Letters to the Editor: If we're going to cycle more, we need to emulate countries such as Denmark
A cycle lane at Washington St, Cork. 'Cyclists are obliged to follow the rules of the road the same as any motorist and can be issued fines for breaking them.' Picture: Denis Minihane
Denmark is one of the most successful countries when it comes to the uptake of cycling. In Copenhagen, there are miles of cycling lanes, divided by a kerb or marked which ensures of safety of pedestrians and separates the cyclist from motorists.
Cyclists are obliged to follow the rules of the road the same as any motorist and can be issued fines for breaking them. In the interest of pedestrian safety, cyclists cannot cycle on public paths or dedicated pedestrian-only streets as is the case in other countries of mainland Europe. Shared spaces between pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists cause accidents.
Cyclists who ride a bike on a public road in Ireland must have their bike fitted with reflectors and lights to ensure they are visible.
In addition to lights, your bike must also have: A bell, which can be heard from a reasonable distance; front and rear brakes (unless it has one fixed wheel, where it needs only one brake); a rear reflector that can be seen from a reasonable distance.
Cyclists are not supposed to ride on footpaths. They should give reasonable consideration to other users of the public space, giving full awareness to the fact that many people have hearing and mobility issue especially the elderly.
If the rules we already have in place are not enforced in the interest of safety, any increase in the uptake of cycling in Ireland will result in frequent accidents, mostly to elderly pedestrians, especially with the increase of e-bikes and e-scooters.
Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and predictions are this could lead to 30,000 climate-related deaths annually in Europe.
In Ireland, agriculture is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for a whopping 38.7% of the total emissions and rising. There is no indication of any shift in thinking at government level regarding our model of farming here. We have more cows than people.
Last month, Brittany Ferries resumed its transportation of unweaned calves from Ireland to France after a 30-year hiatus, the unfortunate animals being the ‘waste’ product from our gigantic dairy industry.
This week saw further environmental and animal welfare atrocities as Irish Jersey cattle were transported by truck to Belgium and then flown to Dubai.
Commitment to reducing emissions is the bedrock of the Paris Agreement but, at this point, our hope of meeting our legally- binding targets and avoiding the billions of euro in fines can be summarised in three words — ‘pigs might fly’.
It seems to me that the current chaos in the US stems from a misunderstanding of what “We the People” actually means.
Donald Trump and the 73m people who voted for him seem to think they have won a competition whereby anything can be done without oversight and those who voted otherwise are just losers.
Add a supine Congress to the mix and the problem just escalates.
The US, despite supposedly having a rigorous system of checks and balances, has allowed one man ride roughshod over the constitution. Much irreparable damage has already been done and if the relevant institutions don’t start to push back soon, then America as we knew it will be no more and a very dark period will descend on the world.
The United States was never perfect but, as a bulwark against other less democratic ideologies, it was our best hope for stability and order.
Please God the American people can wrest back the foundations it was built on.
It was the scrupulously egalitarian Vincent Browne who first drew my attention to the curious media cliché of reporting that a notable figure — most commonly the President — had “led the tributes” to a given individual.
Of course, the phrase is generally used in times of bereavement, when it would be tasteless to subcutaneously scrutinise the phrases that allow us to grieve as a nation.
I was surprised and amused, then, to hear the presenters on Monday’s Six One News on RTÉ announce that President Michael D Higgins had “led the tributes” after Rory McIlroy’s US Masters triumph.
I propose that as McIlroy’s achievement was a sporting, skills-based one, the speedy tributes of globally successful golfers should be regarded as “leading” the chronological and conceptual way.
Surely Shane Lowry, who scooped McIlroy off the ground in a bear hug, outranks our President when it comes to offering “tributes” to his fellow Irishman’s golfing performance?
Could it be time for media outlets to retire that dubious cliché, redolent as it is of forelock-tugging hierarchy?
“Many are the rainbows, the sunbursts, the gentle breezes — and the hailstorms — we are liable to meet before, by the grace of God, we shall be able to tumble into our graves with the confidence of tired children into their places of peaceful slumber.”
I was in the cemetery the other day. It was my mother-in-law’s birthday. She would have been 101 and all her children gathered to pray the Rosary for her on her birthday.
As the car pulled up, the GPS said: “You have arrived at your destination.” A chilling reminder, but it had a point.
After the prayers I had a wander and noticed how many of the graves contained occupants younger than me; some teenagers, others in their prime. What a blessing it is to have a good innings, a length of years.
There is really only one thing we can offer to God as we go along; and we certainly owe it to Him. And that is gratitude. To thank Him for all He has and continues to give us. Life is a gift, each moment, each breath of air, every drop of water, every meal, gifts of faith, mercy and forgiveness, every person we know, all the joys of life.
We miss a lot of it by occupying our minds with what we don’t have, have lost, or what is not quite as we would like it to be. In doing so, we rob Him of the full measure of the gratitude we owe and rob ourselves of much of the joy of life. A grateful heart is a free heart.
I love the quote above; imagine at the end of days, to “tumble into our graves with the confidence of tired children into their places of peaceful slumber” If we live in gratitude, I think we will be able to live and die like that.
Why is the proposed new Cork light rail/Luas line not coming out to service and connect the east side of Cork to the city and the likes of UCC, MTU, Mahon etc? It makes no sense at all. Traffic is bad enough in the villages already.
Other than the local volunteer sporting clubs (GAA, soccer, rugby, etc) there are no facilities in the community for children and teens living in the area.
The local playground is the only facility and it is tiny. Compared to other parts of the city suburbs, Glanmire has had very little public investment to support the fast-growing community.
