Critical Mass rides again

Friday June 21, 2002 10:33

by path in exile

Viva la velo!

At the moment I am residing in Auckland, Aotearoa (commonly known as New Zealand). Its a big city, including its satellites, you're looking at about 1.2 million heads, a bit larger than Dublin but as the fair city spreads into Meath, Kildare, Louth and Wicklow, it will probably have caught up with Auckland in 10 to 15 years.

Auckland is a much newer city than Dublin - and basically everything a city should not be. Its extremely low density housing means the city spreads over an enormous geographical area. Coupled with a virtually non-existent CBD residential population, this means one thing: the commuter is king. Or more precisely, the car is king. A huge, multi-lane filthy motorway cuts right through the centre of the city, spreading toxic fumes into the air. This stretches from the North Shore all the way to South Auckland and beyond. Every evening when I walk home I see the traffic crawling between the jammed off-ramps. But yet thanks to a right wing Mayor tyrant called John Banks, the motorway is to be developed further "to ease traffic congestion". The lead-up to the Harbour Bridge (a much less impressive engineering feat than its Sydney cousin) is a bottleneck, so this will be widened. At the expense of one of the older pubs in the city which sits next the flyover! Criminal!

Cyclists in Auckland are a rare, timid breed. I pity them. If you thought Dublin was bad, take heart. Cycle lanes? Not a single one in the city centre as far as I can see. Motorists? Mostly roadrage/boy racer scum with chrome wheels, tinted windows, low racing skirts. And the city is just dirty. No other word for it, there's a layer of black filth and grime on the buildings, the bins, the windows... its disgusting. Pedestrians dont have it much easier too - huge signs display how many casualties there have been this year already (or maybe they're scoresheets for psycho drivers).

The Critical Mass was born (to my knowledge) in Dublin on March 30th 2001. The main architects of this were Geoff C and William C. Geoff is currently travelling around South-east Asia and Australia, having left Ireland in January. William runs the site www.aaroadwatch.net, well worth a visit. He's usually to be found around the fringes of the bike rides, video camera at the ready, prying opinions and comments out of participants, passers-by, and pissed-off motorists!

That first ride on a patchy March evening brought about 60 or 70 determined cyclistas out onto the streets of Dublin, vacuuming up other cyclists on the way. Our trip took us down Capel St - where we experienced first hand the traffic congestion - we got stuck with the light sequence and had to wait our turn too! The Dublin route isnt fixed in stone, wherever people feel like going at the time usually dictates the direction. Its not always constantly moving either. We take breaks to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Another one of our stops last summer was prompted by the death of a cyclist at the corner of Aston Quay and Westmoreland St. We held up for a two minute silence which was observed by everyone including pedestrians, bar a few irate motorists who still insisted on excessive use of their horns behind us.

The CM grew in support over the following months, with people of all ages and walks of life joining in. Undoubtedly the biggest CM of 2001 was on September 22nd on European Car Free Day. Between 150 and 200 cyclists converged at Parnell Square to celebrate this day, and to give a collective middle finger to Dublin Corporation who had effectively ignored the concept. After the lap of the city, the cyclists gathered in O'Connell Street for street football and volleyball, where another 150 or so people were waiting. Regrettably the Garda of course stepped in and used physical force and harassment to clear the street, arresting 8 people and confiscating many more bikes, which had been locked together as a barrier at the Bachelor Walk junction.

I hope he doesnt mind me paraphrasing him, but I interviewed Geoff outside Conways pub on Parnell Street after a CM ride last year. Its a popular haunt for the riders for a post-CM pint as it happens to be situated just around the corner from where we usually finish up! The tape has long been accidentally wiped over with some speed garage compilation, but I remember I asked him why he thought the CM was important, and he replied "because it means a cleaner, greener, peaceful city. It means people will enjoy the city more and their quality of life will improve. Even if we do get more cycle lanes, people need to understand that they should be leaving their cars at home and getting on that bike."

The relative low-density of Irish and European cities means that cycling is perhaps the most viable option for a greener future. Even a suburb like Blanchardstown, which is considered to be on the fringe of the city, is still only 6 or 7 miles from the city centre. Which an average unfit lager-slob like me can manage in about 35 minutes! This is less than the time it takes in rush hour traffic. It's infinitely less stressful than sitting in a car, crawling. On the bike you are the master of your pace.

The Critical Mass is important for a variety of reasons. The sight of 100 cyclists coming down from Parnell Square instantly gets peoples attention - and hopefully they'll see how cycling can be enjoyable and practical. It provides cyclists with a safe environment (safety and strength in numbers) to highlight their aims and objectives. It slows the traffic down and instantaneously the city noise vanishes in the empty streets ahead. It's also a good social occasion and meeting point where people can chat and catch up. A functioning city needs outlets for human contact - the car cannot and does not facilitate this in any way, but the Critical Mass does.

The Critical Mass has also spread to Galway, Cork and Limerick. Hopefully someone can post up news of how they've been going.

The Dublin Critical Mass meets at 6pm on the last Friday of the month at Parnell Square, outside the Garden of Remembrance. Bring your horns, hats, flags, whistles, anything that adds noise and colour. Oh and dont forget your bike!

Viva la velo!

Links:

http://criticalmasshub.com/ The Critical Mass Hub
http://www.critical-mass.org Critical Mass dot Org
http://www.critmass.org.uk/ Uk Critical Mass page