The Department of Transport said today that it expects to issue guidelines on urban speed limits by the end of September.

It’s unclear what impact this may have on the planned volume of extra 30km/h roads until the guidelines are published and the approach councils take to them becomes apparent.

It is understood that the guidelines will recommend setting a speed limit of at least 30 km/h in some parts of the core areas of larger villages and town centres, as well as in the equivalent areas of cities. But the exact extent of this and what other streets and roads

It is also understood to highlight the importance of 30km/h outside of schools, at least on a timed basis. While this measure is already widespread in some council areas, especially in cities, other councils have been slow to adopt a 50km/h speed limit outside of schools.

IrishCycle.com asked the Department for clarification after the Dublin Inquirer newspaper reported on a briefing that Fingal County Council councillors were given, stating that the default approach was being abandoned.

The approach of setting 30km/h as the default limit had already included the Department of Transport making it clear that main roads would generally remain at 50km/h. Only main roads in locations such as outside schools or those in the core area of urban centres were expected to be reduced to 30km/h. But there was a high level of misinformation about changes.

The move comes after an extremely high level of misinformation and confusion arose over the 60km/h rural local road changes. Many newspapers and councillors had made claims that the main rural roads, including regional roads, would be included, but this was never the case.

It also claimed widely that the default speed limit process was akin to setting “blanket” limits, but this is also untrue — both the urban and rural processes resulted in or would result in fewer areas with one “blanket” limit.

It was also said that the changes were a diktat from the former Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, which the current Government were getting pushback for implementing.

For 60km/h limits on rural roads, different approaches were taken to exempt roads at the individual council level; however, most councils exempted at least a handful of roads.

In some cases it is clear that councillors kept themselves out of the process and then complained after the fact — for example, this website was told of a case where council officials invited councillors to workshops about which roads to keep at 80km/h and some of the councillors wo didn’t attend later complained that democracy was at threat.

The Department of Transport said today in a statement that the default 30km/h approach came from the Government’s road safety strategy 2021 to 2030 which “includes the primary aim of reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads in half by 2030 and to achieve ‘Vision Zero’, zero deaths or serious injuries, by 2050.”

It included the recommendation of a working group and, the Department said: “Accordingly, this working group was established, and it comprised representatives from the City and County Managers Association, the Road Safety Authority, an Garda Síochána, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, and the Department of Transport.”

From this came the 2023 Speed Limit Review report, which proposed the rural local roads from 80km/h to 60km/h, a 30km/h default speed limit in built-up and urban areas, and a reduction in the default speed limit on national secondary roads from 100km/h to 80km/h.

On the new approach, a spokesperson for the Department said: “It is intended that this speed limit change will be introduced by way of ‘special speed limit bye-laws’, rather than a change in the ‘default speed limit’.”

“Whilst the recommendation of the ‘Speed Limit Review’ intended that the proposed speed limit changes in built-up and urban areas would be implemented by way of the introduction of a default speed limit of 30km/h, it was subsequently recognised that this would be difficult to achieve, as there is presently no definition of an urban area in legislation for the purpose of setting speed limits,” the spokesperson said.

“To introduce a default speed limit of 30km/h in all urban areas would necessitate updated legislation, which would take time, hence it was determined appropriate to proceed with the review and implementation of urban speed limits by way of ‘special speed limit bye-laws’,” the Department said.

The Department of Transport said that it will be required for each local authority to undertake a statutory public consultation process and consider representations.

The Department outlined that this is a reserved function for councillors, meaning that speed limits will only be changed where a majority of the elected members vote to do so.

However, councillors in different parts of the country have complained that this is often a “take it or leave it” approach, where, after public consultation, council management outlines a raft of changes, and councillors must vote yes or no, with no option to amend the list of changes. Former Minister Ryan said he would reform this element of the process, but the level changes were not forthcoming.

