In ranelagh, Dublin the bike lane doubles as on street parking

Just having lanes is not the issue…having them respected and maintained is the point.
But, the lanes aren’t the biggest challenge – it’s the transition between cycle lanes and no lanes…it’s desperate and dangerous. Where cyclists are forced to be full road going vehicles and make turns on the abominable one-way street system – you take your life in your hands (pembroke street – leeson street, leeson street – stephen green, turn from Dawson Street to Molesworth Street). One quickly learns that the prevailing attitude is that cyclists just should be driven off the streets.

Irish cycle lanes are hilarious, cycling along then… END! Eh am
I supposed to turn around and go home? Oh wait you want me to squeeze it with lorries and cars, that seems fair and safe?!

I feel like I’m taking my life in my hand cycling on rural roads. Traffic has increased in country areas you cant even walk the roads anymore as for activities for kids roads are too dangerous stay indoors. What are country people supposed to do sit at home and watch Telly. No wonder kids are becoming obese!

Holland & Denmark are cycling heaven. There are good cycle lanes in patches in Dublin, Clontarf is funny, road signs and lamppost’s in the cycle lane!

I didn’t know we had cycle lanes, I thought they were suicide lanes.

I cycle everyday to work in Dublin. It’s all well and good saying we need more cycle lanes( which we do ) but where are you going to put them? The streets in the city are so badly laid out that there is barely room for footpaths and a road let alone a cycle path. What we need is a good old fashioned natural disaster like a tsunami, or maybe a great fire like in London. Something to clear away the decades of poor planning, so we can start from scratch.

Cycling in Belfast is a life threatening experience.

http://g.co/maps/gp3ub
http://g.co/maps/bdem6
Things like this are reasonably common and one of the (many) reasons why I don’t always use cycle lanes.
The biggest problems I find with cycle lanes (I commute along the N4 regularly) are broken glass, obstructions (as above and lampposts, signposts, pedestrians etc. – http://g.co/maps/vnmgb) and the fact that many cycle lanes are combined with footpaths at a different level to the road and tend to take you off the main road and force you to cross a side road (usually with some nice kerb hopping required – http://g.co/maps/kke22)
These issues may not be a big deal if you are just out for a leisurely spin but if you are on a road bike ticking along at 30kmph these become very serious hazards.

Maintenance is a word not in DCC’s vocabulary unfortunately. They can build all they like and waste money but from that moment on it just disintegrates like everything else in the city. Complete waste of money.

I wonder are they even trained in how to plug a pothole at all. They just seem to throw these mountains of tarmac on the road deliberately to kill cyclists it seems to me. Rathmines road > camden street is a nightmare of tarmac mountains. You have to avoid the cycle lane just to get down the road.

High time as well they forced pubs to clean they spot of glass – so many streets are full of glass these days. And a cheapo DCC road sweeper driving by once a week doesn’t get rid of it. Bring back road sweepers!

All they need is white paint.. Not this rubbish red tar that breaks up in the winter

I live in the country (Culchie hyuk hyuk) and I don’t have a problem with poorly maintained cycle lanes.
I just have a problem with the complete lack of them.

I’m not expecting a cycle lane on every country road, I’d just like to see one once in a while.
A greenway perhaps.

I like to cycle, but there is no road around me for quite a while that I or anyone else, would consider safe.
Unless you consider cycling on a dual carriageway in the hard shoulder safe.

All that money in the boom and now NOTHING to show for it.

Our roads are like something you’d see in Turkey!

All for cycle lanes, but careful planning and consultation with residents and business owners is essential. Dundalk Town Council have undertaken to create cycle lanes all over town and in the process have destroyed the aesthetics of many street scapes and simply created accidents waiting to happen for motorised vehicular traffic.

Im all for extra cycle lanes as im a cyclist myself,my pet hate is bad planning. the majority of cycle lanes in my area are laid out as follows, road,pedestrian footpath,cycle lane. why oh why are pedestrians required to walk between moving cars and cyclists? it usually ends up in a game of chicken which I back out of in the end.

I lived in Holland for afew years… The cycle lanes are excellent! We are sooo behind the times in this country, been putting money into all the wrong things down through the years.. Maybe in the future?? I cycle to work now and am terrified on the road .. I cycle on the footpath if the main road is busy (if there’s no one walking on it if course), just to give drivers a chance cos I know it’s frustrating for them too, being caught behind a cyclist for 5 mins!! If the guards catch me I’ll get a €50 fine!!

Dont start me on disrespectful cyclists who sail along streets in Cork with no regard for the legal users ie pedestrians i cant count the number of times i have nearly been hit by them you are not welcome on the footpaths in Cork City so get back on to the road and go the right way around the one way systems

I used to work with a bloke who was a bit of a cyclepath.

