Garda tonight are asking for the publics help after a cyclist, a man in his 60s, was found unresponsive on the R592 at Corthna, Schull, in Co Cork today.The nature of the incident is unclear at this time, but in a statement issued just before 9am tonight, Garda said that the road is closed and local traffic diversions will remain in place overnight to allow Garda Forensic Collision Investigators to examine the scene, which would indicate that the mans injuries are very serious in nature. A spokesperson at the Garda Press Office said: Shortly after 9:30am, Garda from Schull and emergency services were alerted after a male cyclist in his 60s was found unresponsive on the R592 at Corthna, Schull. He was treated at the scene before being transported by ambulance to Cork University Hospital with serious injuries.The spokesperson added: Garda are appealing for witnesses to come forward, particularly those with camera footage, including motorists with dashcam from the area at the time of the incident.Anyone with information or footage is asked to make contact via Bantry Garda Station on (027) 20860, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.

Comment & Analysis: Fingal County Councils under-construction R132 Connectivity Project is facing heavy backlash over what the council calls teething issues, and what some motorists say will be a problem no matter how the traffic lights are changed. The dust will need to settle to find out whos right, but its 100% factual to say the project is interlinked with MetroLink.For the record: Im not blindly siding with the council here, and this article isnt just from an active-travel perspective; Ive written extensively about MetroLink, including many articles where active travel was not mentioned or was secondary. Theres also a lot of revisionism going on about traffic in Swords. Ive sat in cars and on buses on the R132, stopped or crawling along, enough times to know people who are implying there was always free-flowing traffic have very short memories. Of course, that doesnt mean it isnt worse now; theres still major construction ongoing, and not just on the R132.In any case, the roundabout removals are very much connected to MetroLink, and thats a fact, not just a view.Around Swords, MetroLink will mainly be built in two types of large trenches, a mix of cut-and-cover and what is called a retained cut. Both methods require digging from the surface, with the former being covered over afterwards and the latter left open with fencing or other barriers around it.This cross-section shows whats in the cut under the surface at stations away from stations the cut into the ground will be narrower, but this gives you an idea of the scale of the work to come:IMAGE: Cross-section example of a station along the road.This still from a MetroLink visualisation video is taken from the perspective of a passenger descending escalators into the station, and shows the ground level to the right and the platforms and trains in the cut:IMAGE: An artists impression showing the descent into a station.This MetroLink map shows how dominant cut-and-cover and retained cut is along the R132:Basically, MetroLink requires digging a large trench along the R132, stretching for about 3.6km before moving away from the road at both ends.When you zoom into the interactive map for MetroLink, youll see a recurring issue at all the roundabouts the trench goes through parts of the roundabouts and right through the footbridges. IMAGE: The former Estuary Roundabout, which is now a junction. IMAGE: The Seatown Metro Station shown as a blue outline.IMAGE: The Swords Central Metro Station shown as a blue outline.To be clear: If the MetroLink enabling works which have already been tendered for proceed as planned, the footbridges are likely to be removed within months, or at most within a year or so. Enabling works do not include the main digging, but they involve clearing the path for the main construction. Including utility diversion (see below) and removing anything in the way, such as the footbridges.Without the footbridges, where do people cross the R132? Before we get to how people are going to cross when MetroLink is up and running, how do people expect those on foot to cross while construction is ongoing?Unlike what some people think, the truth is that R132 is no longer the bypass of Swords that it once was; the urban area of Swords is now on both sides of it, and the M1 has long replaced it as the main motoring route for through traffic. The design of the R132 in the town is a legacy of when it was the main Dublin to Belfast road. It has long been outdated, but the idea that it could remain the same with three Metro stations dotted along it is not grounded in reality.This is a MetroLink artists impression visualisation showing Seatown Road Roundabout after it is transformed into a junction, and the Seatown Metro station entrance is right beside the junction: IMAGE: In this artists impression, Seatown Metro station is the larger structure with a green roof. I dont think the road revamp design is the best it could be, and, as I said, well see when the dust settles. But the idea that the road could remain the same which is being expressed quite a bit on social media is far-fetched. Were talking about a high-capacity railway that will be able to be scaled up to carry 20,000 passengers per direction per hour.The park-and-ride north of Swords is designed for people coming from further afield. Parking close to the stations along the R132 will be very limited. Walking, cycling, and connecting from local buses will be the main ways passengers get to these stations.Massive roundabouts or adding slip lanes to the current design isnt compatible with that. Slip lanes are a danger to people walking and cycling and have been advised against in guidance in urban settings for well over a decade.These two images show what the surface level of the other two stations along the road will look like:IMAGES: Swords Central Station and Fosterstown Station.And below, this is a sample map of utility diversions needed at Estuary Junction (formerly Estuary Roundabout) not only do water pipes, wastewater pipes, ESB cables, gas pipes, and telecoms cables from a number of companies have to be moved away from the railway alignment, but any of those crossing the railway will need new protective routes going under or over the railway cut.Click here for the PDF version of the above map not recommended on a slow PC or phone!MetroLink enabling works and full construction will likely cause far more disruption than the current project, or even the combined effect of any ongoing works. Given the location of the alignment, trying to build MetroLink with the roundabouts in place would be much worse for all road users.

