Cyclists

[Clairecarebear]

I was turning left onto Lower Oliver Plunkett Street from Clontarf Street today and a cyclist came speeding up the wrong way on the one way Street and into traffic.

 

[Yermon]

The elderly cycle more than any other adult group in the Netherlands (children cycle more than adults):

The Age-Friendly City - The John Adams Institute

As we get older, many of us aspire to the same ideals: To enjoy old age from the comfort of the home we’ve built for as long as our bodies and minds will allow. We save for retirement to reduce financial worry, set up systems with family and friends to take care of each …

www.john-adams.nl

Making urban places more cycle friendly also makes them more pedestrian and child friendly.

Oh look, another Irish cycling enthusiast trying to cite the Netherlands

I was recently told by someone from Holland that the elderly in the Netherlands are becoming more and more of an issue being able to travel faster on (electric) bikes but with slower reaction speeds resulting in their getting injured more often.

 

[Yermon]

Youngsters get driven everywhere by their parents nowadays, they've never had to cycle or walk to school in inclement weather, like I did.

They'd cycle if there was no other option.

And the more one sees of the Green nonsense and the attempted shaming of those who use cars, there seems to be a concerted drive that there would be no other option than to cycle - public transport is an omnishambles in this country by and large. It's putting the cart before the horse, if you'll pardon the mixed metaphor.

 

[Yermon]

It's because the parents are terrified that little Timmy will get crushed by a wankpanzer.

69% of all dutch school children aged 4-12 cycle to school, 54% of children aged 9-11 cycle without supervision.

It's a lot better for their independence and health

And another one

It's as though Irish cyclists think if as many people cycled here as do in Holland things would be the same.

Have a look at how people cycle in Holland - it's VERY different to cycling here. They obey the Rules of the Road. They don't cycle the wrong way up one-way streets. They indicate to let other road users know of their intention to turn. They don't cycle on footpaths. They obey traffic lights. They do not weave in and out of traffic. They have speed limits.

But our cyclists here want all the benefits of Dutch cycling to be transposed to Ireland, but rail against even the suggestion of behaving like Dutch cyclists in order to get it to work. Funny that.

 

[Yermon]

I was turning left onto Lower Oliver Plunkett Street from Clontarf Street today and a cyclist came speeding up the wrong way on the one way Street and into traffic.

He's "entitled to". It's his culture.

 

[Blue Jasmin]

And if there is an up roar from cyclists then remove all cycle lanes

We need to ban bicycles altogether.

 

[Yermon]

We need to ban bicycles altogether.

Less likely than the current efforts to ban private cars altogether

 

[Two Pour Bore]

We need to ban bicycles altogether.

They have legs. They can walk.

 

[How bad boy]

And another one

It's as though Irish cyclists think if as many people cycled here as do in Holland things would be the same.

Have a look at how people cycle in Holland - it's VERY different to cycling here. They obey the Rules of the Road. They don't cycle the wrong way up one-way streets. They indicate to let other road users know of their intention to turn. They don't cycle on footpaths. They obey traffic lights. They do not weave in and out of traffic. They have speed limits.

But our cyclists here want all the benefits of Dutch cycling to be transposed to Ireland, but rail against even the suggestion of behaving like Dutch cyclists in order to get it to work. Funny that.

It's why I said 3 sets of changes need to be made. Do Irish school children get comprehensive cycling proficiency training in school?

If you just beat down on the culture of cyclists without addressing the enormous infrastructure deficit or toxic behaviour & culture of motorists, all you're going to do is deter cyclists.


Irish drivers really are a shitton better than they used to be. Once got a lift back from a nightclub at silly o'clock in the morning from a friend who had been on the scoops. While sitting on a tractor tyre in the back of his 4x4, hurtling down country lanes, I asked him "Is there any chance you could slow down"
His response?
"It's grand, I've got bullbars"

 

[Yermon]

It's why I said 3 sets of changes need to be made. Do Irish school children get comprehensive cycling proficiency training in school?

If you just beat down on the culture of cyclists without addressing the enormous infrastructure deficit or toxic behaviour & culture of motorists, all you're going to do is deter cyclists.


Irish drivers really are a shitton better than they used to be. Once got a lift back from a nightclub at silly o'clock in the morning from a friend who had been on the scoops. While sitting on a tractor tyre in the back of his 4x4, hurtling down country lanes, I asked him "Is there any chance you could slow down"
His response?
"It's grand, I've got bullbars"

Do Irish school children get comprehensive driving proficiency training in school? None of my kids who attended secondary school in the last 10 years did.

You seem to think that there's a "toxic behaviour & culture of motorists" but no equivalent from amongst the cycling fraternity. Funny that.

You can judge all drivers, and their silly passengers, by your own occasional experiences but there's plenty of c*nts on ebikes and scooters pissed and/or stoned with not a care in the world and invariably travelling on footpaths as well as roads - frequently in the wrong direction.

So I repeat, the "Why can't Ireland just build the facilities in infrastructure that they have in Holland and have a transport Nirvana" notion just won't work because Irish cyclists have nothing like the adherence to Rules of the Road, or temperament of Dutch cyclists. The fact that they travel by bicycle is one of the few things that they have in common, and comparing the two is worse than comparing apples and oranges (gedit)