The Department spokesperson said: “To assist local authorities with the process of setting ‘special speed limits’ in built-up and urban areas and the attendant bye-laws procedures, a working group is presently revising the ‘Guidelines for Setting and Managing Speed Limits in Ireland’.”

Five regional workshops were held with council officials in April 2025. At these, officials were told that the default approach was being taken off the table, and an outline of the proposed revisions to the guidelines was given, including the criteria to be considered by local authorities for setting speed limits in built-up and urban areas.

Feedback was also taken on board, so the guidelines have yet to be finalised, the Department said.

A spokesperson added: “It is expected that the ‘Guidelines’ will be finalised during the third quarter of 2025. Subject to the Minister’s approval, it is envisaged that the updated ‘Guidelines’ will issue to local authorities by way of a new Circular, with a direction to commence the process of reviewing existing speed in urban areas in their respective administrative areas, and to set appropriate speed limits in accordance with the Guidelines.”

Rather than having a narrow unidirectional cycle track and a short section of two-way cycle path on one side of the road, most of the route is now planned to include a continuous two-way cycle path.

There will be a short section of unidirectional cycle tracks (light blue in the drawing below) from the start of the project beside the Artane roundabout for around 170 metres to the junction between Gracefield Road / Brookwood Avenue.

The two-way cycle path (shown in dark below) is planned to be a continuous route, around 2.2km in length. This cycle path will run between the junction of Gracefield Road and Brookwood Avenue to Vernon Avenue, just south of its junction with Seafield Road.

The two-way path will have crossings to the other side of the road, for example, at St Paul’s school.

A response from Dublin City Council officials said: “Following on from site investigations which took place in Q1, the team has re-examined the entire Gracefield Road to Vernon Avenue route, taking into consideration the concerns from all key stakeholders including the community and Elected Members.”

“This included extensive engagement with key internal departments. Arising from this process a two-way cycle track is now being proposed for the majority of the road. The project team is working relentlessly to get the Scheme to tender by the end of the year,” officials said.

Cllr Donna Cooney (Green Party) said: “It is great to see that the Gracefield road to Vernon Avenue cycleway/active travel route will be going to tender this year with works to commence early 2026.”

She added: “The revised design is better as it provides a two-way cycleway for most of the route, which serves a number of schools and sports pitches in St Annes Park.”

Cllr Paddy Monahan (Social Democrats) said that parking at St Anne’s Park was a major issue of public feedback. Parking also seemed to be the main reason for the complicated cycle route switchover for a short section of two-way cycle path outside the park.

He said that he’s surprised the project’s designers didn’t initially see the issue with the trees, but that he has to take it on face value that the trees cause an issue. The council has now provided an arborist report outlining the issue.

Cllr Monahan said the new compromise is better than the previous one. He said that it means people will not be expected to switch from undirectional cycle tracks to a two-way cycle path on one side of the road and back in quick succession.

Cllr Monahan said: “My issue was with the chopping and changing and swapping over. Now what they are talking about is a two-lane cycle track the entire length [to] Gracefield, so at least there’s not the chopping and changing that we were talking about, it’s a two-lane cycle track on one side of the road all the way.”

He said that the idea of two changeovers in quick succession would not have been attractive, especially for school children who would have been unreaslictively expected to cross over for 200 metres.

“This is better than the initial change that was discussed, which was just two-way on Sybil Hill Road, which I don’t think was realistic, as I don’t think people would use that. So, I think this [what’s now planned] is a better compromise,” he said.

He said that he thinks that the original plan, which had undirectional cycle tracks on each side of the road, was a better plan, but he has to take it at face value that the trees have been an issue and in order to deal with that, the officials have come up with the new plan which he said is a better compromise than the initial change.

Seafield Road to the Clontarf Road project

Dublin City Council are also progressing on a project to finish off the link from south of the junction with Seafield Road to the Clontarf Road. This will link to the S2S Dublin Bay route, but it will mainly include a strong public realm element around the shops at the end of Vernon Avenue.