UCI Track World Championships 2026 Womens Points RaceSunday 18 October Shanghai Velodrome, ChinaLara Gillespie world champion 42 points23 starters 25km 100 laps 10 sprints Gillespies second world titleLara Gillespie is a world champion again. The Wicklow rider won the points race at the UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai on Sunday, adding a second rainbow jersey to the elimination title she won in Chile last year.Four days earlier she had lost the scratch title to Lorena Wiebes on a photo finish. This time nobody could match her. Gillespie finished on 42 points, five clear of Denmarks Amalie Dideriksen on 37. Belgiums Shari Bossuyt was third with 35.Photos: SWpixHow the race was wonThe 25km final ran over 100 laps, with a sprint every ten laps paying 5, 3, 2 and 1 points, and double for the last one. Gillespie won the second sprint, and the fifth, to sit in a strong position at halfway. Gillespie, Dideriksen and Bossuyt each gained a lap on the bunch, worth 20 points apiece, and nobody else did it without losing the lap again. That made it a three-rider race for the medals.From there Gillespie stayed on the scoresheet. She was second in sprints seven and nine, and second again in the double-points final sprint, behind Mexicos Yareli Acevedo Mendoza, for six more points. That gave her 42: 22 from the sprints and 20 from the lap. Dideriksen scored 17 from the sprints, including two wins, and Bossuyt 15, also with two wins, but neither could close the gap.The race was run at an average of 50.364 km/h. Twenty-three riders started and 20 finished. Acevedo Mendoza was fourth on 13 points, ahead of the Netherlands Sofie van Rooijen.Its all sinking in now. Im just so happy I could pull this off, Gillespie said. I came really close the other day and I think that really just pushed me on there today because I was really annoyed with that second place.Overall a really good week and I really just cant thank Cycling Ireland and Sport Ireland enough for all the support over the last few years and all the people back home who are getting those key sessions in with me, helping me get fast for the track, so I really just want to say thank you to everyone.Photos: SWpixWomens Points Race Result25km 100 laps 10 sprints 29:47 50.364 km/h1Lara GILLESPIE 52Ireland +1 lap42 pts 2Amalie DIDERIKSEN 45Denmark +1 lap37 pts 3Shari BOSSUYT 41Belgium +1 lap35 pts 4Yareli ACEVEDO MENDOZA 28Mexico13 pts5Sofie VAN ROOIJEN 147Netherlands10 pts6Anna HICKS 179United States +1 / 1 lap9 pts7Lisa KLEIN 111Germany8 pts8Erin BOOTHMAN 49Great Britain7 pts9Aline SEITZ 59Switzerland4 pts10Marion BORRAS 96France4 pts11Bryony BOTHA 57New Zealand2 pts12Rachele BARBIERI 23Italy2 pts13Daniela CAMPOS 32Portugal0 pts14Anita Yvonne STENBERG 56Norway0 pts15Sophie EDWARDS 63Australia 1 lap-16 pts16Wing Yee LEUNG 20Hong Kong 1 lap-20 pts17Yumi KAJIHARA 26Japan 1 lap-20 pts18Suwan WEI 43China 2 laps-37 pts19Eva ANGUELA YAGUEZ 47Spain 2 laps-40 pts20Vendula STRAKATA 10Czechia 2 laps-40 ptsDNFAlexi RAMIREZ 38Trinidad and Tobago 2 lapsDNFDNFZAYED AHMED MOHAMED 46Egypt 3 lapsDNFDNFNafosat KOZIEVA 61Uzbekistan 2 lapsDNFIRLHow Gillespie scored her 42 pointsSprints 5-3-2-1 final sprint double lap gained +20S2Sprint 2winner+5S5Sprint 5winner+5S7Sprint 72nd+3S9Sprint 92nd+3S10Sprint 102nd double points+6LapLap gained20 points+20Total22 sprint points + 20 lap points42Two medals in ShanghaiGillespie leaves China with gold and silver. Her scratch silver on Wednesday came by millimetres behind Wiebes, who won her third straight title in that event. The two have met repeatedly over the past fortnight: Wiebes also beat Gillespie on all three stages of the Tour of Chongming Island before the championships.IRLIrelands Medals Shanghai 2026UCI Track World Championships 1418 OctoberSun 18Lara GILLESPIEPoints race world championWed 14Lara GILLESPIEScratch photo finishHomecomingGillespie and the rest of the Irish team fly home on flight MU231 direct from Shanghai. They are due into Terminal 1 at Dublin Airport at 8am on Monday 19 October.Photos: SWpixThe post Lara Gillespie wins points race to become world champion again in Shanghai appeared first on Irish Cycling News.

Comment & Analysis: Coverage of the new Dutch-style roundabout in Dublin as originally covered here has gained quite a lot of eyeballs, but did you know nearly nobody uses the cycle paths on it? Well, thats according to one user on LinkedIn, where an IrishCycle.com video of the roundabout was shared:I live on this road and a handful, at most, of cyclists use this daily.I thought that was very strange because way more than a handful of people were cycling around it in the 30 minutes or so off-peak when I was there. I was mainly focused on taking video clips, but I looked at the data from some photos I took with cyclists in them, and I photographed a handful within the space of ten minutes:The Local Electoral Area of Rathfarnham Templeogue had a cycling modal share of just under 10%. That was in the 2022 Census; since then, the area has seen significant improvements on some routes (though many more are needed). And the roundabout is also between two schools.It makes so little sense that only a handful of people would be using the cycle path daily. Even if you take a handful to mean several handfuls, it still doesnt make sense. But this is now part of the course for a not insignificant number of people who dont like cycle paths or other street changes.As covered last year, after Dublin City Council posted a clip of the normal flow of cyclists on the Clontarf to City Centre route, Facebook users reacted with conspiracy theories, the people cycling actually actors. But the clip was nothing unusual for rush hour on the cycle route, which is now the busiest in Dublin. Most peoples complaints about the Clontarf to City Centre route project, which was far more than just a cycle path, died down after construction finished. Its a pattern seen around the world: complaints about planned cycle routes and similar projects peak during construction. Meanwhile in CarlowCarlow town is hardly Dublin in terms of volumes of people or cycling, and it can take a while for cycling levels to develop even after routes are put in place, but Carlow County Council seem to be trying to develop the infrastructure first to enable an uptick in cycling. Another part of the towns cycle network is now in place the Kilkenny Road route. A post by the councils Your Carlow page on Facebook earlier this month said: The new route connects Carlow Town Centre with South East Technological University (SETU), providing safer, high-quality facilities for those walking and cycling along this busy route.IMAGES: The officially opened Kilkenny Road scheme in Carlow.With a shared path (which could do with upgrading), the route also helps link the town with a secondary school built on its edge. With the two combined, its not likely that nobody will use the route, but you wouldnt think that from using Facebook or reading some of the local media that overly rely on it.No thought gone into it Negative reaction in Carlow over new cycle lane said one Carlow Live headline.The article basically took the Your Carlow post on Facebook from the council and wrapped it in a package with comments on that post.Strangely, the article states that Most comments were about how wide the new cycle lane is and how dangerous it is more than anything, but theres nothing in the comments explaining why people think its more dangerous and a single comment claiming itll be just a matter of time for casualties. These were the sample comments posted in the article:One person said: The cycle lane is wider than the M50 and no one using it.Another person said: Causing dreadful congestion on KK road, just hope an ambulance hasnt to make an emergency journey through it. But the one or two cyclists a day are delighted!!!.Someone else commented: They should upgrade the public transport and put in dedicated bus lanes instead of all these cycle lanes that no one uses.No thought gone into it for emergency teams to get through if needed or public service buses and transport be all over the place with schedules, another person said.Lets take the M50 comment as an obvious exaggeration, but accept that the cycle path is a decent width; lets also take the concerns about emergency services at face value, and that theres congestion on the road.So, if all of those things are true, why wouldnt the emergency services be able to use the cycle paths as they are legally allowed to? When it was suggested, someone said theres a bollard in the way. And Carlow is smaller than Paris, another said.So an ambulance in Carlow cannot use M50-sized cycle lanes; they have to wait in traffic. Removing a bollard or otherwise providing for emergency access is out of the question, it seems.Another comment (incorrectly) claims, A joke really more room for bikes than cars. And there are so many people in Carlow concerned about emergency service response times theres quite a few comments along those lines. But nobody apparently wants emergency services to use the cycle path? Isnt that strange? Another Your Carlow post got some people upset about flower beds along the road. Greenery that makes the place look nicer and might do a bit for biodiversity nearly seems to enrage some people more than cycle lanes.

Comment & Analysis / Long read: Fingal County Council last week submitted a planning application for its section of the Royal Canal Greenway, and now that the details are online, this article gives you an overview of Fingals project without diving through a ton of planning documents and maps.The 8.1km route between just west of the M50 at 12th Lockand the Co Kildare border has strong commuting potential as it links together the areas of Dublin City, Castleknock, Blanchardstown, Clonsilla, Coolmine, Hansfield and Leixlip and beyond. It also forms part of a cross-country route already largely built to the River Shannon, which in turn forms part of the cross-Europe EuroVelo 2 route. The plans and reports for the project can also be read in full on the planning boards website at pleanala.ie/en-ie/case/324711.Submissions and observations must be made in writing along with, for most people, payment of 50 to An Coimisin Pleanla, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin, D01 V902 on or before Wednesday, November 25th, 2026The council said that the shared path will generally have a 4 m wide bituminous route surface from 12th Lock at the Talbot Bridge to Kennan Bridge on the Porterstown Road, a 34 m wide bituminous surface from Kennan Bridge to Hansfield Railway Bridge, and generally a 23 m wide unbound surface from Hansfield Railway Bridge to the Kildare County boundary at the eastern edge of Leixlip.12th Lock landscape drawing at 3 metres wider, and under, the greenway is narrower here alongside constraints, but quickly widens to 4 metres.Little or no consideration seems to have been given to the fact that the Old Navan Road is a key secondary route in the area and that while its a low-traffic route, adding a shuttle system without providing cycling bypasses to it is likely inadvisable:12th Lock engineering drawing:Its worth showing that theres quite a lot of space on the current road and bridge: At Granard Bridge, there is an underpass planned under the Castleknock Road with a ramp up to the roadway from the train station side:And the engineering drawing at the same location there are some narrow sections between the train station and the ramp up to the road:This is a cross-section showing the underpass:Between the Castleknock Road and the new bridge over the canal (see below), the shared path is 4 metres wide:This is the new bridge over the canal (shown in the darker colour here).This is a photomontage of the new bridge across the Royal Canal:This is the engineering drawing of the same location, more clearly showing the connections to the streets and existing paths on the north bank of the canal. One link is planned to connect the existing path between Brompton Green and Brompton Lawn, while the other connection is to be directly to Brompton Grove.The number of access points has been reduced from seven to three.But this has been questioned by the projects independent road safety auditors, who said that there were issues, not just at this location but Throughout the scheme where pedestrian desire lines are not fully catered for. The wrote: Summary: A lack of links to the greenway from the existing road network, particularly at residentialdevelopments, may lead to unsafe movement between these areas and the greenway. A number of links between the proposed greenway and adjacent residential developments have been indicated between Ch. 6,675 and Ch. 7,110, a distance of approx. 450m, however there are a number of residential developments elsewhere along the route, for example Delwood Grove and Delwood Lawn, where desire lines to/from the greenway are likely to exist, but which have not been provided with similar links.This may lead to pedestrians and cyclists attempting to gain access to the greenway at unsafe, or informal, locations where there is a risk of slips, trips, and falls and personal injuries.RecommendationA review of the residential developments along the route, and locations where desire lines to/from thegreenway are likely to exist, should be undertaken and further links to the greenway provided where considerednecessary.The report also outlines how fencing, green screening and even the ground level of the greenway are being planned to lower possible impacts the greenway might have on residents: To reduce potential overlooking of the rear gardens of Delwood Park and to address security concerns, the greenway level is proposed to be lowered to match, or sit below, the existing level of the adjacent rear gardens. A 2m high timber palisade fence with anti-climb wire mesh is proposed, with a maximum height difference of approximately 2.5m between the top of the fence and the Proposed Development level. Defensive planting is also proposed to provide additional screening and security, as shown in Figure 4.21.This residential area is one of the most contentious areas of the route. To the point that the project team have even planned a hedge row between part of the green area in the estate and the greenway. In the photomontage below, the greenway is right behind this bush.But is added buses like this counterproductive to the personal safety and feeling of safety of users of the route/?West of Brompton Grove, the drawings show that climbers (planting) are to provide additional screening with the next access point at Delwood Close the darker surface here denotes a proposed boardwalk:Here is the engineering drawing of the same section:This section is part of the Deep Sinking stretch of the Royal Canal at this point the greenway will run between the back boundary of houses and a wooded area the south bank of the canal was deemed unviable given that widening the existing path or adding a cantilever structure could have risked destabilising the railway; it would cost a lot more and have a wider impact on biodiversity: No access points are provided on this section parallel to Delwood Green: A bridge is required to allow the route to cross a deeper area behind around 6-7 houses shown here in purple.The road to the left of the image below is Coolmine Road:The route then runs along the low-traffic access road (light blue, below), which is Sheepmoor Lane, and then onto an existing 4-metre-wide greenway (red) alongside a new development;Switching back to the landscape drawings, a new link continues from the existing greenway under Dr Troy Bridge on Diswellstown Road (right below) although there is no link shown from Diswellstown Road to the greenway, such a link is already provided via the development built in recent years. This drawing shows another