Infographics // All Party Group on Cycling

Posted on by nigreenways

I was honoured to be invited to the first meeting of the Northern Ireland Assembly All Party Group on Cycling on 4th March 2014, and I decided to mark the occasion with a ham-fisted attempt at a series of infographics on local cycling issues.

There’s actually some decent data on local cycling (especially commuting) which shows some of the developing strengths and historic structural barriers and weaknesses. Unfortunately the information is difficult to find and digest at source, and not widely known. To better inform our engaged politicians and the wider public, here’s 15 infographics with some important messages.

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The political wheel keeps on turning

Posted on by nigreenways

Some remarkable facts and new developments are worth noting as cycling continues to benefit from a fair wind at the Northern Ireland Assembly.

20% of MLAs are now directly involved in cycling matters

This fact should be celebrated for, whatever individual politicians’ and parties’ views and policies, 22 of the 108 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are working through various issues to do with everyday cycling.

MLAsCyclingIssues

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Once in a lifetime Giro opportunity wasted?

Posted on by nigreenways

Dunlop/Hume legacy is our chance to hoist Belfast to a unique place in cycling history

Is Northern Ireland about to squander a golden chance to promote its unique cycling heritage? Government agencies are ignoring a local anniversary of world significance as the Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza passes within yards of one of the birthplaces of modern cycling.

Two world firsts

On 18th May 1889, local cyclist Willie Hume took part in a series of races the old North of Ireland Cricket Club Grounds on the Ormeau Road. His safety bicycle (the direct ancestor to modern bikes) was fitted with pneumatic tyres, which were being used in competition for the first time anywhere in the world. Hume had purchased the tyres from John Boyd Dunlop, a Belfast-based Scottish veterinary surgeon, who’s development was the world’s first practical application of a pneumatic bicycle tyre.

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Monkstown Greenisland Greenway

Posted on by nigreenways

A golden opportunity to link two communities with a new greenway centres on a disused railway just six miles north of Belfast. The ‘Back Line’ between Monkstown and Greenisland has been dormant for over 50 years, yet the land is still in public ownership. Developing a new 2.7km traffic-free path could provide great options for locals trips without the car, and build upon the success of the recently opened Newtownabbey Way.

Monkstown Greenisland Greenway map
(Click to explore the route in Google Maps)

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Right under our noses

Posted on by nigreenways

Building high quality separated cycle paths isn’t possible.

Belfast’s roads are too narrow.

This is one of the many default arguments against investing in the type of cycling infrastructure seen in the Netherlands or Copenhagen. Sometimes it’s worth looking at the urban landscape from a different perspective..

Decorative cobble lane, Belfast City Hall

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Review of the year 2013

Posted on by nigreenways

A quick whizz through the @nigreenways highlights of the year..

January

2013 began with a bang in Belfast – remember flegs? – and NI Greenways couldn’t resist getting in on the rush hour hysteria. Amid the rumours of roads being blocked and large roving protests popping up to cause maximum traffic disruption, canny commuter cyclists still had time to observe normal city life; and this commuter caused a mini panic among office workers at 5pm on a Friday night..

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Slowly, but very surely..

Posted on by nigreenways

Stand for a few moments in the centre of Belfast and you’ll see why many people think cycling is steadily rising here. Now official statistics from the Department for Regional Development (DRD) are beginning to support the anecdotes. The Northern Ireland Travel Survey (TSNI) 2010-12 released in July 2013 pointed to a spike in the number of cycling journeys, and now the detailed analysis lifts the lid off more headlines.

Albert Bridge cycling queue

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Vote now in the 2013 Fréd Awards

Posted on by nigreenways

You can play your part in celebrating bicycle culture in  Northern Ireland by voting in the 2013 Fréd Awards. The Fréd Festival in association with NI Greenways brings you the opportunity to choose the best (and worst) aspects of cycling in Northern Ireland.

Vote now in The 2013 Fréd Awards

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Denver – a model we can follow?

Posted on by nigreenways

Continuing a series of guest posts, Chris Ward shares his experience of cycling in Denver, from his perspective as a club cyclist and everyday bicycle commuter. What lessons can Belfast and Northern Ireland learn from one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the United States?

By Matt Wright (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

As a city that sees over 300 days of sunshine every year (58 in Belfast) and less than 17 inches of rain (34 in Belfast) Denver, Colorado is particularly suited as a bicycling city. Due to its location at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and the all-year-round clement weather, Colorado is inundated with cyclists (both pro and amateur) wanting to test themselves on the infamous climbs. With Colorado already situated at over a mile high in altitude, this adds an extra dynamic to the challenge.

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Number Crunching: #BloodyCyclists

Posted on by nigreenways

A simple illustration of the menace posed by people cycling on Northern Ireland’s roads. Something must be done..

PSNIFixedPenaltyNotices2012

People riding bicycles make up about 1% of journeys in Northern Ireland, yet only 0.045% of traffic offences. Damn, we’re a wonderfully safe, respectful, law-abiding bunch of #bloodycyclists, according to the police anyway.

Source: Police Issued Fixed Penalty Notice Statistics for Traffic Offences in Northern Ireland, Annual Report 2012 (PDF, 388K)