MEDIA RELEASE – for immediate release
Tralee, Co. Kerry – 25/07/2020

Re: Rural Cycling Collective Manifesto Launched by Kerry Cycling Campaign

During the lockdown period of restricted travel one widely remarked phenomenon countrywide was the large increase in the numbers of people of all ages out walking and cycling. A desire to retain that peace and freedom, together with the promise by the new coalition government of an annual €360 million spend on walking and cycling infrastructure has led to the formation of a new Rural Cycling Collective.  Comprising an array of groups and individuals under the umbrella of the wider national Cyclist.ie advocacy network, the group is focussed on making rural communities (towns, villages, and rural roads) cycle-friendly for all ages and abilities. It aims to rebalance the debate on active travel so that everyday journeys by bike across rural Ireland are enabled and supported.

“A VISION FOR CYCLING IS A VISION FOR THE FUTURE”

Launching the manifesto in Tralee, Anluan Dunne, speaking on behalf of Kerry Cycling Campaign said “Today, we launch our draft vision document which aims to promote and celebrate everyday cycling in, towns, villages and their surrounding areas.  We are launching the Rural Cycling Collective to highlight the needs of areas outside of major cities. We are campaigning for fair distribution of transport funding to regional parts of the country to make cycling for all ages and abilities a reality.   Our 8 identified priorities have the potential to completely transform communities.”

“RURAL COLLECTIVE HAS 8 PRIORITIES”

The collective is calling on Local and National Government to –

· Create an environment in our towns, villages, and rural roads where cyclists are expected and respected

– Create and Map existing a network of connected cycle routes in all Local Authority areas

– Implement best practice design so that routes are safe and comfortable for all ages and abilities

– Create safe cycle routes to school and car-free zones at school gates

– Lower Speed Limits to make our roads and streets safer and more accessible for everyone, and to reduce casualties

– Ensure clear and timely access to funding by improving capacity at all stages of local and national government

– Collaborate with all stakeholders including cycling and community groups at all stages of planning and design

– Provide Cycle Training for all ages especially children

Taken together these measures would transform active travel throughout Ireland. The co-benefits would include improvements to health, safety, congestion, air-quality, noise levels, and the public realm.  More cycling will also help us to meet our climate change obligations. “We can be a voice for areas of Ireland that have not realised the potential of cycling for everyday activities, cycling to school for children and students, to work, to the post office for your pension or even to buy a litre of milk. We need to change how we develop our towns, villages and rural roads and we need our collective voice to be heard” said Mr. Dunne.

The Rural Collective are calling on everyone – cyclists, non-cyclists, want-to-be cyclists, mums, dads, planners, councillor to get involved in shaping this vision and helping to make it a reality. 

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

AIMS

The collective plans to foster collaboration amongst cycling groups across Ireland and to jointly lobby local authorities and public representatives for the changes which will entice more people to choose the bicycle for everyday activities.  They will also work towards a cycle-friendly Ireland by collaborating with all stakeholders, organising regular events, fun-cycles and campaign actions.

SPOKESPEOPLE

Anluan Dunne, Kerry Cycling Campaign, a member group of Cyclist.ie
Email:  info@kerrycyclingcampaign.org

MORE INFO

Further information is available here: https://cyclist.ie/2020/07/cyclist-ies-rural-collective/

Our manifesto can be found here: https://cyclist.ie/2020/07/a-vision-for-cycling-in-rural-ireland/

About Kerry Cycling Campaign

Kerry Cycling Campaign is a voluntary membership group who wants a cycling-friendly county for people of all ages and abilities. We are a member of Cyclist.ie, the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 14/June/2020

Tralee, Co. Kerry

Kerry Cycling Campaign and other campaign groups have been calling for a revolution in the funding of cycling and walking for many years. We are seeking a 10% allocation for cycling from our government’s transport budgets. We are delighted to see that the initial figures emerging from the government formation talks appear to have recognised this urgent need to invest in ‘active travel’ (walking and cycling) by allocating €360 million per annum towards cycling and walking schemes. Kerry Cycling Campaign welcomes this commitment.

Speaking on behalf of Kerry Cycling Campaign, Anluan Dunne said “Acknowledging that this program for government requires approval, we welcome the proposed funding for walking and cycling. The minimal cycling infrastructure which does exist in Kerry is typically sub-standard or in some cases dangerous and needs substantial funding to be upgraded”.