section with a boardwalk:In the area around Dr Troy Bridge, the greenway will run on a boardwalk:Having a closer look at wildlife underpasses, mainly designed for badgers, which are dotted along this and other sections: The proposed active travel bridge across the canal and railway is shown here for clarity but is planned to be provided as part of the Dart+ West Project, where planning approval has been gained as part of that project, to close the level crossing at Porterstown Road (again, not part of this project):After Porterstown Road, the greenway reduces to 3 metres wide it should be noted that while 3 metres wide is narrow for a shared path in an urban area, the existing towpath will remain in place for people walking:The narrow 3-metre-wide path running parallel to the existing towpath continues before the two merge with a 4 metre width: The merged paths are shown here in an engineering drawing as a proposed cantilever boardwalk:This cantilevered boardwalk will run westwards towards Clonsilla Train Station, where there is another level crossing closure and an active travel bridge at the existing Callaghan Bridge as part of the Dart+ project:Just before and west of Callaghan Bridge, the greenway is narrowed to 3 metres there is also a small section where cyclists are told to dismount where the greenway crosses over the mouth of the bridge, which will effectively be only be passenger access to Clonsilla railway station:This is a close-up of the cyclist dismount section:A previous draft plan indicated that an alternative to this narrow section parallel to Handsfirld Road here (which is largely a car park for the train station), but this was not developed as part of this project:The greenway route will then break away from the existing towpath and run into a planned linear park between the new development and the canal here the greenway route will be via an existing path built as part of the housing development: After the new part area, the greenway route takes a 90-degree bend into a narrow underpass under the railway to Handsfield and onwards towards Navan.Not shown is an already built section of path towards the developments around Handsfield railway station this starts around the 90-degree bend to the underpass.This rural, or more accurately in terms of a route description, inter-urban section is relatively simpler in nature, but the planned unbound surface and widths as low as 2 to 2.5 metres wide on some sections would widely be seen as an inappropriate surface for an inter-urban route with higher than normal commuting cycling potential in both directions. Fingals consultants, DBFL, make the argument that: In the more rural settings, this unbound pavement construction is considered the most appropriate, as per DN-GEO-03047, and shall be constructed in line with DN-GEO-03047 and the recommendations of the TII Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (TII DMRB).Its true that the current urban area around the project effectively ends here, but treating it as any old urban area seems like a huge stretch given that it will directly provide a link between large urban areas, and indirectly others. The National Transport Authoritys Great Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan classes the Royal Canal Greenway between Dublin and Kilcock as a Greenway Utility rather than just a mainly leisure route. This is because the proximity between urban areas at least provides potential for local, if not longer-distance, commuting by bicycle. From the underpass at the turn-off to Handsfieldn it isJust over 3km from the next urban area, Leixlip, and just over 6km from this point to Intels campus in Leixlip, and:Under 3km from the urban area of Lucan and just another 1km from the village centre.The Lucan link is not part of this project, but the National Transport Authoritys Great Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan clearly sees the greenway as important for transport trips, as it includes a Primary Orbital route joining the greenway out of Lucan as shown here in this extract from the GDA plan, with a yellow circle added to mark the point where the two routes are to meet:DN-GEO-03047 or to give it its full title, the Rural Cycleway Design (Offline & Greenway) is a guide for routes across the country. Even states: The selection of the most suitable pavement type is at the discretion of the Designer based on the particular requirements and conditions at the location of the cycleway.But for off-road shared paths, including greenways, NTAs Cycle Design Manual goes further and states:Surface should be smooth and bound. Unbound surfaces are not recommended for active travel routes.For the rest of the article, covering the drawings between Dublin 15 and the Kildare border, cross-sections will be mainly used to give an overview of the sections: Approaches to the road crossings are the only locations where the greenway will be paved with a bounded surface crossings will also be provided at these points:In this section, the greenway narrows to 2.5 metres west of the bridge (in the image, left) it does not return to 3 metres wide until after the end of the project at the Kildare border: On these narrower sections, the independent Stage 1 Road Safety Audit submitted by the council outlines:The width of the greenway is below the absolute minimum advised in both the Cycle Design Manual and TII Publications document, Rural Cycleway Design (Offline & Greenway), (DNGEO-03047).The width of the proposed greenway between the Dublin/Kildare border and the road crossing at the R149 is indicated as being between 2m and 2.5m. Details of the expected volume of users of the greenway within this section has not been provided to the Audit Team, however, the proposed width is less than the absolute minimum if 3m for greenways in the Cycle Design Manual (CDM) (2023) and less than the minimum width of 5m for a low-volume (<300 users per hour) shared use cycleway in TII Publications document, Rural Cycleway Design (Offline & Greenway), (DN-GEO-03047).The width of the proposed greenway in its western section may, therefore, not be wide enough to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists travelling in both directions resulting in an increased risk of conflicts between these road users. In addition, this problemThe greenway then further decreases in width to just 2 metres wide at the west (left) side of this drawing:The project ends at the Dublin/Kildare border: Stay tuned to IrishCycle.com for more coverage of this and other projects.

