| Ireland is no longer a favourite
with cyclists  THE
number of cycling tourists going to Ireland has dropped by more than 50
per cent in five years as visitors are put off by bad roads and aggressive
drivers.
Official figures from Fáilte Ireland show that in 2000, 130,000
people visited Ireland to cycle around the country. By 2005 this figure
had dropped to just 60,000.
This dramatic decrease in what is seen as a niche market for Irish tourism
prompted Fáilte Ireland to employ a specialised planning consultancy
firm to advise on how to improve cycle facilities around the country.
Buchanan Cycling submitted a report that plans for 2,500 miles of signed
cycling routes running from the Donegal coast through Galway, Cork and
Dublin.
“Cycle tourism is a really important part of the industry,”
said Damien Ó Tuama, principal cycle planning consultant with Buchanan
Cycling. “It’s a niche market. We can’t offer low prices
or sun holidays. But this we should be able to do.
“We used a MORI survey of cyclists to investigate why there was
such a drop off in numbers.
“The 1,000 cyclists interviewed said that the high numbers of HGVs
on the roads, the lack of dedicated cycling networks and hideous driver
behaviour all combined to make Ireland an undesirable location to come
on a cycling holiday.”
The Buchanan Report focuses on using alternatives to main traffic thoroughfares
around the country to create cycle-friendly routes.
Some work is being done around Dublin to make the city more bicycle accessible.
One major oversight by the city council was not including any cycle lanes
when planning the rejuvenation of O’Connell Street.
But now, just as all the work on the street has finished, it appears the
council has decided to rectify that problem. A report submitted to the
council last month proposes to extend cycle facilities over the full length
of O’Connell Street on both sides of the road. The report also recommends
new cycle lanes on Parnell Street and Gardiner Street. |
