Q. What exactly are the plans?

A. Cork City Council and Cork County Council published plans in 2017 for a comprehensive network of safe segregated cycleways in the Cork Metro Area. The plans consist of a number of primary routes on Cork’s major arteries with secondary routes to connect these large arteries. The plans can be viewed in full here.

Q. My organisation is not a business, can I still write in?

A. Yes! Any organisations or individuals are encouraged to get involved! Any organisation in Cork, business or otherwise, will be affected by these plans, so it’s important that you speak up! Is your employer a hospital, non-profit, school or university? Have your chief executive or similar senior official write a letter.  

Q. I can’t get hold of our managing director to back this, can I still reply?

A. Yes! You yourself can write to the Minister and the NTA to personally demand the immediate implementation of the plans. Their contact details are:

Mr. Shane Ross, Minister
Department of Transport
Tourism and Sport
Leeson Lane
Dublin 2
D02TR60

Ms. Anne Graham, CEO
National Transport Authority
Dún Scéine
Harcourt Lane
Dublin 2
D02 WT20

 

Q. What objections might I hit internally?

A. Firstly, let us stress that the best way to approach this is to talk to others at your workplace who cycle and then approach your managing director together. This is an employee safety issue and managing directors should care about employee safety. With your managing director’s backing you can then approach public relations.

Some common objections that you may encounter as well as some appropriate rebuttals are listed here:

• Cork is too hilly for cycling– Not true! 7 in 10 people in Cork city live in a relatively flat areas. Large parts of the city including the city centre, UCC, CIT, CityGate Mahon, Douglas Village, Blackrock, Ballincollig, and Carrigtwohill are in flat areas. Electric bikes have also made hilly or longer commutes easy to cycle. 
• Cork is too wet for cycling – Not true! Cork averages 152 days a year with precipitation. Copenhagen, where 35% of all trips to work and school are done on bikes,  typically experiences 157 days a year with precipitation. Data from 2015 shows that you should only need a rain jacket on 27% of days cycling in Cork assuming you commute for 30 mins in each direction.
• Cork is too low density to support cycling – Not true! Over half of car commuting trips in the Cork Metro Area are less than 5 km – an easy distance to cycle.
• It’s not a company issue – Actually, this is very much a company issue! Given the number of your employees who cycle to work, your staff need this type of infrastructure to get to work safely. And companies benefit from healthier, happier staff and from reduced parking costs.
• I’m a cyclist and I don’t need cycles lanes – Some cyclists in your company (and possibly some of the most high-profile cyclists) may feel super confident about cycling on performance bikes in traffic.  There is a mountain of evidence that most people don’t want to cycle in these conditions or feel scared if they do. The plans are about cycling for everyone.
• We are not going to endorse a new business group – We are not a new business group. If you wish, you may put a statement up on your website showing your support and need not contact us.

Q. Are you a new cycling advocacy organisation?

A. No. We simply represent the views of businesses and organisations that are speaking up publicly for the right of their staff and students to cycle safely to work. Organisations that want to get more seriously involved in cycling advocacy in Cork should consider joining the Cork Cycling Campaign.