Dublin has lost its position on the Copenhagenize Index of cycling friendly cities, a top-20 list created by international design consultants Copenhagenize.
Dublin started at 9th on the 2011 version of the index — this was said to be partly due to large growth in commuter cycling and bonus points for ambitious projects which were planned. But, around six years later, few of these have yet to progress to construction.
The decline for Dublin started in 2013 when the city dropped to 11th on the index and then, in 2015, “apathy” in not pushing cycling ahead and the use of substandard infrastructure were the main reasons Dublin dropped to 15th on the list.
Top 20 cycling friendly cities
This afternoon the list was tweeted one-by-one by the head of the company, Mikael Colville-Andersen, who is best known for his Copenhagenize and Cycle Chic websites. Here’s the top 20:
- Copenhagen
- Utrecht
- Amsterdam
- Strasbourg
- Malmö
- Bordeaux
- Antwerp
- Ljubljana
- Tokyo
- Berlin
- Barcelona
- Vienna
- Paris
- Seville
- Munich
- Nantes
- Hamburg
- Helsinki
- Oslo
- Montreal
The reasoning for the rankings are now online at: copenhagenize.eu/index, although a full scoring matrix is not provided.
When asked on Twitter by a Dutch tweeter if Copenhagenize having an office in a city is a factor, Colville-Andersen said: “We have an office in Brussels too, ffs. They suck.”
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Very shaming. But absolutely right. Dublin got on the list for its aspirations; it’s been knocked off for lack of fulfilment.
And for a city whose road deaths of people on bikes have doubled in six months, and whose influential radio broadcasters call out rage against cyclists to be called “cycling-friendly” would be nonsense.
I have always wondered why Dublin was even on the list in previous years as that made the whole list a travesty.
I enjoy the reason they give: “In 2017, we see Dublin exit stage left. After many years of progress, the city have stagnated and, to be honest, disappointed.”
Absolutely correct given the years long stagnation in progress. Particularly embarrassing for the powers that be given that we are hosting Velo City 2019 on the back of our brief reign as a a supposed top cycling-friendly city. Perhaps this might help to light a fire under a few arses in the various departments and city councils.
So Dublin Council has a serious cycling-inclusive challenge before they can show new results / improvements at next VeloCity 2019; and end higher on this ladder.