Sir, - As someone who cycles his way along the Stillorgan Road during morning rush-hour and on moonlit nights, I support cycle-lanes. By nature a cycle-lane should be a safe haven for cyclists. It should take them off the perilous streets, making the roads safer both for them and the motorists. The fact that a large percentage of us bona fide cyclists choose not to use the lanes in parts says a lot about their questionable design, construction and maintenance.
It is very easy to see why cyclists have lost faith in the Stillorgan Road cycle-lanes. Unfortunately for both bus-users and cyclists, there are numerous places where bus stops and cycle-lanes converge to form a death-trap for both parties. Other faults in design include taking over footpaths (pedestrians don't seem to notice the cycle-lane beneath their feet until a cyclist is forced to stop behind them and ask them to make way), the undulating surface (it seems they were designed to minimise cost and not to ensure usability by flattening out the troughs formed by driveway exits), and the fact that in places the lanes deviate widely from the obvious quickest line.
Because the lanes run so close to the dual carriageway and the glass-sided bus shelters, glass and other forms of car shrapnel are routinely deposited. Since Dublin Corporation don't seem to enjoy cleaning these lanes, the only option is to cycle on the road. - Yours, etc., Brendan Barrett,
Newtownpark Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.