We have consistently highlighted the multiple benefits of investing in cycling – across economic, societal and environmental headings. On the public health side, regular cycling for everyday journeys builds exercise into our busy lives and can be easier to maintain compared to recreational physical activity. Economically, each kilometre driven by a car incurs an external cost of €0.11, whereas cycling and walking bring benefits of €0.18 and €0.37 per kilometre, respectively (see New study reveals the social benefits of cycling and walking in the EU). On the emissions reduction front and responding to the Paris Climate Agreement, cycling and walking are an essential part of the solution in decarbonising our mobility system and hence are a critical part of an overall transport mix. This has been recognised in many states in North West Europe since the mid 1970s. 

It is estimated that spending on cycling currently amounts to less than 2% of transport capital spending, as shown in Cyclist.ie’s 2020 Budget submission. Meanwhile theThird Report and Recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action [https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/32/joint_committee_on_climate_action/reports/2019/2019-03-28_report-climate-change-a-cross-party-consensus-for-action_en.pdf]

and the 2019 Climate Action Plan all endorsed the spending of 10% of the transport budget on cycling.

Our expectations are that this funding will be spent on high quality cycling infrastructure in our towns and cities so that we can grow cycling to levels common in many continental countries. We also urgently need to redress the gender balance in cycling (currently only 27% of all persons commuting are female, Census 2016).

Kerry Cycling Campaign looks forward to examining the full published Programme for Government and a more detailed media release will follow.

ENDS

Kerry Cycling Campaign and Cyclist.ie renew calls on the Irish government and Kerry County Council to urgently follow the lead of other European governments to allocate more space to active travel measures. These measures include allocating more space for active travel and controlling vehicle speed by introducing 30 km/hr speed limits in built up areas .

Speaking on behalf of Kerry Cycling Campaign, Anluan Dunne said: “we have written to KCC Chief Executive, Moira Murrell and to all elected representatives to request that space on our county’s streets be made for people who walk and cycle. A once in a lifetime opportunity exists to make our towns nicer to live and work in by reducing the number of cars and making it easier to walk and cycle. All at minimal cost to the Council and with really positive outcomes for people and businesses alike”

Recent research from Transport for London showed that people who cycle spend on average 40% more in their local shops than motorists. They also visit local shops more frequently and visit more than one shop in a single trip than motorists.

Keith Phelan of Kerry Cycling Campaign said: “cycling is part of the solution to the major economic difficulties that now face our local shops and businesses. We want to encourage people back to our town centres to have a coffee, to shop and buy their groceries. We don’t want soulless, hollowed out towns akin to out of town shopping centres. Vibrant, family friendly streets which are a destination in their own right is the goal. Decades of car-centric policies have failed our towns. There were a large number of shop closures pre Covid-19 which proves the old way was not working”

On Saturday 9 May, the UK transport secretary Grant Shapps announced a national plan to support ‘active transport’ (walking and cycling) during and after the Covid-19 restrictions. The Transport Secretary’s action follows similar action by European governments and the release on 8 May of WHO guidance for local authorities – Strengthening Preparedness for COVID-19 in Cities and Urban Settings – in which it recommends the “promotion of safe active mobility (e.g. walking and cycling)”.

As a consequence of the Covid 19 shut-down, recent weeks have seen a complete reversal of numbers driving versus numbers walking and cycling. However, from Monday, May 18th business will begin to open on a phased basis and traffic will increase.

Dublin City Council is, to date, the only Irish local authority implementing substantial traffic measures to improve safety for people cycling and walking during the pandemic. Kerry Cycling Campaign cautiously welcome the words of Shane Ross, Minster for Transport, Tourism and Sport in the Dáil in the past week, when he stated that the National Transport Authority (NTA) would work with local authorities in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford to develop a Covid mobility framework.

It is with some disappointment that large regional towns such as Tralee, Killarney, Ennis, Sligo and Letterkenny were not referred to by Minister Ross.

Speaking on behalf of Cyclist.ie and its 20 plus member organisations across Ireland, National Cycling Coordinator, Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, said that “Initially the required segregated space can be secured quickly and cheaply by reallocating road space using a combination of wands, bollards, orcas and planters”. Mr O’Tuama stated that “In addition other measures were needed and cyclist.ie would be happy to engage with government to discuss these. However, the immediate priorities are more space and less speed.”

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Kerry Cycling Campaign’s Anluan Dunne spoke to Radio Kerry about how public spaces in towns and villages need to be re-imagined in the wake of the pandemic.

<a href="https://media.radiokerry.ie/upload/radiokerry/audio/2020.05.20_covid.mp3">https://media.radiokerry.ie/upload/radiokerry/audio/2020.05.20_covid.mp3</a>