With car numbers and population increasing, many cars do just over 2K per usage, measures must be put in place to reduce car movements, ease traffic congestion before city reaches full gridlock. Public Transport will play a major role in this aim, but it will fall far short without the cycling family. For the cycling family to do this, measures must be taken to encourage more cycling. Firstly, priority must be given to cyclists in city centre, they must have equal right to road space as all other users. Safety is paramount in any cycling plan, mainly at junctions where over 80% of fatal cycle accidents happen. Cycle lanes will not be sufficient to meet the necessary demand of a transport solution.
The cycling mood is changing with more wanting to cycle, further encouraged with the aid of e-bikes, e-scooters, Dublin bikes and extra safe bike parking areas proposed. Public transport e-scooter, 1st and last mile, is icing on the cake for cycling success. It needs three vital ingredients for the cycling family to be successful as a vital mode in a public transport solution. 1. Safety. 2. Priority. 3. Space.
Safety. This is paramount, cyclists must feel safe. There are three big areas of concern for cyclists.1. at junctions, where over 80% of cycle fatal accidents happen. 2. Visibility, due to large vehicles (bus), mainly not been seen by other motorists, other vehicles hidden from their view 3. Where cyclists intend to go straight ahead, they can be in danger from vehicles turning left. Bus drivers have a big problem with cyclists weaving in and out and having to cross cycle lane to access bus stops. Newton Bus Concept has an inbuilt safety device to address these dangerous traffic problems. By operating bus on the Quays contraflow, segregates bus from all traffic including cyclists (a big breakthrough). This allows for a new concept to make cycling safe, C.H.O.B. Cycling Headway Orange Box. This is like a yellow box junction, colour orange before each traffic light on Quays up to a depth of five cyclists. It works as follows, cyclists, initially uses left hand side of road, when cyclists reach the red traffic lights, they pack into the Orange Box (motorist not allowed to stop on orange Box). When the traffic lights go green, all move off in block holding control of traffic lanes, motorists can’t overtake due to 30K speed limit, cycle volumes and Cycle Priority Measures C. P. M. If motorists move fast as cyclists, its fast enough. Buses are not blocking cyclists’ view; motorists are not hindered from seeing cyclists. This system makes cycling safe when going straight ahead from vehicles turning left. It eliminates
dangerous blind spots for bus drivers and eliminates buses crossing cycle lane to access bus stops. This concept gives full priority for cyclists on Quays. Whole city benefits from Quay Bus Contraflow. Priority. For cyclist to have any impact in car movement reduction, they must have CPM for priority with all other transport modes in the use of road space and not confined to cycle lanes only as many areas or streets have not enough of space for a cycle lane and overcome the disappearing cycle lane problem. Cyclists will have priority in bus lanes within two kilometres of city centre (O Connell B), already in operation. Cycling will have CPM for full city priority in the Newton Bus Concept.
Space. It is important to have sufficient space for cycle use, especially with the influx of e-scooters. For the cycling family to have any real effect in containing car movements, it will have to increase by over fourfold, the signs are good, with a major cycling parking area proposed at Heuston, public transport E-scooters, new bus, and rail ideas to promote more e-scooter use and now space on Quays to accommodate them in a safe way. It also addresses the problem of cycle lanes overloading.
Pedestrianisation
Cycling and Pedestrianisation are in flavour for the right reasons. Newton Transport Plan facilitates these two main ingredients with public transport, designed that all modes of transport, including pedestrians with businesses can operate traffic free without hindering each other. A continuous pedestrian way from Ballsbridge to Dorset St. With Civic Plaza and Talbot St. also pedestrianised.