It is welcome that the NTA will be reviewing its current cycling infrastructure design standards and the National Cycle Manual.
With reference to Measure CYC2 – Cycle Infrastructure Design, the implementation of the required cycling infrastructure design in our area in Celbridge has created a number of issues and consequences that undermine other objectives of the strategy.
One examples is the Shackleton Road in Celbridge which was lined with mature trees. These provided a high level of amenity and sense of safety for the community in traveling to the schools along this route. With the development of the very welcome cycle infrastructure, these trees were felled as the design required the cycle path to be dropped to the road. This has created a situation where
- Many parents do not feel safe to allow their children to cycle alone to the primary school as the cycle lane feels so close to the road
- We now have to implement pencil bollards at most of the cycle lane improvements to stop cars parking there. The design seems to invite cars to park outside the school on the cycle lane.
- We now have a wide hard surface on the Shacketon Road with no landscaping or scope for reinstating any landscape along a long straight road. With the expected increase in heating, urban heating will be a major problem and green infrastructure is essential for shade. The design is not consistent with climate adaptation needs particularly for our urban areas. In the Netherlands many cycle lanes on roads of of similar (and narrower width) are divided from the road by lines of trees. This is both a pleasure to cycle as well as safe. It also promotes climate resilience and prevents car parking. The amenity of the trees along this street has been an immense loss to the community in terms of place-making and while cycling infrastructure is very welcome, infrastructure must be blended into a community's sense of place enhancing rather than destroying the natural environmental to the greatest extent possible. Where the design changes it would be welcome to have the opportunity to restore trees and green infrastructure where there are currently hard road, path, cycle environments with no greenery or shade.
In this respect I would welcome changes to the design that reflect on issues and unintended consequences that undermine related goals and climate ambitions of active travel measures in the GDA Transport Strategy. In this sense, it would be beneficial to reflect the need for climate adaptation considerations in Measure CYC2.
Measure CYC2 – Cycle Infrastructure Design
It is the intention of the NTA to ensure that cycle infrastructure in the GDA provides an appropriate quality of service to all users, in a way that supports climate adaptation, through the implementation of the design guidance contained in the latest version of the National Cycle Manual.