transport report
Cycling superhighways: European exemplars Cycle networks “as good as those in the Netherlands and Denmark” are needed if Ireland is to tackle its overreliance on the car, the Oireachtas Climate Action Committee has been told. eolas examines the infrastructure of the two countries that have become European exemplars of active travel. “We need to design cycle networks as good as those in The Netherlands and Denmark,” Lynn Sloman, Director of Transport for Quality of Life and specialist in environmental and sustainable transport consulting, told the Oireachtas Climate Action Committee. “Growth in popularity of ebikes means longer cycle trips are feasible, and so cycle superhighways radiating out from towns for 15 kilometres or more should be part of a decarbonisation strategy.” Cycling superhighways, also known as bike freeways, fast cycle routes, or bicycle highways, are bicycle paths meant for long-distance travel. Cycle superhighways feature an absence of single-level intersections with motorised traffic, road surfaces more suitable for
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cycling, typically asphalt or concrete, and no traffic lights. The routes are designed to offer an alternative for private travel to the car. They are typically separate from main roads and often follow the route of rail tracks. The Oireachtas’s Climate Action Committee has recommended a 51 per cent emissions reduction target for transport by 2030 be adopted by the Government. Sloman’s recommendations were given as part of a series of hearings staged by the committee on how this goal can be achieved in a sector that accounts for 20 per cent of Ireland’s carbon emissions. The kind of change needed to create more opportunities for active travel and
to have fewer cars on the road is politically difficult, Sloman admitted, but is a change that “creates more winners than losers, and particularly benefits the young, older people, those on a low income and women”. “Places that have implemented a road user charge find that once residents see how it improves their town or city, there is net support,” she said.
The Netherlands The Netherlands is one such place that has implemented a network of cycling superhighways that is often cited as an international example of the potential of these infrastructural projects. In the Netherlands, the following people can make use of their cycling superhighways:
