New bicycle storage rules for apartments not enough, says planner

New Government policy on providing bike storage in apartment blocks will only encourage more people to cycle if infrastructure is improved on the roads, a leading planner has warned. Joe Corr, president of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI), has said that while welcome, new regulations on providing safe and secure bike-parking facilities will not be enough to prompt use if cyclists do not feel safe on the roads.  Others have pointed to failings in providing specific details; while the guidelines encourage the provision of racks and cages, they do not discourage inferior products that do little to prevent thefts. Bike storage has been included in the “Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments” document published earlier this month by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

Wheels start turning as city gets saddled up

THERE IS little evidence to prove the benefits of wearing a helmet while cycling, the councillor who initiated the capital’s new bike rental scheme has said.

After the launch of Dublinbikes yesterday morning, Labour councillor Andrew Montague said it was not essential that those hiring bikes in the capital wear safety helmets.

“We don’t have compulsory helmets in Dublin and I would not be overly concerned about cycling without a helmet,” he said.

Blue skies and warm sunshine contributed to what was a perfect day for the launch of the scheme.

Hundreds took advantage of the good weather to try out the 450 bikes now available to rent from 40 stations between the Royal and the Grand canals.

Cyclists can register online for annual membership using a credit card at a cost of €10 or can pay with a credit card at 14 of the stations for a three-day €2 ticket.

Rental is then free for half an hour and costs 50 cent for the first hour, rising to €6.50 for four hours. The bikes are available from 5.30am to 12.30am.

The scheme has been funded by advertising agency JC Decaux in exchange for the use of advertising space in the capital.

Mr Montague, who first proposed the scheme five years ago, said, with the removal of HGVs, Dublin was now a much safer place in which to cycle.

Asked whether helmets should be made available to those hiring the bikes, he said there was little evidence available on their benefits. “In Brisbane they made helmet-wearing compulsory and although the rate of accidents dropped and they thought it was a success, they realised it was because the rate of cycling had dropped by 50 per cent,” he said. “Helmets put people off.”

He said 80 per cent of cyclist deaths involved HGVs, especially those turning right, and “a helmet is not going to save you in that situation”. Mr Montague also said he envisaged the scheme being extended to the suburbs in years to come. “This is just the beginning as far as I’m concerned.”

More than 1,000 bike journeys were made in the first six hours of the scheme, a spokesman for Dublin City Council said last night. He said it now had more than 2,000 subscribers – an increase of 500 since Friday.

Out and about yesterday and wearing helmets were Roddie and Deirdre Aherne. “We’ve been all over the place,” Mr Aherne said. He would recommend the bikes and consider them for business.

Catherine O’Donovan found the bikes “female friendly”: “I don’t cycle, but I feel confident on it.”

She would consider picking up a bike at Pearse Street near where she lives and cycling to the Luas to commute to work. Ger O’Donovan said he would like to use the scheme. “I’m always wary of getting my own bike stolen,” he said.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Call to ‘get on yer bike’ as rent-a-cycle scheme set to launch on sceptical city

Dubliners gave a bemused welcome to the new bike stations which went on display in the city centre yesterday.

A true Dub quipped: "One of those bikes would look well under my mother’s bed," while another predicted the new service is likely to be very popular, particularly with tourists and many workers in the capital. It is hoped vandalism will not be a major problem, and those who fail to return the bikes will have pay a €150 penalty on their credit card. According to the publicity blurb, for €10 you can enjoy all the benefits of Dublinbikes with the swipe of a card at one of the stations. For occasional use, or for visitors, a three-day ticket costs just €2.

The scheme is expected to appeal particularly to those interested in a healthier lifestyle and those determined to rid themselves of that ubiquitous paunch. The scheme is similar to those running in Paris, Lyon, Vienna, Seville, Berlin and Copenhagen. The network of 40 stations extends from the Mater Hospital in the north of the city to Grand Canal Street in the south, and from Smithfield in the west to the IFSC and north docklands in the east.

Dublin City Council, in conjunction with outdoor advertising company JC Decaux, are behind the move. Stations will have nine bikes on average, and busier locations such as train and bus stations will have extra capacity.

At each terminal, there will be a machine to allow the user to "rent" the bike. The user will be able to return a bike at another station close to their destination. The bikes, which are supplied by JC Dexaux, are well built, with three gears, un-deflatable tyres and are said to be damage-resistant.

Irish Examiner

www.buckplanning.ie

450 rental scheme bicycles to be available at 40 Dublin sites from July

THE 450 bicycles which are to be provided under long-awaited bicycle rental scheme for Dublin city will be available at 40 locations around the city from July.

The installation of the 40 bicycle “stations”, where users will be able to pick up or drop off bicycles, began this week and is due to be completed by the end of June, paving the way for the scheme to begin in early July.

The bicycles are being provided through a deal between Dublin City Council and advertising multinational JC Decaux. Under the deal JC Decaux will provide and maintain the bicycles in exchange for a 15-year permission to use outdoor advertising space in Dublin estimated to be worth €1 million annually.

The advertising panels, about 100 of which were granted planning permission last year, were erected last summer. Initially when the scheme was proposed the bicycles were to be made available once the advertising was erected. However, the council took several months to find suitable locations for the stations. Developer Mick Wallace is building the stations and expects their construction to take nine weeks.

Concerns have been raised that the bicycles will be stolen or abandoned, but in reality they are no more likely to go missing than the renter’s own bike, according to the council’s cycling officer, Ciarán Fallon. “The subscriber will have to provide a deposit, which can be taken from and returned to their credit card when they return the bike to the station. They will also have a lock, so the bikes will be looked after in the same way as any other bike.”

Labour councillor Andrew Montague, who has campaigned for the scheme for several years, said the rental rates had been set at a level which would attract a high number of users.

“It will cost €10 a year to join and the first half an hour rental will be free; there will be an increasing scale of rents after that to encourage a frequent turnover of the bikes at the stations.”

The bicycles will also be available to tourists at a reduced joining fee. The scheme, which has been run by JC Decaux in several cities including Paris, Vienna and Lyon, has proved extremely popular, Mr Montague said.

“In Paris each bicycle has about 10 different users per day and 90 per cent of those using the bicycles had never cycled in the city centre before. Getting more people cycling leads to much greater levels of safety for cyclists.”

The scheme has drawn considerable criticism, most notably from Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe, who called it a “dodgy deal” due to the large amount of advertising space JC Decaux was getting access to. However the council has consistently maintained the deal was a solid one for the city and included the removal of large numbers of old-fashioned advertising hoardings on the sides of buildings.

The council originally intended the bicycles would be provided free, but it could not find anyone to run a free scheme. In April 2006, it announced JC Decaux had been selected to run a bicycle rental scheme. In April 2007 the council granted JC Decaux permission to erect in the region of 100 advertising panels across the city.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie