Cycling in the City and the Decaux Disaster

Today's Irish Times published the result of a Dublin City Council traffic survey, covering changing inner city traffic patterns in the last 10 years.

The number of cars coming into the city dropped by 14% and the number of lorries by 56% (morning traffic).
The total number of cars coming into the city has dropped from 73,561 to 63,269 over the 10 years. Morning taxi journeys are up 79% since deregulation in 2002. Car trips are still by a long way the great proportion of total journeys.

* Irish Times Story *

The decade was poor for cyclists overall, until a reversal last year saw an increase of 17% in the one year - surely connected with removal of HGVs from the city centre with the opening of the port tunnel. Bus numbers also went up by 19% in the decade. Pedestrian trips are up from 16,679 to 18,594 - the number of walkers increased by 9% last year.

The article doesn't give figures for Luas and Dart, but confirms that after cars, walking is the most popular mode of travel.

Does anyone here cycle in Dublin?

Now that HGVs are off the roads, is it time for Dublin to slap on a City Centre congestion tax and use the money to buy 10,000 bikes for free use?

It's a great report, and a definite step in the right direction. I envisage further rises in cycling and pedestrian figures and corresponding declines in car and truck volumes.

I don't think the environment is quite right for a congestion charge. We need much more alternatives to private transport to come into force. More and better buses, more Luas lines, more and better park and ride facilities and a change in settlement patterns to encourage more people to live within the canals.

Cycling was my preferred mode of transport when I lived in Dublin - I went everywhere on my bike til I got hit by a taxi or I hit it stone cold sober coming home from work. I didn't cycle after that again.

It's quick, cheap and is practical in Dublin because it seems there is very infrequent rain. The traffic was unpleasant but could be exhilarating at times ... I found out that my bike was no competition for Toyota Corrollas though. Taxis should slow the f down. But a lot of that traffic could be reduced now so it would be a bit more pleasant to wheel around Dublin city...

Can someone reprint the article here? I've got no subscription to the IT ... I'm sure they wouldn't mind.

Auditor #9 wrote:

Cycling was my preferred mode of transport when I lived in Dublin - I went everywhere on my bike til I got hit by a taxi or I hit it stone cold sober coming home from work. I didn't cycle after that again.

It's quick, cheap and is practical in Dublin because it seems there is very infrequent rain. The traffic was unpleasant but could be exhilarating at times ... I found out that my bike was no competition for Toyota Corrollas though. Taxis should slow the f down. But a lot of that traffic could be reduced now so it would be a bit more pleasant to wheel around Dublin city...

Can someone reprint the article here? I've got no subscription to the IT ... I'm sure they wouldn't mind.

I've put nearly everything in the article in the thread. What we need is the study.
(Dublin City Council traffic etc.)

There was a thread on P.ie in which the Dublin City Council deal with Worldwide Advertising Company Decaux for free hoarding sites for large illuminated advertising stands in exchange for a small number of bikes was discussed. The stands were to be put up on City Centre footpaths. Essentially, the Dublin deal involved a tiny fraction of the total "free bikes" that were provided by Decaux in similar schemes in Europe and Australia.

The hoardings are just the kind of hideous and dangerous crap that engineers and urban designers have been working to clear off the streets for years.

I just received this:

DECEMBER ISSUE - PLAN MAGAZINE, Ireland's leading architectural publication, has conducted a major investigation the results of which are published in our current issue. In conducting our research, we uncovered key findings including:

Dublin City Council's own internal report finds majority of units inspected to be deficient regarding road safety yet units nonetheless deemed as compliant

No schedule yet for the independent safety audit, although vast majority of units are in place.

JC Decaux's list of 50 predominantly already obsolete billboards accepted as complying with the condition that sought to reduce 100 billboards around the city

Billboards erected on roads known to have a bad safety record

Alcohol adverts now flashing outside schools

"Having published the previously secret rezoning map in April used to deliver the Decaux scheme, Plan Magazine lifts the lid and again further exposes significant new shortcomings some of which are potential public safety hazards."
Synopsis of our findings:

1. On request by councillors, city officials conducted an internal audit whereby 32 site inspections were carried out in city-centre areas, primarily on the smaller "metropanel" units, now freestanding on footpaths. Twenty-seven had been erected at time of inspection, yet of the units only eight appear to be completely free from "road user infringements". Although the majority appear to have deficiencies in terms of road safety and could be potentially dangerous, such as "blind spots" (council's own description) and sightlines blocked, all bar one have been deemed to be compliant.

2. Forty-six other units, primarily the larger "metropole" type, do not appear to have been inspected; however Plan Magazine has correlated data provided by the Gardai with locations of development, and it appears that approximately 25 have been built on roads known to have bad history of accidents. (Any of the larger "metropole" units that were appealed to An Bord Pleanála were shot down, primarily because of road safety concerns; in contrast Dublin City Council approved 100% all such applications in the first instance. No Environmental Impact Assessment was ever carried out.)

3. In total, of the 78 "metropole" and "metropanel" units, approximately 50 raise problems in terms of road safety, or are located on dangerous roads. Despite this the independent safety audit required has not even been advertised for contract with no timetable apparent as to when it is likely to be carried out.

4. The condition stipulating a cleanup of the city by the removal of 100 billboards has seemingly been retrospectively changed to 50, yet the evidence of decommissioned hoardings by JC Decaux appears to have significant peculiarities. Of the 50 units, 30 roads and streets are listed – yet only 20 of these are identifiable with specific numbers provided. Having conducted site examinations of the locations, Plan Magazine has discovered that many of the sites were already under or effected by redevelopment, including in one case state land where a garda station is being built, while in other instances it appears that some addresses provided do not exist.

5. Other matters including alcohol adverts outside schools such as on Dorset Street, land ownership issues, estimates of the scheme being worth €150 million, liability questions and more!

There was stiff opposition to this scheme before it was adopted by Dublin City Council. Personally I think it was an entirely avoidable scandal, and I find the deal reached by the City Council officials incomprehensible. If Decaux have not complied with their side of the bargain, the scheme should be wound up and these monstrosities recycled for something useful.

I meant to get a bike to travel around Dublin last year, when I lived in Rathmines, but now I'm living in the inner city so I can just walk.

i walk to work (live approx 2 miles from office), and use my rothar to get to the gym (approx 3 miles).

the amount of times, tho, i've been close to being hit by a SUV or car on that 3 miles of quiet broad roads....despite the fact i wear a hi-vis jacket, reflective arm bands, very strong front and back lights and bright helmet. you'd swear they hadn't passed a basic test.

Here's how police deal with Critical Mass cycling demonstrations which have happened in New York City in the past...