Cork business chief maintains he is pro-cycling despite bike lane row
Kevin Herlihy says he supports bike lanes and wants to see more of them but adds that people with concerns about their designs have a right to have their say. Picture: Larry Cummins
The president of the Cork Business Association (CBA) insists that he supports the construction of more bike lanes across the city despite praising a campaign that threatens the delivery of one scheme and suggesting another could cause accidents.
Kevin Herlihy responded to online criticism after he tweeted support for a residents’ group which has mounted a sustained campaign against a draft bike lane plan in Ballincollig. He also suggested a bike lane approved for Curraheen could cause accidents.
“My comments were taken out of context. I am a cyclist, I am pro-cycling lanes and I accept that this is the way we are going, towards more bikes and e-cars, and that is the way we have to go,” he said.
He said his comment had been viewed in isolation and taken out of context.
Mr Herlihy was criticised for the content of a tweet he posted as part of a wider online debate about residents’ concerns about draft plans for an active travel scheme for the Coolroe and Greenfields housing estates in Ballincollig.
The scheme is facing robust local opposition at the initial public consultation stage.
Such is the level of opposition to the draft design, there are fears in City Hall that the proposal just won’t have enough local political support to progress beyond draft stage unless there is a radical redesign.
Mr Herlihy, who runs a number of Centra shops in the city, including one in Curraheen, tweeted his support for the residents spearheading this campaign, but he also expressed disappointment that a separate bike lane project, which was approved earlier this year for construction along the Curraheen Road, is going ahead.
The tweet said:
Cyclists and those who promote cycling rounded on him, and pointed out that when he was elected CBA president, he publicly supported the 15-minute city concept.
“We now need to be ready for the challenges that lie ahead. Cork needs to be a city that is liveable, inclusive and progressive. A city that brings us to the ‘15-minute’ model. Cork needs its residents to be able to live, work, socialise and do most of their everyday needs within 15 minutes walk or cycle from their home,” he said in an interview at the time.
They said such a vision can only be achieved with the help of more bike lanes.
Mr Herlihy said he was expressing a personal view, that it was not representative of the CBA’s position, and he offered to meet people to explain his concerns about one element of the Curraheen bike lane scheme.
He said he also cycles, and wants to see more safe bike lanes but that people with concerns about bike lane designs have a right to highlight those concerns.
He said he has genuine safety concerns for a section of the proposed Curraheen scheme outside a local pre-school, where he fears cyclists come could into conflict with cars during school drop-off and collection times.
Meanwhile, an estimated 150 public submissions have been made in relation to the Coolroe scheme - one of three major bike lane schemes at consultation stage in Ballincollig and one of about 70 city-wide at various stages of planning.
James O’Brien, a member of the Woodberry Residents Association, said most people agree that a bad cycle lane is worse than no cycle lane and that widening the existing footpaths and removing the grassy margins on either side of the road through Coolroe and Greenfield would create safer cycle lanes.
“This would cost more money, take more time and require more comprehensive planning,” he said.
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