Criticism of delay in replacing Cork city's only indoor bike parking 18 months after it closed

The city's only indoor facility w\as closed 18 months ago but the search for a suitable replacement site is still ongoing

A Transport for Ireland bike facility in Cork city.

Cycling campaigners have criticised the long delay in replacing Cork’s first and only indoor bike parking facility which was closed almost 18 months ago.

Green Party Councillor, Colette Finn, said given the number of empty buildings in the city centre, a solution should be readily available.

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“I don't understand the problem. There are plenty of empty buildings. There are examples from other countries. How come we can't manage to do this in Cork?” she said.

It comes following confirmation from city officials that the search for a suitable replacement site is still ongoing, and that a process of “internal engagement” between council departments is needed as part of the process to identify potential replacement sites.

The news emerged during this week’s city council meeting after Ms Finn sought a written update from the council chief executive on the progress to find a replacement for the secure indoor bike parking facility which was removed from the North Main Street shopping centre in early 2021, just a few months after it was installed.

The eight-space facility, which was installed in late September 2020, was part of the council’s Re-Imagining Cork City project, which saw up to €2m being invested in the city’s cycling infrastructure, with support from the National Transport Authority (NTA), partly in response to the Covid pandemic.

It was heralded as a positive addition to biking infrastructure in the city centre. But when the shopping centre’s then vacant Dunnes Stores outlet, which closed in 2016, was adapted for use as a HSE Covid vaccination centre and became operational in January 2021, the bike parking facility in the plaza area outside was removed.

The city's only secure indoor bike parking facility was removed from the North Main Street shopping centre in early 2021, just a few months after it was installed. File picture: Denis Minihane

In a written reply to Ms Finn, Adrienne Rodgers, the director of services in the council’s community, culture and placemaking directorate, said when the shopping centre became a vaccination centre, the bicycle parking had to be removed.

The council told the Irish Examiner that it removed the bike parking following direct engagement with the property owner who, it stressed, “has the legal rights to this property”.

Ms Rodgers said: “Since then, Cork City Council has been exploring alternative locations to re-install indoor bicycle parking.” 

She told Ms Finn that work to find an alternative site will involve a number of council directorates, and that a process of “internal engagement” will begin to try and identify an alternative site. But Ms Finn said the delay is unacceptable.

“Theft of a bike is a major reason for why people cease cycling. Secure indoor bike parking offers the best protection,” she said.