Cllr Cooney added: “The Vernon Avenue to Clontarf Road section report is now completed and preliminary design approved by NTA, hopefully, this can be progressed quickly and go for tender this year or early 2026.

“This will bring about a safe, traffic area, placemaking, greening and an attractive area for people, residents and visitors to enjoy Vernon Avenue village and connection to the coast, and the S2S and C2CC routes,” she said.

The Government’s National Development Plan review is being reported as the deciding factor for many infrastructure projects, and the process is expected to show how much the Government is willing to prioritise public transport or roads. But the statement provided to this website by the NTA is the first time that replacing existing Dart trains was linked to the National Development Plan review.

The Dart 8100 Class Fleet Replacement project is needed to replace the current Dart fleet, which is ageing, with trains regularly breaking down and causing knock-on reliability issues for the wider Dublin rail network.

Once the trains are ordered, the lead-in time is around two and a half years for new trains to be built and put into service. The existing Dart trains, which date back to 1984 and are based on trains built elsewhere in the 1970s, are likely to suffer more issues in the meantime.

Rail Users Ireland, a group representing train users, stated that the delay in ordering replacement trains now risks not only the reliability of the Dublin rail network and the planned Dart expansion for the Northern Line to Drogheda next year, but also rail expansion plans for Cork and Limerick.

Mark Gleeson, a spokesperson for Rail Users Ireland, said: “The current fleet is now 41 years old and suffering from reliability issues impacting passengers on a near-daily basis. Two highly disruptive train failures occurred on Wednesday, July 9th, for example.”

He points to the recommendation from Irish Rail’s chief mechanical engineer, who said as far back as 2019 that this fleet needed to be replaced due to the cost and challenges in keeping them in service. Irish Rail has an approved business case in place for the order of new trains.

Gleeson said: “The public was sold by politicians that the Dart+ project was a top priority, yet every element is now running years behind, and here we are unable to commit to the purchase replacing the existing fleet.”

“We call on Irish Rail, NTA and Department of Transport to immediately authorise and sign the contract for the replacement fleet as failure to do so will result in months, if not years, of degraded service for commuters across the Greater Dublin Region and beyond,” he said.

Gleeson added: “If no order is forthcoming, the only alternative we can see will be to divert trains intended for Dublin Drogheda to operate the existing Dart service, this in turn means it will not be possible to reassign commuter trains in Dublin to Cork, Galway and Limerick.”

The Department of Transport said that the business case for the Dart+ programme was approved by the Government in December 2021, and this allowed for the framework agreement for Dart trains from train manufacturer Alstom.

The framework agreement has so-far included an order of 65 battery-electric and 30 electric carriages. While these are planned for the expansion of Dart services, including an expansion of frequency on the current line and extension of reach of the Dart on the northern line between Malahide and Drogheda. These will use battery-electric trains ahead of the line being electrified.

It is feared that these trains, ordered for the expansion of service, will have to supplement the current fleet as trains break down more frequently.

A Department of Transport spokesperson said: “In November 2022, the Government approved a second Dart fleet order from Alstom, for an additional 90 battery-electric carriages. These carriages will start arriving next year and will further boost train capacity in the Dublin area, with the precise deployment to be decided by the National Transport Authority (NTA), and Iarnród Éireann.”

“A third fleet order was considered by the NTA at their March board meeting, while approval to advance to Approval Gate 3 was granted the order has not been formally placed,” they said.

The Department’s spokesperson added: “The third fleet order is lower than the €200 million major project threshold, set out in the Infrastructure Guidelines which requires approval by Government. As such the fleet order can be approved by the NTA in their role as day-to-day Approving Authority.”

A spokesperson for the National Transport Authority said: “The business case for a third order for new Dart fleet to replace the aging 8100 Dart train sets has recently been approved by the NTA. However, the availability of funding over the manufacturing lifecycle of the order needs to be confirmed before the order can be placed.”

