Mixed reaction to quays cycle proposals

PROPOSALS for a high quality cycle lane along the north Liffey Quays met with a mixed response from two inner city councillors last week.

It’s understood Dublin City Council is considering replacing one of the two lanes currently used for private cars with a two way cycle lane as part of a series of measures to increase the number of cyclists on Dublin streets.

Just four per cent of commuter journeys are made by bike and it’s hoped to increase this number to 10 per cent by 2020.

The Green Party has welcomed the idea with its recently elected councillor, Ciarán Cuffe, describing it as

“the sort of ambitious proposal that the city desperately needs.

?

“As it stands, the Liffey Quays are polluted, dangerous and not fit for purpose,

? he said.

“What we need are wider footpaths, more greenery and decent cycle facilities.

“Ten years ago the city of Bordeaux transformed their quayside to give space to pedestrians and cycling and it is viewed now as a fantastic success. This is the kind of progressive thinking that we need in Dublin.

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However, independent councillor for the area, Niall Ring, believes introducing a two way cycle lane on the North Quays would be

“madness

?.

“This continuing assault on private motorists driving in the city has to stop,

? Cllr Nial Ring said.

“Between bus lanes, bus corridors, restricted and expensive on street parking, the ordinary motorist must feel that he or she is not wanted in the city at all, yet it is the motorists driving into the city and working and shopping there that make a huge contribution to the economy of the city, spending four times the amount of a bus user or cyclist.

?

Cllr Ring has tabled a motion for the next Central Area committee meeting calling for a full economic analysis of the benefit of motorists being facilitated in the city as well as the economic impact of bus and cycle lanes.

“Then we can make informed and rational transport decisions,

? he said.

“I am not anti cyclist but I have sympathies with motorists who are being targeted all the time, yet these are the people who pay road tax and exorbitant parking charges when they can find a place to park in the city, yet are rarely seen breaking red lights or indeed driving on footpaths.

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