We need to do more to encourage more people to cycle

We’re still a long way behind other EU countries when it comes to facilitating cyclists, writes Donal Hickey

AFTER spending a few days cycling comfortably around a leading European city, there was a sudden return to the reality of car-clogged Irish cities _ being caught, frustratingly, in snail’s pace traffic in Cork.

Just 29 per cent of Copenhagen households own a car. Apart from the fact that cars are prohibitively expensive there, people don’t really need cars. At least 50 per cent prefer to cycle to work and school and a huge network of dedicated cycle lanes enables them to do that safely and quickly.