The NTA spokesperson added: “The Government is currently undertaking a review of the National Development Plan (NDP) which is expected to conclude shortly. It is anticipated that the new NDP will set clear funding envelopes for the next five years. The NTA anticipates that it will then be in a position to confirm the authorisation for the next fleet order.”

Irish Rail was also contacted but deferred to the NTA.

At a level of intervention in the N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme that is nearly unprecedented in a project that county and national authorities have said has a sound rationale, but which Tánaiste Harris said shutting the junction “is simply insane” and “it makes no sense.”

Officials have stated that the rationale is clear: the road is overcapacity at peak times, the junction is below safety standards, and there will still be three other junctions into the town within a 4 km distance of each other.

Providing bus priority allows more people to be carried ahead of major investments, both officials and public transport campaigners have said. However, a campaign by motorists who use the junction has gone into overdrive on the issue, claiming that the road network of Bray will suffer, and even suggesting that tourism is at risk.

In a video posted to Instagram, Tánaiste Harris said: “I’ve just come from a meeting with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Daragh O’Brien, and indeed the other TDs for Wicklow, as you know, we’re working on a cross-party basis. I’ve no interest in playing politics on the Herbert Road. The Herbert Road in Bray needs to stay open; to shut it is simply insane. It makes no sense, and it would cause traffic chaos in Bray.”

He said that he and a cross-party contingent of Wicklow TDs met Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien today and that they “outlined to him the extraordinarily strong view of people of Bray, in Graystones, right across County Wicklow, as to why this road needs to stay open.”

The Tanaiste said: “I’m really pleased to say that Wicklow County Council has now aggreed that they will appoint consultants, excuse me, contract for tender for that will close on July 25th and those consultants will now be asked to identify an alternative route so that we can see the benefits of the bus corridor while not shutting the Herbert Road.”

He also said that he and the other Wicklow TDs will meet with Transport Infrastructure Ireland next week.

The video prompted the Dublin Commuters, a group that campaigns for better public and sustainable transport in the Dublin area, to outline that the plan for more consultants’ reports is a waste of money, as the current consultants have already detailed the issues and options for the route.

Both local politicians and campaigners who are looking for the junction to be kept open claim that the bus lane can be provided while keeping direct access to Herbert Road open, but Dublin Commuters points to an options report for the project that outlines the constrained and curving nature of the N11 at the junction which requires the closure to avoid conflict between buses and motorists using the confined turn on and off the road..

Jason Cullen, chairperson for the Dublin Commuters, said: “It’s very disappointing to see senior [elected] Government officials actively working against their own policies, particularly when describing sustainable transport initiatives as ‘madness’ or ‘insanity’.”

“There have been seven different options for this section of the N11, which have been presented and developed by one consultancy already. The Tanaiste’s call for further consultancy, will only serve to tell us what we already know while wasting both time and money in the process,” he said.

He said: “Paying another consultant company to tell us what we already know is a complete waste of time and money.”

The group said that the Bray section of the N11 has been “a bottleneck for decades and needs to prioritise more efficient modes of transportation so people can switch from cars where it suits them.”

Cullen said: “The N11 upgrade project will provide vital bus priority along the route, which will be particularly beneficial for those who have longer commuting journeys from Wicklow and Wexford. It will also significantly reduce delays for commuters from Kilcoole and Newcastle on the X1 and X2 routes as they move through the current bottleneck at Bray.”

The Dublin Commuters posted an overview of the 394-page Phase 2 Option Selection Report for the project on X (formerly Twitter), which was published in April 2025.

The report, the group said, identifies the key issues at the Herbert Road entrance, including how visibility is poor, spacing between the junction is poor, how the junction presents conflicts between buses and turning traffic and how it doesn’t comply with safety design standards on a number of points.