UCI Track World Championships 2026 Day 1Wednesday 14 October Shanghai Velodrome, ChinaWomens scratch: Lara Gillespie silver Team pursuit: Ireland 16th, 4:27.239Next for Ireland: elimination final Thursday 11:30 Irish timePhotos: SWpixLara Gillespie won silver in the womens scratch race at the UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai on Wednesday. She lost the title to Lorena Wiebes on a photo finish.ScratchTeam pursuitDay oneScheduleIrish teamHow the races workThe Dutch rider took her third scratch world title in a row by the narrowest of margins. Portugals Maria Martins was third. It was another close finish between Gillespie and Wiebes, who beat her on all three stages of the Tour of Chongming Island on Sunday.Photos: SWpixHow the scratch was wonThe 40-lap race came alive in the closing laps. Valentine Fortin of France attacked with seven laps to go, and Wiebes went straight after her. Gillespie closed the move down and brought the bunch back together.Wiebes went again with two laps to go. Gillespie and Martins went with her, and the three came to the line together. Wiebes got her wheel in front at the finish line, with Gillespie a fraction behind in second. Italys Martina Fidanza was fourth. Fortin finished 23rd, and European champion Hlne Hesters was 21st. Martins got a warning from the commissaires for dangerous riding during the race.I wouldnt normally say Scratch is my favourite race but Im really proud of how I rode today, representing Ireland as best I could, Gillespie said.Of course it was so close and I dont think Ive ever been so angry to take silver at a World Championships, but I think I can be proud of how I raced. It gives me confidence for the races coming up.Womens Scratch Result40 laps (10km) 12:15 48.980 km/h1Lorena WIEBES 55Netherlands2Lara GILLESPIE 52Ireland photo finish3Maria MARTINS 58Portugal warning, dangerous riding4Martina FIDANZA 124Italy5Sze Wing LEE 19Hong Kong6Eva ANGUELA YAGUEZ 47Spain7Amalie DIDERIKSEN 45Denmark8Lea Lin TEUTENBERG 18Germany9Nafosat KOZIEVA 61Uzbekistan10Olivija BALEIYTE 27Lithuania11Scarlet CORTES UGARTE 5Chile12Teniel CAMPBELL 37Trinidad and Tobago13Prudence FOWLER 150New Zealand14Maeve PLOUFFE 1Australia15Aline SEITZ 59Switzerland16Emma JIMENEZ PALOS 60United States17Abigail MILLER 17Great Britain18Petra EVKOV 44Czechia19Misaki OKAMOTO 129Japan20Haidi YUAN 8China21Hlne HESTERS 70Belgium22Anita Yvonne STENBERG 56Norway23Valentine FORTIN 16France24Andrea ROBLES FELIX 138MexicoTeam pursuit: crash, then a three-rider re-runThe team pursuit squad had a difficult morning. Aoife OBrien crashed during qualifying. The commissaires offered the other three a re-run, and Emma Jeffers, Fiona Mangan and Esther Wong rode it as a trio. They finished 16th in 4:27.239, which wasnt enough for a place in Thursdays first round. Great Britain were fastest in 4:08.055, just over five seconds outside their own world record.Womens Team Pursuit Qualifying4km top eight to the first round1GREAT BRITAINqualified4:08.0552GERMANYqualified4:09.9783ITALYqualified4:10.2754NETHERLANDSqualified4:13.8435AUSTRALIAqualified4:14.3686CHINAqualified4:14.5697NEW ZEALANDqualified4:15.0848FRANCEqualified4:15.5109UNITED STATES4:18.81010BELGIUM4:19.01211JAPAN4:19.09312BELARUS4:21.28813SWITZERLAND4:21.49114INDIVIDUAL NEUTRAL ATHLETES4:22.13015POLAND4:24.55316IRELANDJeffers OBrien Mangan Wong4:27.23917CHILE4:34.610Elsewhere on day oneChina won the womens team sprint on home boards. Jiang Yulu, Tong Mengqi and Yuan Liying beat Great Britain in the final, 45.578 to 45.933, and Germany took bronze against the neutral athletes. The Netherlands won the mens team sprint again: Jeffrey Hoogland, Harrie Lavreysen and Roy van den Berg beat Australia in 41.954, with China third ahead of Japan.In the mens team pursuit first round, Denmark (3:44.043) and Italy (3:45.332) were the fastest heat winners and will race for gold on Thursday. Great Britain and France ride for bronze.Day One PodiumsWednesday 14 OctoberLorena WiebesWomens scratchLara GillespieWomens scratchMaria MartinsWomens scratchChinaWomens team sprintGreat BritainWomens team sprintGermanyWomens team sprintNetherlandsMens team sprintAustraliaMens team sprintChinaMens team sprintNext for the IrishIreland have a rider in Thursday evenings elimination final, about 11:30 Irish time. Gillespie races all four rounds of the omnium on Friday. On Saturday Emma Jeffers opens the session in the kilo at 04:00 Irish time, and Fiona Mangan rides individual pursuit qualifying at 06:23. Gillespie closes the championships in Sundays points race.Still to come Irish RidersIrish time on the right Shanghai is +7 hoursThu 15Elimination Final18:30 local11:30Fri 16Omnium I ScratchLara Gillespie c. 12:35 localc. 05:35Fri 16Omnium II TempoLara Gillespie c. 14:35 localc. 07:35Fri 16Omnium III EliminationLara Gillespie c. 18:05 localc. 11:05Fri 16Omnium IV Points raceLara Gillespie c. 19:40 localc. 12:40Sat 17Kilo time trial QualifyingEmma Jeffers 11:00 local04:00Sat 17Individual pursuit QualifyingFiona Mangan 13:23 local06:23Sat 17Kilo time trial Finalif Jeffers makes the top eight c. 17:35 localc. 10:35Sat 17Individual pursuit Finalsif Mangan makes the top four c. 20:00 localc. 13:00Sun 18Points race FinalLara Gillespie c. 14:00 localc. 07:00c. marks an estimated start, worked out from the official running order. Allow a few minutes either way.The Irish team in ShanghaiGillespie arrives in good form and already acclimatised. She finished second overall at the Tour of Chongming Island on the outskirts of Shanghai on Sunday, on the podium of all three stages behind Lorena Wiebes, and the week before that took silver in the omnium at the 3 Days of Aigle in Switzerland.She won bronze at the 2024 Worlds before taking European and world titles in 2025, and this week she races the scratch, the omnium and the points race.Aoife OBrien targets the elimination race. Her 2025 was disrupted by injury, but she has built steadily through 2026, with podiums in road races around Europe and a stage win at Rs na mBan with the national team.Emma Jeffers rides the kilo time trial. She made her national team track debut last year at both the European and World Championships, and has had a strong road season, with podiums at Rs na mBan and regular racing in one-day and stage races for Liv AlUla Jayco.Fiona Mangan returns for her second Worlds after her debut in Chile last year and takes on the individual pursuit. She rode her second Tour de France Femmes this summer and has been a regular presence in one-day races through the season.IRLIreland Track Worlds TeamShanghai 1418 October 2026Lara GILLESPIEScratch Omnium Points raceAoife OBRIENElimination Team pursuitEmma JEFFERSKilo time trial Team pursuitFiona MANGANIndividual pursuit Team pursuitEsther WONGTeam pursuitHow the races workMost of Irelands events this week are endurance races on the 250-metre track, so four laps make a kilometre. Five of the seven are bunch races, where tactics, positioning and a fast finish matter as much as raw power; the other two are races against the clock.Scratch Lara GillespieThe simplest bunch race on the track. Everyone starts together and the first rider across the line at the end of the final lap wins. The final is 40 laps (10km), with the bell rung for the last lap.There are no points and no intermediate sprints, but laps count: a rider or group who breaks clear and catches the back of the bunch has gained a lap, and is placed ahead of every rider they lapped, whoever wins the final sprint. That leaves two ways to win. Attack early and try to gain a lap, or sit in, save energy and back yourself in the sprint. Gillespie, a fast finisher, will want it to come down to the line, and so will Lorena Wiebes.If more than 24 riders enter, there are 7.5km qualifying heats first. Wednesdays field is exactly 24, so it goes straight to the final.Points race Lara GillespieA bunch race decided by points rather than by who crosses the line first. The final is 25km, 100 laps, with a sprint every ten laps, which makes ten sprints in all. Each intermediate sprint pays 5, 3, 2 and 1 point to the first four riders; the final sprint pays double, 10, 6, 4 and 2.The big swings come from laps. Gaining a lap on the bunch is worth 20 points, and being lapped costs 20, so a well-timed attack can be worth more than winning several sprints. If riders finish level on points, the final sprint decides it. It is a race of constant calculation, and riders and coaches track the scores lap by lap.Elimination Aoife OBrienOften called devil take the hindmost. After a neutral start, the last rider across the line every two laps is eliminated and pulled out, judged on the back wheel. It carries on until two riders are left, and they sprint for the title.Positioning is everything. Sitting near the front is safe but costs energy in the wind; drifting to the back risks being caught out by a sudden surge. The best elimination riders read the race and move up just before each sprint. If the field is too big, riders first qualify through 7.5km scratch heats.Omnium Lara GillespieFour bunch races in one day, the decathlon of track endurance racing. In order:Scratch (10km): first over the line wins, as above.Tempo race (10km): from the fifth lap onwards, one point goes to the first rider across the line on every lap, and gaining a lap is worth 20. It rewards riders who are active at the front all race.Elimination: as above, last rider out every two laps.Points race (20km): the finale, scored as above.The first three races award omnium points by finishing position: 40 for the winner, 38 for second, 36 for third, dropping by two a place. Riders carry that total into the points race, where every sprint point and every lap gained or lost is added on or taken off. The highest total wins the title. The omnium often stays open until the last laps, because a single lap gained in the points race can wipe out a 20-point deficit. Gillespie took silver in the omnium at the 3 Days of Aigle last week.Kilo time trial Emma JeffersOne rider, one kilometre, four laps from a standing start, held in the start gate until the countdown ends. It is a flat-out effort of a little over a minute, with no tactics, no drafting and nowhere to hide. Getting the bike up to speed from a standstill is half the race.Every rider sets a time in qualifying, and the eight fastest go through to the final later the same day to ride again for the medals, with the fastest qualifier going last.Individual pursuit Fiona ManganTwo riders start at the same time on opposite sides of the track, half a lap apart, and chase each other over the set distance. It is a test of pacing as much as power: go out too hard and the last laps are brutal.Qualifying is about the clock, not the rider across the track. The two fastest qualifiers meet in the gold-medal final and the third and fourth fastest ride for bronze, both later the same day. In any ride, catching your opponent ends the race.Team pursuit Mangan, Jeffers, OBrien, WongThe team version: four riders over 4km, 16 laps, starting on opposite sides of the track from their opponents. They ride in a tight line and take turns on the front, peeling up the banking and dropping back onto the rear wheel after each turn. The clock stops when the third rider crosses the line, so one rider can be used up and dropped in the closing laps.Every team rides qualifying alone against the clock. The eight fastest go into the first round, ridden head to head the next day, and the fastest teams from that round contest the gold and bronze finals later the same evening. Ireland have exactly four riders for the event, so there is no fresh rider to rotate in between rounds.Photos: SWpixThe post Lara Gillespie takes world silver in scratch as Wiebes wins by a photo finish in Shanghai appeared first on Irish Cycling News.

Illegal bikes are a rational response to payment model used by large food delivery apps, says head of London-based delivery firm.Deliveroo, the app-based food delivery service, said it plans to monitor its delivery riders to assess how quickly they travel and compare the data with the legal speeds of e-bikes in the UK, but the company did not respond to repeated requests on whether it will implement the same technology in Ireland. As IrishCycle.com has reported several times, including earlier this week, a legal e-bike in Ireland is a pedal-assisted electric bicycle with a maximum continuous rated power output of 250 watts and a maximum speed of 25km/h before the motor stops helping. This is the basic rule across the EU and basically the same as the UK, where the limit is 15.5mph. Above these thresholds, or if the bike can move without pedalling (besides freewheeling) using a throttle, then it is legally considered a moped or even a motorcycle depending on speed and power.Deliveroo and Just Eat delivery riders are regularly seen moving without pedalling and at higher-than-normal e-bike speeds on streets in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Galway. Both Deliveroo and Just Eat were also contacted three times since last Friday, and both did not respond at the time of publication of this article on Wednesday after 6pm.Last week, The Times in London reported that Deliveroo would be implementing systems to crackdown on riders registering as having a bicycle or e-bike and actually using a moped or motorcycle. The speed technology is helping us better detect the use of illegal e-bikes by looking at sustained speeds. Where we see sustained speeds that are illegal, we will disable a riders account, Paul Bedford, policy and sustainability director at Deliveroo, told The Times newspaper. He said that GPS data showing a rider at higher speeds would have to be checked to see if they were going downhill at the time or if they were in an area known for poor GPS signal where an inaccurate speed might be recorded. He added: We are designing our approach to identify sustained patterns and avoid penalising riders who are following the rules.Bedford also said that Deliveroo were calling on the UK government to ban the sale of conversion kits which make it easier for non-electric bikes and e-bikes to be souped up, allowing for speeds far higher than allowed under the law. These kits and many types of imported overpowered bikes are also associated with fires. An illegal e-bike is the rational response to that pay modelIrishCycle.com also asked Deliveroo to respond to comments made by Ben Knowles, CEO and Co-Founder of