Transport in Dublin: A cyclist’s reality
By Emily Dockery
Dublin is a small metropolis with a lot to offer. It’s a city of writers. A city of street buskers. A city of cyclists?
Dublin has a host of cyclists. They can be seen suited up in high visibility vests during rush hour, pedaling swiftly to their destination. There are slower cyclists on heavy blue bikeshare bicycles or the odd electric scooter. Cyclists range from the middle-aged businessmen commuting to work, to the university student heading to class, to the delivery people riding electric bikes across the city. The existence of this cycling community would purport a robust cycling demographic with access to a bicycle-friendly city, but there is discontent under the busy exterior of Dublin cycle life.
Dublin is a relatively flat city, with a commute less rain-soaked than generally assumed. Dublin was once ranked as one of the top 20 bicycle-friendly cities in the world, according to a 2019 Irish Times article; however, after 2015 Dublin dropped off the index. The city of Dublin had plans for a large cycling network expansion, but with the economic downturn in 2013, cycling improvements were not prioritized and cycling culture suffered as a result.
In 2019, the Irish Central Statistics Office, as part of a greater quarterly General Household Survey, conducted the National Travel Survey (NTS), which illuminated the current state of cyclists and cycling in Ireland. As its purpose states, the survey is intended to inform future travel initiatives. Local cyclists hope the data may spur on the city government to follow through on its old infrastructure plans to expand cycleways.
The need for safer and more specific cycling routes is still high, as Dublin residents are waiting for the city’s overdue cycle upgrades to not only finish, but to start in the first place.
In a survey about what general factors would encourage cycling, the three proactive responses with the highest percentage points were, in order, safer cycling routes, more cycle specific routes, and improved health. The highest percentage of answers was “none of these,” though this may be attributed to those who do not or cannot ride bikes.
The map below shows the current and projected cycle routes in Dublin city and its suburbs. The dedicated cycleways in Dún Laoghaire and along waterways in Dublin are highly favored among cyclists, however more traffic free cycleways require sacrifice. As you toggle the projected cycle lanes, it’s clear just how much work still needs to be done to make Dublin a bicycle-friendly city once more.
Dubliners who cycle in their everyday lives responded in the NTS with a variety of motivations. Both men and women cyclists answered overwhelmingly that they do it because they enjoy cycling. Their second highest reason was a desire to exercise and keep fit by riding.
The other reasons for cycling range widely between the sexes. Women, ages 18–34 and 55 and up, favored cycling for the shorter journey distances and convenience over their male counterparts. Additionally, in all age categories women were more motivated than men to cycle because of a desire to help improve the environment, while men were motivated by the appeal of “greater freedom” at higher rates than their female counterparts.
Mairead Forsythe from ‘Women on Wheels’ said in a recent interview that there is “[…] a major gender gap in cycling in Dublin and while the barriers to more women and girls cycling are varied, the number one barrier is fear of mixing with motor traffic.” This is echoed in the responses from the National Travel Survey.
Despite the varied motivations Dubliners have for cycling, many are still reluctant. Injury and fatality rates for cyclists have gone up in the last decade with fatalities for pedal cyclists rising steadily from 2009 to 2018.
According to a 2016 review of “Cyclist Injury Trends” from the Road Safety Authority, “more than 8 in 10 cyclist injuries (85.4%) took place on two-way single carriageways.” This statistic reinforces the NTS responses in which the second highest factor in cycling more frequently was the creation of more cycling specific routes. Cyclists, motorists, and city buses often share the road and this increases the danger to cyclists.
The 2019 ‘Bike Life’ report published by Sustrans and the National Transport Authority, shows that two of the top three types of cycle routes, by distance, are those that share a bus lane or are simply painted on cycle lanes that share the road. These types of shared cycle routes were featured in the I Bike Dublin protests to #freethecyclelanes. The cyclist activist group hoped to raise awareness about the dangers of cars that park in cycle lanes, especially during rush hour. The Cyclist Injury Trends review also noted that the majority of cycling injuries happened during morning and evening commuting hours. Dublin is one of the most congested cities in Europe and traffic speeds can drop as low as 6mph. If cyclists feel safer riding in the city, then more people may become cyclists or may cycle more often, thereby helping relieve the congestion and pollution from traffic.
Despite its problems, with the city’s flat topography and temperate weather, cycling enthusiasm will surely continue. Though Dublin’s cycling infrastructure is better than many cities, it still has a long way to go in achieving a safer and more robust cycling life.
