The number of people cycling to work and school has dropped in cities throughout Ireland with a 13 per cent reduction in cyclists in Dublin, since 2000 according to the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO) which is reviewing its targets for cycling in the DTO area.
In its transportation strategy document, A Platform for Change (2000), the DTO set a target that 30 per cent of all journeys of 6km and under would be made by bicycle by 2016. An interim target of 10 per cent of short trips to be made by bicycle by 2008 was also set.
In 2000 approximately 5 per cent of trips under 6km were made by bicycle. Census figures from 2002 show that cycling in the greater Dublin area now accounts for 3.2 per cent of all short trips.
International comparisons show that while in many English cities 2 to 3 per cent of short trips are made by bicycle, in some cities such as Oxford and Cambridge this figure rises to more than than a quarter.
Cycling as a mode of transport also accounts for 40 per cent of all short trips in the Dutch city of Utrecht and 25 per cent of short trips in the Italian city of Bolzano.
"There appears to be a migration away from walking and cycling in Ireland and we are currently reviewing our cycle policy document," Michael Aherne, spokesperson for the DTO, said. "There is an entire generation driven to their desks and we are aware of the lack of exercise and downstream health effects of obesity and diabetes Type II in those under 30 as a result."
Mr Aherne believes Dublin's hosting of the international cycling conference, Velo-city 2005, will challenge cultural values around cycling.
"As part of the conference, we will have a traffic-free cycle through the city for the public to remind people how good it is to be on a bicycle," he said. Speakers from Europe, Australia, the US, South Africa and South America will address the conference from May 31st to June 3rd.
Cycling campaigners are adamant that the lack of enforcement of speed limits in urban areas, the absence of legislation banning HGVs from residential areas and poor road design are pushing cyclists off the roads.
They believe cyclists should be included in the consultation process for new traffic flow systems in cities and new road design in suburban areas.
"There is a contradiction between unending streams of moving vehicles and encouraging people to cycle and walk and the aggressive driving behaviour of motorists makes the problem worse for cyclists," Shane Foran of the Galway Cycling Campaign said. Cycling campaigners are seeking the removal of unsafe and dangerous cycling facilities in cities and lobbying for better design and construction of any new facilities to replace them.