Pedal Me, a cargo bike delivery company based in London. Knowles responded to The Times article last week, saying everyone could have seen the issue long before Deliveroo admitted it was a problem, and that the payment model to the food delivery companies to staff its service is a large part of the problem, as it incentivises poor behaviour.Huge congratulations to Deliveroo, who this week became the last people in London to notice the 30mph delivery bikes, said Knowles. And credit where its due: theyve now said it out loud. Their policy director has told The Times that some of their riders are on illegal e-bikes, and that theyre piloting technology to catch them using their own delivery data. Groundbreaking stuff.Who else had already spotted them? Everyone on the pavement. Everyone behind the wheel. The London Fire Brigade, putting out the battery fires. The Met, who seized more than 2,500 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters in the first seven months of this year. Basically anyone with eyes, said Knowles in a post on LinkedIn. Knowles said that The riders arent doing this for fun and pointed to the paid-per-delivery model pushes riders towards using faster bikes to make more money. He said: An illegal e-bike is the rational response to that pay model.Deliveroos solution? Ban the riders. Ask the government to ban the kits. The pay model that put them on those bikes stays exactly where it is. Meanwhile, the costs land on everyone else: fires in peoples homes, danger on our streets, police time, and a legitimate e-bike industry tarred by association, he said. Knowles company, Pedal Me, has prided itself on hiring staff directly rather than as contractors or self-employed. He said that solving issues that the gig economy creates feels like a game of whack-a-mole.He added: Every fix works around the same fact: the model depends on classifying riders as self-employed contractors, and that comes first. Ahead of common sense. Ahead of public safety. Ahead of the risk of modern slavery in the supply chain. The problem is the model. It will stay the problem until these riders are employees, so they can be paid fairly, kept safe, and the companies that profit from their work contribute to society like every other employer does.EU law edging toward viewing workers as staffIreland must transpose the EUs Platform Workers Directive into law by December 2nd of this year. During the summer, reports suggested this legislative change may force delivery companies to reclassify riders as employees, but its unclear how they will react.A Supreme Court judgment (The Revenue Commissioners v. Karshan (Midlands) Ltd. t/a Dominos Pizza) already ruled against delivery staff being counted as contractors, and after that, Revenue asked businesses to review the status of their workers.That Irish case, in October 2023, followed another in the Netherlands earlier that year, in which the Dutch Supreme Court upheld a Court of Appeal ruling that Deliveroo riders were legally employees, citing similar tests and reasoning on who is and isnt an employee or a contractor.The Dutch Court of Appeal ruling was made in February 2021, but in October 2022, before the Supreme Court ruling, Deliveroo announced it was ending its services in the Netherlands, although the company did not directly mention the judgment and said it was after it had determined that achieving and sustaining a top-tier market position in the Netherlands would require a disproportionate level of investment with highly uncertain long-term potential returns.The situation is different in the UK, where the courts ruled in Deliveroos favour in 2021 and said delivery workers are contractors. Deliverooalso did not respond to a request for comment on Knowles criticisms of their model.

UCI Track World Championships 2026Wednesday 14 Sunday 18 October Shanghai, ChinaFive Irish riders reigning world champion Lara Gillespie leads the teamShanghai Velodrome seven hours ahead of Irish time Gillespies scratch final Wednesday about 12:00 Irish timeReigning world champion Lara Gillespie heads a five-rider Irish team at the UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai, which start on Wednesday and run until Sunday 18 October.Gillespie arrives in good form and already acclimatised. She finished second overall at the Tour of Chongming Island on the outskirts of Shanghai on Sunday, on the podium of all three stages behind Lorena Wiebes, and the week before that took silver in the omnium at the 3 Days of Aigle in Switzerland.She won bronze at the 2024 Worlds before taking European and world titles in 2025, and this week she will race the scratch, the omnium and the points race.Aoife OBrien targets the elimination race. Her 2025 was disrupted by injury, but she has built steadily through 2026, with podiums in road races around Europe and a stage win at Rs na mBan with the national team.Emma Jeffers rides the kilo time trial. She made her national team track debut last year at both the European and World Championships, and has had a strong road season, with podiums at Rs na mBan and regular racing in one-day and stage races for Liv AlUla Jayco.Fiona Mangan returns for her second Worlds after her debut in Chile last year and takes on the individual pursuit. She rode her second Tour de France Femmes this summer and has been a regular presence in one-day races through the season.Mangan, Jeffers and OBrien will also form the team pursuit squad with Esther Wong, who took silver in the individual pursuit at Aigle.IRLIreland Track Worlds TeamShanghai 1418 October 2026Lara GILLESPIEScratch Omnium Points raceAoife OBRIENElimination Team pursuitEmma JEFFERSKilo time trial Team pursuitFiona MANGANIndividual pursuit Team pursuitEsther WONGTeam pursuitHow the races workMost of Irelands events this week are endurance races on the 250-metre track, so four laps make a kilometre. Five of the seven are bunch races, where tactics, positioning and a fast finish matter as much as raw power; the other two are races against the clock.Scratch Lara GillespieThe simplest bunch race on the track. Everyone starts together and the first rider across the line at the end of the final lap wins. The final is 40 laps (10km), with the bell rung for the last lap.There are no points and no intermediate sprints, but laps count: a rider or group who breaks clear and catches the back of the bunch has gained a lap, and is placed ahead of every rider they lapped, whoever wins the final sprint. That leaves two ways to win. Attack early and try to gain a lap, or sit in, save energy and back yourself in the sprint. Gillespie, a fast finisher, will want it to come down to the line, and so will Lorena Wiebes.If more than 24 riders enter, there are 7.5km qualifying heats first. Wednesdays field is exactly 24, so it goes straight to the final.Points race Lara GillespieA bunch race decided by points rather than by who crosses the line first. The final is 25km, 100 laps, with a sprint every ten laps, which makes ten sprints in all. Each intermediate sprint pays 5, 3, 2 and 1 point to the first four riders; the final sprint pays double, 10, 6, 4 and 2.The big swings come from laps. Gaining a lap on the bunch is worth 20 points, and being lapped costs 20, so