The centre of Dublin is in danger of grinding to a halt as a result of increasing car ownership in the next 12 years. Dublin City Council are searching for solutions to this problem, and the planning department will state in a forthcoming report that ‘there is no room for additional cars on the city’s roads.’
The solutions to the problem are quite obvious to anyone who uses the city’s roads on a daily basis: a reduction in car traffic, an increase in the availability (or, more likely, uptake) of public transport and a greater emphasis on better facilities for cyclists.
I was overjoyed to read the planners’ statement that cycling has the potential to ‘transform the city’s quality of life’. Yet what does it actually mean? It will be interesting to read how they propose achieving this potential: obviously, a knock-on effect of excluding car traffic from the centre of the city will be more space for cyclists, making it a more attractive option. And, let’s face it, making getting through the city much more pleasurable for those of us who spend their trips home from work constantly anticipating the jerkily frustrated manoeuvring of motorists.
I’d be interested to hear reactions to kerb-separated cycling lanes, though: as that’s one of the proposals of the report. I think the best cycle lanes are those painted on plain tarmac, as part of the main road; in my experience any other kind of lane either soon falls into disrepair, or necessitates a difficult rejoining of traffic flow.
Still, many of the other proposals are interesting and timely.
See Irish Times article here.
1 Comment
January 8, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I agree about kerb-separated cycle lanes; I don’t like them, for both reasons you give. I personally don’t really even like on-road cycle lanes, as they’re usually insufficiently wide and lead to closer passes by motorists.
I think wider kerb-side traffic lanes is the best option, so that cyclist can be overtaken by motorised vehicles without the motorised vehicles having to change lane. Similarly, cyclists can overtake parked or loading vehicles without changing lane.