cycling in Dublin

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Gordanus

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Report in today's Irish Times about a ghost bike being placed at Harold's X bridge in memory of the cyclist killed there a few weeks ago by a left turning cement mixer lorry. 75% of cyclists killed in Dublin are killed by left-turning HGVs. (photos here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055488310)

When will DCC realise that the cycle lanes are totally inadequate???
 
I knew the ghost bikes would soon be employed in Dublin - not before time! Here is a previous post of mine in a discussion on 'memorials by the side of the road',
ophelia said:
rabbit, we really shouldn't be calling these 'headstones', they are really memorials to the deceased. If they are too big then the council are not doing their job.
However, perhaps this will be the next big thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_bike
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The DCC policy seems to be about giving cycle lanes where they are not needed (on nice wide roads) and not giving them where they really are needed.
 
Complainer said:
The DCC policy seems to be about giving cycle lanes where they are not needed (on nice wide roads) and not giving them where they really are needed.
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The problem is that they are really needed on narrow roads... DCC are hardly going to stop cars going along such roads.
I cycle in Dublin, have done for over 20 years. I watch what is behind me before I turn.
I also never use cycle lanes where I have to share the footpath with pedestrians as it’s far too dangerous and feel safer on the road.
Cyclists need to realise that they are a small minority on the roads and while the authorities should do what is practical to keep them safe they should not impede motor traffic to suit cyclists.
 
I'm sure that none of my concerns are new, but I cyled for the first time in Dublin city yesterday. Thought that since it was a Sunday it would be a little easier. How wrong I was (or else it's just awful all the time)

1. Bike lanes seem to have cars parked in the majority of the lane. Why are they not double yellow lines, 24/7?
2. When you do have to go out into the road cause of blocked bike lane/parked cars, why are drivers so impatient? They rev like crazy until you get out of the way!
3. Pet hates after about an hour cycling: Pedestrians that walk out in front of you, cars that pass you out only to turn left/park - thereby forcing you to stop & go around them, other cyclists that pass you out when stopped at red lights.
 
The idea of cycles sharing road space with motor vehicles is mad. If the bicycle was invented today, there is no way that they would be permitted to mix with traffic. The DCC policy of painting a red stripe in a bus lane and calling it a cycle lane is a farce. Cycle lanes need to be separated completely from the rest of traffic.
 
Purple said:
Cyclists need to realise that they are a small minority on the roads and while the authorities should do what is practical to keep them safe they should not impede motor traffic to suit cyclists.
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I don't see why not. I drive as well as cycling, and when I'm driving
1. a detour makes little difference
2. takes no effort on my part
3. starting from stopped is much easier in a car! Especially on an uphill...

whereas added effort counts a lot when cycling....but that might be age too...cycling almost 40 years....I've survived this long by cycling very defensively but still find myself almost weekly having a near-incident with a motorised vehicle

Also, isn't DCC trying to encourage more cycling & public transport use? The only way is to make these easier PLUS make it harder for cars.

cycling may well increase with the recession....
 
Also, isn't DCC trying to encourage more cycling & public transport use?
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In Dublin, there is a direct conflict between these two aims. As cycling lanes are add-ons to bus lanes, the more cyclists you have, the slower the buses. There is nothing worse than being on a packed bus and being stuck behind a slow cyclist or a succession of slow cyclists. Sometimes this can last for most of the journey. The most frustrating is that even when there are cycling lanes provided off the road, a large percentage of cyclists refuse to use them and the buses still get stuck.

100 people on a double decker bus should have priority over a few cyclists.
 
Gordanus said:
Also, isn't DCC trying to encourage more cycling & public transport use?
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It is certainly not doing anything serious to encourage cycling. There is a real catch-22 situation here, whereby they won't justify giving priority to cyclists due to low-ish numbers, but the low-ish numbers will continue until they give some priority to cyclists. Critical mass is required.
 
csirl said:
The DCC policy of painting a red stripe in a bus lane and calling it a cycle lane is a farce.
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I regularly play leap frog with a bus in the "bus/cycle lane". It passes you. It pulls in (partly). You pass it. It comes up behind you noisily (it sounds like some drivers play with their air brakes to make them hiss startlingly or rev up their engines right behind my mudguard). It passes you again and promptly pulls over in front of you etc etc.

Just back from Amsterdam. Separate cycle lanes (mostly) and little traffic lights just for cyclists. Bliss.
 
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My son is in college in Rotterdam at the moment and the difference in cycling there and here is amazing. He feels completely safe cycling there, loads of space for bikes and buses and no chance of near misses.
 
noone has mentioned the fact that in dublin motorbikes and mopeds all think bike lanes are for them too - I regularly have motorbikes beep me to get out of their way in the bike lane!
 
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