THERE is often commentary and objections to new cycle lanes, along the lines of ‘cycling will never work in Cork because of our hills, bad weather, and narrow streets’, or that cycle lanes hurt business.
National policymakers acknowledge the importance of heightening awareness and education to convince people to use bikes as their chief mode of transport around the city.
Evidence from the National Sustainable Mobility Policy Review (2021) highlighted the multi-faceted nature of sustainable mobility programmes with a mixture of ‘hard’ (infrastructure) and ‘soft’ behavioural type measures introduced.
The National Mitigation Plan (2017) noted how a ‘significant barrier to modal shifts relates to behaviour change and encouraging people away from private cars’.
An Evaluation of the Smarter Travel Areas (2018) noted that ‘an integrated package and behavioural change measures is most likely to achieve modal shift’.
While the hard infrastructural changes are inching piecemeal across the city, there is little evidence of government policy to introduce behaviour change campaigns, or focused social marketing to convince people that two wheels are better than four.
The Cork Cycling Campaign are a group of volunteers who are hoping to transform attitudes to cycling in alignment with improvements in cycling infrastructure - to get Cork people of all ages our of their cars and following their ancestors in prioritising cycle as the best way to get around the city.
A photographic exhibition touring Cork city this month is designed to make us fall in love with the bike again. Opening in Tory Top Road Library, it explores the rich history of cycling locally, and is part of a wider initiative to make Cork one of Europe’s Cycling Cities.
Now the Cork Cycling Campaign, in conjunction with University of Eindhoven, is hoping to be join 50 cities worldwide in a city-by-city book series that maps the role of authorities, policymakers, engineers and community groups in shaping local cycling policies and practices over the past 100 years. Cycling Cities: The Cork Experience will be the first Irish city to join the global series.
Researchers have identified five key areas that affect cycling mode share in cities. This includes the urban landscape and cycling distance, the inclusion of cycling in planning policy, the availability of alternative transport, the social movement behind cycling, and the position of it within the city culture.
As well as heightening understanding of how popular cycling was for everyday life in Cork and what we can learn from other cities to be one of a growing hub of cycling cities in Europe, a key target is to change behaviours and attitudes towards cycling in Cork.
Kevin Long, vice chairperson of the Cork Cycling Campaign, says the book would be part of a ‘soft measures’ approach: “Research in other cities has shown the need to promote a culture of cycling alongside the development of ‘hard infrastructure’ to make a significant impact on transport mode shift.
“The book provides the evidence to bring about a change in attitudes and mindset towards cycling in Cork,. It would also help the council in their aim to deliver cycling infrastructure faster, to counter some of the misinformation and beliefs that are often cited in objections to new cycling infrastructure.
“Our aim is to reach as wide an audience as possible, the general public, and key decision makers alike.”
Cycling is part of Cork’s sustainable economic development policy. The Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy 2040 and Cork Air Quality strategy support prioritising active travel for a more sustainable transport model for the city. Cork was recently selected as a Mission City for the Horizon EU project, aimed at achieving carbon net zero by 2030.
With policy supporting active travel, there is evidence of infrastructure progressing. But it is painfully slow. Many existing cycle lanes are fragmented and end abruptly. A 2021 survey found a tiny fraction of people in Cork city (1%) felt they had proper cycling infrastructure for three-quarters of their journeys.
A key concern is road safety. More needs to be done to deliver a connected cycle network to make cycling safe, comfortable and attractive option for people of all ages.
Other European cities are way ahead. Paris’s 2024-2030 Climate Plan plans to prioritise cycling infrastructure, introducing 180km of additional cycling paths and 130,000 bike parking spaces by 2026.
To support the cycling revolution, Paris is set to open a series of ‘pedestrian hearts’ in each district, starting with a large-scale limited traffic zone in the centre of the city by the end of 2024, reserved for pedestrians, bicycles, public transport and other specific user categories, signalling a paradigm shift away from individual car usage.
Paris aims to establish large pedestrian centres in every arrondissement by 2026.
And the plans are working. Since the early 1990s, driving in Paris city limits has fallen by 45% while public transport has risen by 30% and cycle use increased by a staggering 1000%.
Infrastructure and policy alone are not enough to encourage more people to ditch their cars for short journeys and get up on bikes. Promotion, educ15ation and raising awareness play a vital role in changing mindsets and behaviours towards cycling.
Many cities, like Cork are somewhere in between, wavering on how much and when to invest, and how exactly to make themselves welcoming to cycling and the benefits it brings.
Political will is needed to bring the city to the next level and to bring Cork citizens along with it. What is needed is the vision to make the bicycle the fastest transport form across the city. Momentum provides a tailwind.
The government are promoting behaviour change through campaigns such as Your Journey Counts and local authorities support initiatives such as Bike Week and Cork Sport Partnership for cycle training schemes.
But a lot more needs to be done to change over 40 years of almost conditioned car usage.
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