The project, named Blacksod Bay Loop Phase 1, Binghamstown – Cross Lake, is currently undergoing public consultation until August 1st.

It includes new rural shared road signs, branded as “Quiet Road” signs. Unlike the shared street signs, which have dark blue backgrounds and were formalised in 2021, the rural signs have a green background and feature an outline of a road with a car, a person on a bike and pedestrians.

“Mayo County Council proposes to develop a walking and cycling amenity in North County Mayo, connecting
towns and villages along the route including on the Mullet peninsula: Belmullet, Binghamstown, Cross,
Aghleam, Glosh, Faulmore, Blacksod and back to Belmullet and on the east side of Belmullet: Corclough east,
Toorglass, Bunahowen, Claggan Island, Doolough, Gweesalia, Muingdoran, Doohoma, Tullaghanbawn,
Tullaghanduff,” the council said in a report on the project.

A Road Safety Audit for the project said: “The absence of segregation for vulnerable road users, combined with limited forward visibility for drivers and (potential) inappropriate vehicle speeds in some sections all serve to increase the risk of a pedestrians or cyclist being struck by a car within the scheme roads.”

The consultants who undertook the audit recommended that “Drivers should be provided with conspicuous road signs and markings indicating they will share the road with pedestrians and cyclists. Boundary treatments should be modified where required to provide a consistent level of forward visibility for drivers.”

“Traffic calming measures should be implemented consistently in areas where drivers are likely to travel at higher speeds. These measures should be accompanied by a comprehensive reduction in the posted speed limit,” the report said.

The drawings for the project, however, show very little traffic calming, except on a small stretch of the route outside of a school, Cill Mhor Iorrais in Binghamstown.

The speed limit is marked on project drawings as the default rural local roads of 60km/h with a note that the “Current Speed Limit is subject to be reviewed”.

The scheme, which primarily involves road markings and paving small sections of areas where motorists already drive to pass other motorists, has a 38-page Screening for Environmental Impact Assessment report.

Cllr Feljin Jose (Green Party) was told this in a response to a question to council management.

In a written reply, Dublin City Council said: “The project aims to provide 300 secure bicycle storage units over the lifetime of the Framework Agreement. The procurement process has progressed to Stage 3, and the successful tenderer has been notified of the outcome.”

“The awarding process is currently underway, with the necessary formalities being completed to enable the signing of the Framework Agreement and the associated contract,” officials said.

The reply added: “Once the contract is formally awarded, the appointed operator will actively promote the service and offer multiple channels through which members of the public can express interest in having a Bike Bunker installed in their area.”

Clllr Jose said: “This has taken a long time, but it’s great to finally see it going ahead. We saw the huge demand for these secure parking units during the trial many years ago, especially in city centre area and the older suburban areas with terraced houses.”

He added: “I hope the company can hit the ground running and begin installation this year.”

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s proposed flagship active travel project, the DLR Connector, is to provide an 8.5km route which the council claims will “enhance safety for all road users, and improve access to local schools, shops and amenities by active travel modes.”

A non-statutory public consultation for the project is currently on-going until Tuesday next week, July 15th. The next step is that officials plan to submit the plan to An Coimisiún Pleanála for planning permission. But some councillors are voicing concerns or outright opposition.

A number of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council councillors have at least indicated some level of opposition to the project as planned, but maybe one of the most surprising is Cllr John Hurley, a Social Democrats councillor for the Stillorgan area, whose position outlined to IrishCycle.com contradicts his party’s policy on supporting cycle routes.

This is the second of the party’s councillors in recent months to go against key cycle routes, following Cllr Elisa O’Donovan in Limrick, who sharply opposed her city’s South Circular Road route.

Cllr Hurley said he was “a keen cyclist” until a recent injury, but he thinks that current plans, including the DLR Connector, will not reduce car use. This contradicts international research, which suggests that cycle networks on the scale planned in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown would significantly increase cycling levels while reducing car use.

