Over the coming weeks, you may well meet prospective Councillors on your door step, at the shops or you may be emailing them with your demands! Here are Dublin Cycling Campaign’s priority issues.

We want local election candidates to support the following package of measures that is needed to increase cycling numbers particularly among the next generation of cyclists, i.e. those at school and college:

1. Support a target of 20% of journeys by bike by 2020 in the Dublin area. The national target set in the National Cycle Policy Framework is 10% by 2020, but the target in Dublin needs to be higher to make up for low cycling numbers outside of Dublin.
2. Allocate at least 15% of transport funding to cycling. For decades cycling has been underfunded, and this shortfall needs to be made up. Investment in cycling gives a great return on infrastructure investment.
3. Ensure that each Local Authority creates an effective Cycle Forum and appoints a Cycling Officer
4. Safe routes to schools. There needs to be a proper network of safe cycle routes that connect residential areas with schools and that have high quality junction designs. (It is at junctions that most accidents occur.)
5. Reduced traffic volumes in cities and town centres, and restricted access for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs). HGVs are intimidating and a real threat to vulnerable road users, and cyclists should not have to encounter them on a regular basis.
6. On-road cycling training to be available for every child starting in primary schools. This will start with training in the school yard but must work up to on-road cycling in real traffic conditions. Cycle training also needs to be offered to parents/guardians so that they can cycle with younger children.
7. Traffic calming and 30kph speed limits in residential areas and around schools. These benefit everyone by reducing noise and pollution and will help to revitalise our towns.
8. Proper enforcement of speed limits and traffic regulations that affect cyclists. Going at 60kph in a 50kph zone, or parking in a cycle lane may seem like minor offences but they have a major impact on cyclists and deter many people from cycling or allowing their children to cycle.
9. Secure cycle parking to be available at all main destinations, such as schools, train stations and shopping areas
10. No Park Zones around schools, so that the children and parents who do cycle to schools are not blocked by cars and doors opening in their way at the school gate

Finally, please ask candidates to complete the Cyclist.ie survey of local election candidates, if they haven’t done so already. [NB: The survey closed on 3 May. There was a very disappointing national response to it with only 40 completed responses from well over 1,000 candidates for local elections 2014.]

Thank you for supporting Dublin Cycling Campaign as we move safe cycling up the priority list!