The Dublin Cycling Campaign is an independent, voluntary lobby group that has been working to improve the city for all cyclists for over a decade and a half.
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2009-10-16 QBC Consultation - Berkely St. D7
On 16th October 2009 Dublin Cycling Campaign submitted the attached submission to a consultation for a QBC on Berkely Street near the North Circular Road.
Detailed plans are available during the consultation period on the QBN Office website here:
http://www.dublincity.ie/RoadsandTraffic/QBNProjectOffice/Pages/PublicConsultation.aspx
The Dublin Cycling Campaign Submission is here:
sites/dublincycling.com/files/users/12/2009-10-16-QBC_Consultation_Submission-Berkely_Rd.pdf
Appendix A4:
sites/dublincycling.com/files/users/12/OXF%20BusBike%20leaflet%20WEB%20PDF%20%281%29.pdf
James Leahy 16/10/09
1 Executive Summary
1.1 Introduction
Dublin Cycling Campaign’s comments on the consultation have been guided by the National Cycle Policy Framework (Department of Transport 2009) and Cyclist.ie’s (2008) National Cycling Promotional Policy: Achieving a Cycle Friendly Ireland. This calls for a hierarchical approach to the consideration of measures to address cycling, encompassing the classic three ‘E’s: Education, Enforcement and Engineering.
We pledge ourselves to a collaborative approach and would like to work with the QBN Office to deliver a better result for transport modes that tread lightly on the environment. We believe our experience has something to offer and we look forward to meeting with you. Doubtless there may be a small number of situations where, having worked with you, it is impossible to achieve a solution we are happy with. In such situations, should they exist, we will request detailed formal justification from the QBN office. However, we believe this position does not take from the need to engage and exchange in the first instance.
We recognise that much has been learnt since the QBC programme began in 1997 and we notice real improvements in the design and implementation of newer QBC’s such as the Coombe Bypass and Mc Mahon Bridge. We hope that we can build on this progress through partnership with the QBN Office.
1.2 Education
• We call for the QBN office engineers who are designing the proposals to meet with us and cycle the routes so that we can each learn from each other’s experiences.
• We propose that a leaflet similar to the one in Appendix A3 be created jointly by all stakeholders to educate drivers and cyclists about interaction in bus/cycle lanes.
1.3 Enforcement
On completion of any proposed works we call for a multi-agency campaign of enforcement which will concentrate in particular on:
• Speeding in the city
• Dangerous overtaking within bus/cycle lanes
• Illegal parking in bus lanes.
1.4 Engineering
Proposed measures to address cycling should be considered in a hierarchy as proposed in Cyclist.ie’s (2008) National Cycling Promotional Policy and Policy 2.1 of the Department of Transport’s (2009) National Cycle Policy Framework. The particular issues have been summarised according to this hierarchy below:
1.4.1 Traffic reduction
• We strongly welcome this comprehensive reallocation of road space from general vehicle lanes to public transport and cyclists. This in itself will reduce the amount of space allocated to traffic.
• We call on Dublin Bus and the Department of Transport to redesign Dublin Bus’s network and information and provide high quality high frequency bus services to further reduce traffic in the city.
• We call for a multi-agency review of how taxis operate in the city. Dublin Cycling Campaign has no position on the regulation of taxis. We do however stress that the current situation whereby the city streets are clogged up with empty taxis looking for fares is untenable for all road users including taxis, buses and cyclists.
1.4.2 Traffic calming
• We call for a 30 kmph speed limit on all these urban routes
1.4.3 Junction treatment and traffic management
• We have made some minor comments on the design of the junctions.
1.4.4 Redistribution of the carriageway
• The proposal to encourage dangerous overtaking by creating substandard width lanes is completely unacceptable as is the placing of cyclists in a position where they will hit the opening doors of parked cars.
• Section 2-2 on the plans illustrated the thinking behind the design. We have reproduced this on our website (http://www.dublincycling.com/node/416). A cyclist is shown wedged between line of parked cars and a bus which is overtaking it in a dangerous manner. It is not clear which accident will happen first. Will the cyclist hit an opening car door or will the mirror of the bus (which is missing from the Section) hit the cyclist on the head?
• We have suggested two alternatives which will overcome these problems. In the first the parking has been removed and 4.5 m lanes are provided which facilitate overtaking by, and of, cyclists. In the second, 3.0 m lanes which discourage dangerous overtaking of cyclists are proposed and a buffer between the bus/cycle lane is included.
1.4.5 Cycle lanes, cycle tracks and cycle ways
• Dublin Cycling Campaign welcome the decision not to propose any substandard cycle lanes or cycle tracks.