In a lengthy email to IrishCycle.com, he said that cycle routes in other countries, such as the Netherlands and Germany, are built along quieter roads and streets — this and other claims (see below) don’t add up. While it’s common to use quieter routes as primary cycle routes and planners say that such roads are preferable, but it depends on the availability of such quieter roads or streets and if they can provide an attractive and continuous route.

The countries he lists build dense cycle networks, which include cycle routes on much busier roads.

Cllr Hurley wants a Luas route built along the DLR Connector, but the council said there isn’t the space for it, and — as reported by this website just last week — the national body responsible for the rollout of Luas appears to be looking at a circular route north of the DLR Connector route.

Other councillors who have hinted at opposition to the route but have yet to publicly be clear as Cllr Hurley. But Cllr Michael Clark and Cllr Justin Moylan, two Fianna Fáil councillors, are hosting a public meeting to “examine the proposals” in response to “concerns” from residents and businesses.

The meeting is happening at 7pm this Thursday, July 10th in the Royal Marine Hotel, and posters for the event state that “all are welcome”.

Cllr Clark has one of the strongest records of openly opposing changes which have impacts on motorists, while Cllr Moylan has previously objected to elements of active travel projects, such as installing modal filters or removing dangerous slip turns.

Meanwhile, Cllr Michael Fleming, an independent councillor, said in a Facebook post that the proposed bus gate along the route, at Dundrum’s Main Street, is not a “plan that works for everyone”.

He said: “As your local Councillor, I voted against the proposal [as part of a wider local area plan] to remove the left-turn vehicle access onto Dundrum Main Street for a bus gate under the DLR Connector plan. This move would be detrimental to local businesses and makes no allowance for people attending Mass, visiting the GP, or accessing essential services in the village. It’s not balanced or fair. I strongly encourage everyone to have their say before 15th July.”

A deeper look: “I do not give unconditional support to any scheme”

IrishCycle.com contacted Cllr Hurley after he told people he was against the project as proposed. He was asked what alternative he wanted to see and why he was going against his own party’s policy on supporting cycle routes on the GDA Cycle Network.

In an email response, Cllr Hurley said: “I don’t know who told you that I am ‘against’ the DLR Connector but I do not give unconditional support to any scheme.” It’s unclear who — if anybody — asked him to give unconditional support for any project.

“I am or was (until a recent hip injury) a keen cyclist, cycling to and from work in Dublin City centre for over 9 years, during which time I made several petitions to Dublin City Council and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council regarding the improvement of cycle infrastructure along my routes,” he said.

Cllr Hurley said: “I have lived and cycled in several European cities, Munich, Mannheim and Vienna and would love to see similar cycling and public transport infrastructure and culture in Irish cities. I am a frequent visitor to the Netherlands whose cycling culture is the envy of Europe but which is made possible only because of the top-class public transport (rail and light-rail) that makes it viable not to own a motor car for many residents.”

According to Eurostat data from 2022, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, overall, have a higher rate of car ownership than Ireland. Experts say the difference in car use — which is lower in places like the Netherlands — is not down to being able to access cars for when people need them, but roads and streets that prioritise the use of sustainable transport, and people then choosing to cycle more.

“I am, of course, supportive of measures that would give Irish towns and cities infrastructure that would make cycling and walking and commuting by public transport as safe and convenient as they would be in other European countries but I don’t think the NTA’s initiatives will bring that about,” he said.

Cllr Hurley said: “Unlike the cycling experience in the European cities I mentioned above, where cycle lanes are separated from major carriageways whenever possible, Irish cycle lanes seem to slavishly hug major roads even when shorter and safer routes are available.”

However, he failed to outline any shorter or safer route for the DLR Connector or one nearby it, or to mention that the DLR Connector route mostly includes one lane of traffic in each direction. The DLR Connector project also includes measures which are likely to reduce traffic along the route.

