Monday, May 26, 2008
Donal Hickey says Ireland needs to cater more to cyclists.
PEOPLE venturing onto our roads on bikes these days are putting life and limb at risk. Apart from the sheer disregard many motorists have for cyclists, there’s the absence of cycle lanes and other means of making cycling safer.
At the same time, we’re being urged to reduce our carbon footprint by leaving the car at home and opting instead for pedal power.
Neither are our buses and trains very cyclist-friendly, compared to other countries where public transport services are more prepared to carry bicycles.
Cycling, we’re told, is a growing tourist activity in Ireland, but what do our visitors who cycle around the country think of the experience? Richard Burke, of CanWest News Service, in Canada, says cycling is the best way to see Ireland, but warns that the experience is not without its hazards, not least "drivers often well lubricated with Guinness".
He started in Cork, winding along the southwest coast, and ended up in Galway 20 days later, having covered almost 1,000 kilometres. As well as poor roads and dodgy drivers, he found sheep and cattle on the road to be more sober, but no less erratic.
"Once while I was circumnavigating the Ring of Kerry, a wayward sheep caused a traffic jam of epic portions (sic). Tour buses, lorries and locals were backed up for a kilometre or more while a farm boy on a bicycle tried vainly to coax the sheep off the highway," he wrote on a cycle tour website.
"And finally there is the rain. Ireland is not green for nothing. Damp, wet, chilling — a cyclist’s slick, deadly menace. County Clare gets more than twice as much rainfall as eastern Ireland."
Burke fell in love with Clare, describing Ennis as a town built for the set of a medieval movie, with cobblestone streets, Tudor shops, quaint pubs and a 13th century Franciscan friary.
"For three days, I bicycled up and down escarpments, through valleys, across fields and through towns with names that roll off the tongue like Lisdoonvarna, Ballyvaughan or Kilfenora. At times, the wind rubbed my face raw, other times the rain pelted it clean," he wrote glowingly.
Killarney has been welcoming tourists for more than 250 years and many people agree the best way to see the famed lakes and mountains is to travel by bike. Killarney National Park, being a car-free zone, is ideal and safe for cycling. But, the public roads in the southwest are notoriously busy and dangerous for cyclists, in summertime especially.
Killarney Town Council has been giving some thought to cycling and recently passed a motion calling on the Government to encourage people to combine cycling with public transport.
The mover of the motion, Cllr Sheila Casey, called on Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann to be more accommodating to people wishing to put their bikes on board.
"Bicycles are an integral part of the solution to road congestion, pollution and traffic issues," says Cllr Casey. "When used in combination with public transport, such as Iarnród Éireann’s trains, bicycles enable people to utilise the rail network that gets them where they want to go, while reducing each individual’s carbon footprint. People may cycle to work in the morning, but may prefer to commute home by public transport in the evening. Their preferences should be accommodated by public transport."
Bus and rail companies in other countries have recognised the value of cycle tourism by providing adequate carriage facilities for bicycles. In American cities, for instance, bus services have bicycle racks for the transport of bicycles.
"The Government’s agreement to Iarnród Éireann’s policy of carrying one or two bicycles per train amounts to a virtual ban on bicycles, and will have the effect of forcing cyclists back into their cars, thereby adding to congestion," Ms Casey said.
Restricting bicycles on trains goes completely against current thinking on an integrated public transport system. A radical rethink is needed and, rather than putting obstacles in the way, there ought to be incentives for environmentally-friendly modes of transport, such as the bike.
There’s also a need for far more clearly-marked cycle lanes on our roads. In most cases, at present, cyclists are forced onto the hard shoulder, which generally comes to an end once a junction is approached.
The whole emphasis in road design is geared towards accommodating cars and trucks, but if we’re serious about getting people back on their bikes, more cycle lanes and cycle paths exclusively for cyclists will have to be provided.
At the moment, there are about two million cars on Irish roads. The Government’s solution to traffic congestion is to provide even more roads to facilitate motorised traffic — all of which adds to our carbon emissions which we’re obliged to reduce under EU directives.
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