burkhard Horn: ForschungsDienst Fahrrad FDF 136 - 09.03.1991
http://www-2.informatik.umu.se/adfc/fdf/fdf-136.html

History Of Cycle Tracks, Cycle Tracks For The Expansion Of Motorised Traffic, Volker Briese: ForschungsDienst Fahrrad, FDF 218 - 28.05.1994
http://www-2.informatik.umu.se/adfc/fdf/fdf-218.html

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Dublin Inner Canal Cordon Counts 1988 -2003

1988 7958
1989 7287
1990 6937
1991 7176
1992 6742
1993 6674
1994 5954
1995 5429
1996 5467
1997 5628 (Commencement of cycle network)
1998 4579
1999 5384
2000 4464
2001 5122
2002 4675
2003 4715 (320km of cycle network in place)

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Related stories

03/10/2003 Galway City Community Forum rejects use of cycle tracks.
http://www.eirbyte.com/gcc/news.html#story5

2/12/02 Cork, Galway Cycle Campaigns call for state embargo on cycle track funds.
http://www.eirbyte.com/gcc/news3.html#story6

July 2002 Cyclists told to get off and walk at oral hearing on Seamus Quirke Rd.
http://www.eirbyte.com/gcc/news3.html#story1

9/5/02 Report reveals that DoELG and DTO distributed dangerous design guidance to Irish Local Authorities.
http://www.eirbyte.com/gcc/news2.html#story1