Dr. Rachel Aldred:

I will start. One policy being used very effectively in Scotland and England is school streets, where people are not allowed to drive through streets when children are arriving or leaving. It makes a massive difference; suddenly, children are safe in their own street on the way to school.

The rural context was mentioned, and it is worth looking at the length of the trips that are made in Ireland. Clearly, trips are longer in rural areas because the population is more dispersed. However, half of all trips made by people living outside Dublin are under 8 km; many trips could potentially be switched. In the Netherlands, rates of cycling in rural areas are very high and are similar to rates in urban areas. The urban design implications are somewhat different but there are interventions to be made around safe cycleways and routes in rural areas, which make it possible for people to cycle. There is the possibility to shift trips, although not as many as in inner city Dublin, but things need to change for that to happen. For cyclists mixing with motor traffic it is very intimidating and speeds are often high, so the context of cycling is often more hostile.