Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

From I BIKE Dublin I thank Mr. Ciarán Ferrie and Mr. Oisín O'Connor for their assistance in accompanying me around the city. It is incredible that we have cycle lanes that go a couple of hundred yards and then disappear. There are cycle lanes along the quays, for example, that we share with bus lanes while cars fly past in the right-hand lane. People have discussed transport in Dublin and in fairness, the Minister has extended the length of the Luas lines and is improving the DART. The time has come to put a congestion charge in Dublin and remove as much traffic as we can from the streets in Dublin. Public transport is very good in this city.

When we get past Westland Row, there is a contraflow cycle lane so cyclists can get to City Quay. There is a cycle lane on City Quay that is fantastic. As a novice cyclist I felt so safe there. I was well away from the traffic and it is a great piece of work. There is an opportunity to put a cycle lane from Blackrock, for example, or Dún Laoghaire straight to the city centre. We can do so much for cycling around this city. I never knew or thought about it until I was on a bicycle - and commercial drivers, bus and taxi drivers tend to be more sympathetic - but when a cyclist is at traffic lights which turn green, for some reason or other people in cars feel they need to compete with the cyclist in taking off. Will the Minister consider exploring if we can put in a secondary signal that would turn green for cyclists and allow them to take off with safety perhaps a minute before the lights turn green for cars? It would help safe cycling around the city. I also have difficulty with delivery vans parked in cycle lanes. The local authority has put in a cycle lane along Dame Street but as one cycles there, one finds trucks parked on the left and any cyclist must move to the carriageway, competing with cars in order to pass those trucks. I do not know how we can get over this other than to have deliveries between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. or something like that.

I compliment the Minister on the rules recently introduced, although when I initially heard them I was a bit horrified that a driver had to be a certain distance from a cyclist when overtaking. Having climbed on a bicycle, I can see the need for it. As a cyclist, one needs to feel that the cars will not come right alongside. We cycled up Kildare Street the other day and a van came up behind us with the driver revving the engine no end. He could not have passed us if he wanted to because the road is narrow enough and it is divided because a contraflow lane is in operation for buses. This guy constantly revved his truck in trying to intimidate us so we would stop cycling, get off the bike and get on the footpath so he could pass. Cyclists suffer much travelling around the city. I am no cheerleader for them and they have enough cheerleaders. Some of the people who speak for cyclists need to cop themselves on and try to do it in a more controlled way.

Looking at the city in mornings from approximately 7.30 a.m. until 9.30 a.m., there are thousands of bicycles coming through every day. The bicycle renting system in the city allows people to get across the city very easily. I compliment the Department, which has put many initiatives in place or facilitated local authorities in putting them in place. Today we heard that a small number of people in the Department are dedicated to cycling so I wonder if we could get a couple of really proactive people involved who could get out on a bicycle and note the position for cyclists around the town. When one gets to the contraflow lane beyond Pearse Street station on Westland Row and towards City Quay, there is a nice cycle lane but it ends suddenly. Crossing O'Connell Street bridge and heading down the quays, there is a cycle lane for approximately 100 yards and then it is gone. The rest is a joint bus and cycle lane, and it is certainly not the best way to do things.

We need to sit down and look at bicycles as a mode of transport. They are clean and healthy. I am thinking of taking up cycling a little more and I have undertaken to cycle in Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford, although I have some reservations about doing it in Cork because of the number of hills. We need officials to go out there and see what is going on. Will the Minister consider how to support cyclists in the city to make a cleaner, greener and safer environment for all of us? I know the Minister is always keen to engage with people and there was engagement today in a committee with cycling advocates, including representatives of I BIKE Dublin. Perhaps officials will sit down with a small group of advocates who are calm and who have reasonable arguments to make and listen to them in order to see how we might improve things. I appreciate that local authorities have a role in this also and I ask those authorities to do something similar. If they listen to what people need, we can see what we can provide for them. There is some great work being done around the place. I will leave it at that.