Do Dublin Bay South by-election candidates really support cycling?

Cycling has been mentioned as an issue in the Dublin Bay South by-election, and most of the candidates have professed general support for cycling, but IrishCycle.com wanted to scratch beneath the surface.

We asked compiled a list and asked candidates for corrections and updates.

Signing up to CyclingForAll.ie principle and commitments covering relocation of space, better design and funding shows a candidate is willing to put a bit more of a foundation behind their claims of support.

Then the questions of if the candidates support Strand Road cycle route trial and the South Dublin Quietway are solid examples of if candidates support cycling even where space and priority is reallocated from motorists.

The Dublin Bay South constituency includes areas of some of the highest levels of commuter cycling in Ireland. But it also includes some staunch backlash.

Three candidates supported all three measures — Claire Byrne (Green), Sarah Durcan (Social Democrats), and Peter Dooley (Independent).

The Dublin Cycling Campaign had already compiled responses received from each candidate if they support the Strand Road cycle route trial or not. You can read the full responses on this thread on Twitter.

The South Dublin Quietway would allow children in part of the constituency to cycle to school in relatively safety on a low-traffic route, on which through traffic would be filtered out. It has been deferred again and again because of councillors voted against public consultation twice — so, there was a low bar on this one to at least support the consultation.

Candidates who did not openly support the Strand Road trial were disallowed from trying to sign up to CyclingForAll.ie — it is incompatible with CyclingForAll.ie to not support a cycle route trial which includes a continuous cycle path which should be usable for people of all ages and abilities.

It’s also worth having a read of the Dublin Commuter Coalition’s Dublin Bay South Bye-Election: Candidate Survey which covers active transport issues and also public transport issues.