Re: Re: There will be Blood
Not enough cycle training is a key element in all of this as well as bad driver training. One must take personal responsibility as any road user in any mode. Looking behind you, slowing to manouevre, making eye contact with others all make for a safer journey. If a motorist hit me on me bike coz he/she didn’t check their mirrors i’d be rightly fucking fuming. Same goes for a cyclist who doens’t make him/herself aware of the road around them. Some of DCC’s interventions are shocking and may be regarded as dangerous. However moving the cycle lane into the middle of the road at a left-turn only is acceptable (if done right of course) as it forces the cyclist to make the inevitable move early and imposes decisiveness upon them – but of course DCC make a bollix of it at Morehampton as you rightly show
I’d agree with ctesiphon on places like the N11 – it’s not a cycle friendly route – acting more as a canyon of speed. But as you say, a bus practically every minute at peak hours along an intensifying corridor ain’t something to be sniffed at in the overall scheme of things. However tumble yourself down any of the avenues towards the bay to Rock Road to see some poxy cycle provision. 3.5 m wide bus lanes incorporating 1,2 m wide advisory cycle lanes – since my eh footballing injury last year I’ve been getting the bus along here rather than cycling (that’s my excuse, that and a broken bike and a fierce lazy element to my personality) and often the bus ends up being delayed by cyclists which is unfair on all road users especially the pressured cyclist
But it’s a perfect example of the environment that the Local Authoritys operate in. This is not a city which is easily adaptable to the needs of the growing population. There are massive physical constraints to every single element of change in our transport offer. And daft political nonsense eg – the Donnybrook bus lane was derided when proposed as a disaster that would cripple South Dublin – LUAS lines are challenged by people and so is cycle provision like S2S. So although we’d like to think that cycle lanes and junction improvements are on everyones agenda we must bear in mind where cycling remains in the hierarchy – rock bottom.
Now that’s not to say it’s right and I certainly know this attitude is changing – if not exactly by choice at the highest levels of administration more by external sustainability issues. I’m led to believe that a National Cycle Policy is being developed. We will see the DCC free bike scheme eventually and as infrastructure like more LUAS lines, Metro North and the interconnector give car users real choice we will see a better urban environment for cyclists in Dublin.
remember the base we’re coming from in the early 90’s. (When was the first cycle track or lane created in the city?) And bear in mind the type of city we have inherited from people who saw the inner tangent as a solution. These people are slowly shuffling off into retirement and as they do new people (like us I hope) will start to make decisions in this city.
Dublin has exploded and it’s still an insane mess. DCC et al don’t always help but I don’t really think a thread titled “there will be blood” really addresses the issues to be honest. You’ve highlighted very well a number of infrastructural interventions which do not seem to work, and in general people will agree. However these represent worthy battles which we must engage in as a matter of emergency. But the war is going to have to be fought at the higher level. The war to create a wide ranging political, legislative and design guidance framework to hang every piece of infrastrcture on is the essential fight.
We need Central government policy and legislation on cycle provision and we need an updated design manual. But even those two documents will probably only scratch the surface as planning and education must tie it all together. in the meantime those daft feckers who fly past on the inside of a narrow cycle lane, break lights as a matter of course and don’t signal to other road users don’t help the case being made
This my longest ever post – good night
ooh penos at goodison, must watch!
– PS maybe “war” and “battle” is an exaggeration – “debate” or “policy shift” is more appropriate?
