Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

This is bike week and yesterday was world car free day. Every day, cycling in the Dublin area takes up to 60,000 cars off the road and saves 28,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year, according to the NTA. It could be much more than that. Research from the NTA states that 69% think that cycle tracks along roads, physically separated from traffic and pedestrians, would be useful to help them cycle more. Accordingly, we need massive investment in cycle infrastructure.

This was a headline point and presented as a win for the Green Party in the programme for Government negotiations with 10% of the total transport capital budget would be allocated to cycling. Is that actually being implemented? According to IrishCycle.com, it appears some of the moneys being allocated to councils, such as Dublin City Council, are not being used for cycling infrastructure. For example, of the €2.3 million allocated to Dublin City Council for cycling infrastructure, it is planning to use that to resurface 50,000 sq.m. However, fewer than 5,000 sq.m of those relate to cycle lanes or shared bus and cycle lane maintenance or both. Essentially, only 10% of that funding for resurfacing is going to cycling infrastructure, while the rest is going on roads. What guarantee is there that all this money is being spent on cycling infrastructure?

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