Dublin City to look at increasing quality and visual attractiveness of quick-build cycle routes as switches into next gear

Dublin City Council is to aim to make quick-build walking and cycle routes look more attractive than in recent years, a senior official has said.

The wide-scale use of plastic bollards has come in for heavy criticism, even among some of those who generally support the reallocation of space to cycling.

Andy Walsh, the recently appointed head of the Active Travel Office, said: “The hard work is just beginning,” said Walsh. “The challenge is always in anything that’s worth doing is changing mindsets and changing people’s general attitude. But you’ll only do that by demonstrating its success of it.”

He made the comments to IrishCycle.com after the launch of the planned Dublin City Council active travel network last week. A key part of the plan is to install interim cycle routes across the city ahead of building longer-term designs.

On the quality and visual attractiveness of such routes, he said the council has had the aim of getting as many routes in places as quickly as possible for safety reasons, but it will now also turn its attention to making these quick-build routes look and feel more attractive.

Walsh said: “We’re always keen to try to create a safer experience than there is now and as many routes as possible. Sometimes that appears to be not so attractive. Broken pence bollards isn’t a good look. We’re trying to develop better light infrastructure using materials that tick the box of looking good and functional as well.”

“We want to try to make these interventions as pleasant looking as possible. So, we’re not creating another problem when trying to solve one,” he said

Overall he said that the council’s network plan was an “ambitious” one but that “it’s been done elsewhere” and he’s confident it can be done in Dublin.


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