He also said that “Cyclists are left to breathe in the fumes of motor traffic as they cycle along beside it and are directed through highly complex and dangerous junctions and roundabouts. These are not facilities that children will readily cycle on or that many parents would encourage their children to use.”

However, images of the design of the DLR Connector show that, where there is space, the designers have used green buffers between the cycle route and main carriageways.

And later in his email he returns to the topic of routing without stating what alternative route he would like to see developed, stating that he also pointed out to a senior council engineer that “flaws in the routing” of the DLR connector means people are there’s a need for “major roadworks at these intersections to make them safer (but by no means safe) for cyclists.”

But most of the main junctions on the DLR Connector are also planned to be changed from unsafe junctions — including roundabouts with no formal crossings — to Dutch-like or equivalent roundabout and junction designs. Similar protected designs can be found in the most cycling-friendly cities in the Netherlands, where many children are enabled to cycle independently.

Cllr Hurley also complained that “One of the great frustrations in Ireland is that government (national and local) adopts only inputs as the measure of their activities or achievements but avoids examining the outcomes.”

However, he also points to research done for DLRCC. The National Transport Authority is also funding further research in a number of council areas.

Cllr Hurley said: “As evidence-based policy is one of the key tenets of the Social Democrats’ political philosophy, I asked the engineer if he had any statistical reports to demonstrate the success of existing cycle infrastructure in achieving this modal shift.”

He said he was told that the council had not yet identified a suitable metric for measuring modal shift from cars to bicycles.

He said: “Surveys on new cycle routes did indeed show increased usage but it could not be determined if any of these cyclists had switched from driving. He said there was a survey conducted on the DLR Coastal cycle route in 2022, that showed an increase in use by female and child cyclists but no similar studies have been done on other cycle routes.”

However, Dublin City Centre is a localised Irish example of cycling use increasing while car use is decreasing. And this has happened where only parts of cycle networks were built, while international research points to the need for wide and more connected cycle networks before substantial modal change is shown.

As reported by this website, CSO staff previously told the Irish Independent that the Canals Route in Dublin could be linked with a cycling increase in the area while driving into the city centre was reduced.

On a wider level, according to the CSO 2022 Census data, despite the increase in work from home, the number of people cycling across Irish cities was up 173% to nearly 260,000 between 2016 and 2022.

Cllr Hurley continued: “I asked whether, with the elderly demographic profile of the county, DLR council could realistically convince sufficient members of the population to switch to cycling and if, without major investment in light-rail systems, we can ever meet our emission reduction targets.”

According to the CSO, the average age of residents in the DLRCC area is 40. The CBS, the Dutch equivalent of the CSO, outlines that “The average age of the inhabitants of the Netherlands is 42.4.” In the Netherlands, the adult age group which cycles the highest percentage is the 65 to 75 age group.

In a 2022 interview on the Volts podcast, Chris Bruntlett, who works for the Dutch Cycling Embesty, and has, with his wife Melissa, written books on Dutch cycling, said: “It’s fasniataing to us that the 65 to 75 demographic in the Netherlands cycles more than any other adult age group: 30 to 35% of all journeys in that age group are on a bicycle because it is more than just a means of transportation, it’s a means of social inclusion.”

Cllr Hurley said: “Some other councillors suggested [at a briefing with officials] that this was merely to take roadspace from motorists and discommode them generally.” He said, “I didn’t agree” before mentioning his Luas idea again.

“Covering the county in cycle lanes will certainly provide more safety and choice for people who do opt to cycle. But without a viable public-transport alternative, cycle lanes alone will never convince sufficient people to change their mode of transport away from the car to have any impact on our climate targets,” he said.

“At the recent Mary Robinson Nature and Climate Justice conference I saw a presentation by the SEAI that showed how badly Ireland is missing its climate targets across all sectors (energy, transport, livestock etc.),” Cllr Hurley said, and he added his view that “cycling will have no impact.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted the potential of cycling as part of the sustainable transport system. In a presentation, two IPCC authors said: “Shift to bikes and e-bikes is a modest,
yet cheap, mitigation option.”