Come down Winetavern St in Dublin on a bike in your cycle lane, pass both sets of lights at either end of the bridge and suddenly at the Four Courts you’re forced to swerve/stop by taxi drivers waiting for barristers parked in the cycle lane. If they happen not to be there and you keep in your cycle lane, immediately before you reach the Luas tracks, two lanes of car traffic are reduced to one which swerves to the leftand the cycle lane disappears. That is one of countless absolutely lethal spots on cycle lanes in Dublin. Reckon DCC could easily be found liable if there was a case taken over an incident.

Cars also don’t understand that a very thick white line along a cycle lane means they cannot move into it and you know, hit you on your bike while undertaking. Undertaking is illegal in the main subject to conditions. Using a bike lane to undertake is not one of those. I’ve done my theory and driving tests and I remember this stuff for some reason. Cars along the Grand Canal often pay no heed to this. Don’t even indicate or check their mirrors. New cycle lane on other side is a God-send

And mothers picking up their kids in SUVs parked in cycle lanes hurling foul language at you in front of kids if you tell them they’re not supposed to park in cycle lanes are really charming; Lorreto on the Green is particularly bad for Chelsea tractors in afternoon.

Many cycle lanes are covered in glass and full of holes. If you cycle in the cycle lane on Harcourt st you will lose your tyres. Sorry motorists, but cyclists sometimes have to use main artery.

I’ve seen suicidal cyclists whizz nonchalantly through dangerous junctions on red lights plenty of times (and always see this at Wexford St for some reason) That’s idiotic behaviour and nothing to do with cycle lanes. I’ve seen plenty of motorists do similar. However there are some junctions where cyclists are better off stopping, waiting for the red light and proceeding using the pedestrian signals because it’s just too dangerous for them and for motorists.

Finally, pedestrians have an amazing habit of freezing in front of cyclists, rather than dashing out of the way as they do for vehicles. If you’re in the way and you’re crossing against a light, get out of the way, the cyclist will be way worse off than you, they don’t want to hit you.

I have given the majority of people a ‘thumbs up’ on their comments because I agree that there should be proper cycle lanes in all cities, towns and some country roads. But I also feel that cyclists should be fined when they cycle where cars are driving and ignoring the cycle lanes. Only yesterday, I was caught behind 3 males in their cycling gear ’3 abreast’! There was a tail back of at least 15 cars and this was in a small town along the coast road, northside. Fine, there is no room for a cycle lane on that road so they should be cycling one behind each other for everyone’s safety.

I would worry for businesses, truck deliveries at different times in the day, business people, sales reps etc. that have to use their cars and if and when cycling lanes are made wider (which is needed) their day could become more stressful than it is now as they are expected to be in certain places at times during their day’s work and must fit in at least 8/10 calls a day. My pet hate with cyclists is when they don’t cycle in the lane when it is provided, proof in the picture above!

I’d like to know what most cyclists prefer to have provided. A cycle lane on the road or a cycle path up beside the footpath. A poll would be good to see what most prefer. I prefer the cycle lane on the road for many reasons.

hate it when they cycle on the road and there is cycle lane beside them they just can’t be arsed to use it.

I still have nightmares from days of old, cycling from Ballinteer to DCU in the mornings. It’s an absolute pleasure of a cycle up til you hit Dame St. The absolute fear of O’ Connell St – Glasnevin at 8am is unreal though. Shudder

@ Censored

Not at all. Due to my age! (50) I don’t think I would cycle in town now, but I still have my bike and would take it out sometimes to ride to local shop. I live in a village with many out walking and cycling. I personally wouldn’t trust some of the people that drive in town. I couldn’t do it now. I would love the opportunity to cycle in Amsterdam because it looks really organised but also obviously have something in situ for businesses that deliver and people that would need their cars for longer distances between areas in a day.

As I have mentioned already, there are ignorant and inconsiderate car drivers and bike riders and both should be fined for what they do to others. More garda on bikes would be a great idea would help to stop pedestrians walking across roads when the lights are green for vehicles. I have driven since I was 16, got my licence when I was 19, have a clear licence and also have the ‘Advanced (garda) driving test for a number of years.

Ban cars ?

What is the point in building cycle lanes when cyclists do not use them (overall). If they want them let them pay road tax and introduce fines for when they go through red lights etc which can be ringfenced to build and maintain the lanes. And before I get bashed here a cyclist went straight through a red light on me this morning and I had to brake suddenly to miss him and I got the 2 fingers for him breaking the lights. If motorists break the lights they should be fined too and are. Everyone from pedestrian, cyclist and motorist should obey the rules of the road.

That saddle is about to disappear.