Cover image for Dublin Inquirer print edition #123
"June is deeply associated with Áine, the Irish goddess of summer, fertility, love, and sovereignty, whose presence is especially felt around the midsummer season."
Among other suggestions, candidates talked about segregated cycle lanes, education for cyclists, and where the money comes from.
It hasn’t had someone devoted to post since last summer. With this hiring planned, advocacy groups are making up their wish lists.
“Every time, we choose to switch on our car engines – to drop the kids to school, nip down to the shop or drive to work – we make this worse,” says TU Dublin lecturer Sarah Rock.
Irish Taxi Drivers Federation president Joe Herron says he hopes none of his group’s members have them, and that people shouldn’t blame all white taxi drivers for something only a few are doing.
Some locals have been asking for things like lower speed limits and wider footpaths, but now they say they’re bracing for the impact of three core bus corridors instead.
Central to the current debates about BusConnects is how to balance moving people through neighbourhoods, and maintaining a sense of place within them.
Some say that important quick transport wins – ones that would make it safer to cycle, or cross the road – are sometimes held hostage to big-ticket, long-term projects.
There are several spots along Chesterfield Avenue where cyclists and pedestrians mix.
“I’ve kind of realised that just an interested group of people can get this going, really, and we shouldn’t be waiting for anyone else,” says Neasa Hourigan.
While Mountpleasant Avenue Upper is now much calmer, Richmond Hill has suffered. “We’ve solved one problem and created another.”
Fitting cycle routes next to bus corridors and extending crossing times for pedestrians were among issues councillors discussed at a recent transport committee meeting.
Some customers on outsourced routes say it seems more reliable. Others complain about delays, missing buses and incorrect real-time information.