That’s based on the transport sector accounting for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In Ireland, the domestic transport sector (ie not including international air travel) accounts for over 20% of emissions.

Cllr Hurley added: “Given the title of your publication and your objective of writing about councillors who oppose the DLR connector, I could imagine you have an agenda to demonize certain councillors and have cycling zealots bombard them with emails. I hope this is not your agenda but if it is, I will defend my position as a proponent of evidence-based policies that can have a meaningful impact on our climate targets.”

In total, the project fills in approximately 600 metres of a gap on the greenway along Firhouse Road and Butterfield Avenue, between Kilvere and Knocklyon Road. New cycle tracks also extend around 240 metres from the junction with Knocklyon to the junction of Spawell, beside the Dodder Valley Car Park.

While the distance is relatively short, it includes providing a protected route through three busy junctions.

As previously reported, the greenway on this section is not routed along the river at this section because of the confined and twisting nature of the river and the houses and gardens backing onto the riverbank.

Once the new link is completed, it will create a continuous section of 7.6km of the greenway route from Firhouse Road West to Ely’s Arch / Orwell Park.

Currently the project

As reported last month, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has said it plans to proceed with making Dodder Road Lower one-way for motorists to install a two-way cycle path. The council stated that it could not build a suggested alternative, which would not make the road one-way, due to technical challenges and accessibility impacts that it would cause.

Meanwhile, Dublin City Council is at different stages of construction and planning of its sections of the route.

The written parliamentary question by Laois TD, William Aird, and its ministerial response were published on Tuesday, June 24th.

Despite there being little evidence to support the effectiveness in high-vis reducing danger at a population level, calls to make the clothing compulsory are regular, with Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív (Fianna Fail) previously making a similar call at the end of the last Dail term.

While high-vis is heavily promoted by the Road Safety Authority, even its CEO in 2017, Moyagh Murdock, had to remind politicians of the impracticalities of making clothing mandatory. When it was suggested at an Oireachtas Committee on Transport that high-visibility clothing should be mandatory for pedestrians to wear, Murdock told committee members that we do not live in a “police state”.

Last month, Deputy Aird, asked “the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will consider making the wearing of high-visibility jackets compulsory, as a road safety measure, for all pedestrians, cyclists and users of school transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter.”

The Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, said: “I wish to advise the Deputy that, under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the promotion of public awareness of road safety and of measures, including the advancement of education, relating to the promotion of the safe use of roads.”

“The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has successfully been running the ‘Be Safe, Be Seen’ campaign for over a decade, this has transformed road safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. As part of the campaign, the RSA distributes thousands of free high-visibility vests and armbands each year,” he said.

“The Government continues to support and endorse this campaign. As Active Travel becomes wider used, it is hoped that citizens will avail of the free high-visibility vests and armbands,” the Minister said.

The response added: “It is the policy of both the Government and the RSA to recommend the use of these high-visibility vests and armbands, but their use is not a legal requirement. At present, there are no plans to introduce legislation changing this.”

ALSO READ: Ok, let’s imagine high-vis is a key part of our road safety solution… how would it work?

The cycle starts at 6pm sharp today from Parnell Square North, organisers are promising “A cracking playlist guaranteed” and at least a few friendly faces.

If you want to join the group after they set off, they cycle down Parnell Square East, Parnell Street, Capel Street and onwards towards Parliament Street.

I Bike Dublin, the cycling group which organises the critical mass events, which usually run the last Friday of every month, said: “We’re gluttons for punishment! To celebrate the opening of Parliament Street on Friday 4 July we’re gonna get our bikes and speakers out and take to the streets for a spin. Phil has all the details below:”

IMAGE: ‪From Stephen McManus‬ on Bluesky.