Dublin produces local version of iconic image of how much space modes of transport take up

Dublin City Council has produced a local version of the iconic image showing how much space different modes of transport takes up:

As with the most international examples (see below), the Dublin version is supposed to be an illustration to get people thinking.

It’s not supposed to be exactly measured of how much space the modes of transport take up when moving. But rather it shows that while some car drivers, business people and councillors think that cars fulling up a street means a busy street, the fact is cars with a small average occupancy rate clog up streets.

The same amount of people walking, cycling or on a bus or tram won’t fill up the same space, so, compared to where cars are, streets can look a bit more empty when cars are taken away or the space from them is reduced.

The original

There have been various versions of this image and similar graphics produced, including some animated examples, starting with the first image from the Netherlands from Fietsersbond, the Dutch cycling campaign group.

As a side note, you might also enjoy a collection of images on The Guardian showing 50 years of Dutch anti-car posters, which includes a nice graphic of three parking spaces for cars vs 12 bicycle parking spaces and more space for city life.

International examples

Münster, Germany:

And a version with updated graphics:

It could be anywhere:

Bucharest, Romania:

IMAGE: Organization for the Promotion of Alternative Transport in Romania.

Vienna, Austria:

Canberra, Australia:

IMAGE: WeRide.org.au

A memeified version of the same:

Des Moines, Iowa, United States,

Western Australia

IMAGE: Your Move, Department of Transport, Western Australia.

Denver, United States:

IMAGE: Via carfree.fr listed as from Denver in 2001, original source not known.

And a few graphic examples with different details:

IMAGE: International Association of Public Transport

Junction capacity:


...That's the end of the article. Keep scrolling if you want to the comments, but IrishCycle.com *NEEDS* readers like you to keep it that way. It only requires a small percentage of readers to give a bit each month or every year to keep IrishCycle.com's journalism open to all. Thank you.


Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.