a well-timed attack can be worth more than winning several sprints. If riders finish level on points, the final sprint decides it. It is a race of constant calculation, and riders and coaches track the scores lap by lap.Elimination Aoife OBrienOften called devil take the hindmost. After a neutral start, the last rider across the line every two laps is eliminated and pulled out, judged on the back wheel. It carries on until two riders are left, and they sprint for the title.Positioning is everything. Sitting near the front is safe but costs energy in the wind; drifting to the back risks being caught out by a sudden surge. The best elimination riders read the race and move up just before each sprint. If the field is too big, riders first qualify through 7.5km scratch heats.Omnium Lara GillespieFour bunch races in one day, the decathlon of track endurance racing. In order:Scratch (10km): first over the line wins, as above.Tempo race (10km): from the fifth lap onwards, one point goes to the first rider across the line on every lap, and gaining a lap is worth 20. It rewards riders who are active at the front all race.Elimination: as above, last rider out every two laps.Points race (20km): the finale, scored as above.The first three races award omnium points by finishing position: 40 for the winner, 38 for second, 36 for third, dropping by two a place. Riders carry that total into the points race, where every sprint point and every lap gained or lost is added on or taken off. The highest total wins the title. The omnium often stays open until the last laps, because a single lap gained in the points race can wipe out a 20-point deficit. Gillespie took silver in the omnium at the 3 Days of Aigle last week.Kilo time trial Emma JeffersOne rider, one kilometre, four laps from a standing start, held in the start gate until the countdown ends. It is a flat-out effort of a little over a minute, with no tactics, no drafting and nowhere to hide. Getting the bike up to speed from a standstill is half the race.Every rider sets a time in qualifying, and the eight fastest go through to the final later the same day to ride again for the medals, with the fastest qualifier going last.Individual pursuit Fiona ManganTwo riders start at the same time on opposite sides of the track, half a lap apart, and chase each other over the set distance. It is a test of pacing as much as power: go out too hard and the last laps are brutal.Qualifying is about the clock, not the rider across the track. The two fastest qualifiers meet in the gold-medal final and the third and fourth fastest ride for bronze, both later the same day. In any ride, catching your opponent ends the race.Team pursuit Mangan, Jeffers, OBrien, WongThe team version: four riders over 4km, 16 laps, starting on opposite sides of the track from their opponents. They ride in a tight line and take turns on the front, peeling up the banking and dropping back onto the rear wheel after each turn. The clock stops when the third rider crosses the line, so one rider can be used up and dropped in the closing laps.Every team rides qualifying alone against the clock. The eight fastest go into the first round, ridden head to head the next day, and the fastest teams from that round contest the gold and bronze finals later the same evening. Ireland have exactly four riders for the event, so there is no fresh rider to rotate in between rounds.Thursday is a big day for OBrien. The team pursuit first round, her elimination final and the team pursuit finals all fall in the same evening session, about 10:05, 11:30 and 12:50 Irish time. If Ireland go deep in the team pursuit, she could race three times in under three hours.Wednesdays start listsThe Irish are in action on the opening day. In the team pursuit qualifying, Jeffers, OBrien, Mangan and Wong ride in heat 3 of 17 over the 4km distance. Great Britain hold the world record of 4:02.808, set in Konya in February.Gillespie starts her title defence in the evening in the 40-lap (10km) scratch race, in a 24-rider field that includes Lorena Wiebes. It is the third time in a week the two have lined up together in China: Wiebes beat Gillespie on all three stages at Chongming Island.TPWomens Team Pursuit Qualifying, Heat 3Wed 14 October 2026 4km 17 teams21Emma JEFFERS22Aoife OBRIEN120Fiona MANGAN121Esther WONGWhen to watch the IrishWomens Schedule Irish RidersOfficial UCI programme Irish time on the right Shanghai is +7 hoursWed 14Team pursuit QualifyingMangan, Jeffers, OBrien, Wong heat 3 of 17 c. 10:45 localc. 03:45Wed 14Scratch FinalLara Gillespie 40 laps c. 19:00 localc. 12:00Thu 15Team pursuit First roundif Ireland qualify in the top eight c. 17:05 localc. 10:05Thu 15Elimination FinalAoife OBrien c. 18:30 localc. 11:30Thu 15Team pursuit Finalsif Ireland reach the top four c. 19:50 localc. 12:50Fri 16Omnium I Scratch 10kmLara Gillespie c. 12:35 localc. 05:35Fri 16Omnium II Tempo 10kmLara Gillespie c. 14:35 localc. 07:35Fri 16Omnium III EliminationLara Gillespie c. 18:05 localc. 11:05Fri 16Omnium IV Points race 20kmLara Gillespie c. 19:40 localc. 12:40Sat 17Kilo time trial QualifyingEmma Jeffers opens the session 11:00 local04:00Sat 17Individual pursuit QualifyingFiona Mangan c. 13:25 localc. 06:25Sat 17Kilo time trial FinalEmma Jeffers if in the top eight c. 17:35 localc. 10:35Sat 17Individual pursuit FinalsFiona Mangan if in the top four c. 20:00 localc. 13:00Sun 18Points race FinalLara Gillespie 25km c. 14:00 localc. 07:00Times from the official UCI competition programme and Wednesdays competition schedule. c. marks an estimated start, worked out from the published running order and event durations within each session, so allow a few minutes either way. The timetable is subject to change.The post World champion Lara Gillespie leads five-rider Irish team at Track Worlds in Shanghai appeared first on Irish Cycling News.

Group says it never viewed the trial as a given and were not expecting just a rubber stamp. Council official says hed be absolutely stunned if a trial didnt require additional permission, but national guidelines suggest otherwise.A number of Galway City councillors last night moved against a suggestion to trial a public transport priority measure while claiming that they are absolutely not voting against public transport.This follows a decision by the councils Project Development Strategic Policy Committee last month, which unanimously passed a motion to consider trialling a bus gate on the citys Salmon Weir Bridge.If it had been progressed, a bus gate would restrict the bridge to public transport only between 7am and 7pm, testing a measure already included in BusConnects Galways Cross City Link project. The suggestion came from the local sustainable transport advocacy group Galway Commuter Coalition, which presented the idea to the councils committee. After the motion passed by the committee members who were present, the Galway Commuter Coalition issued a press release which said that the proposals could be progressed to the next stage after that vote from councillors.The press release which can still be read online makes it clear that it was not a done deal. In the release, the group said: The proposal will now be brought to the Corporate Policy Group (CPG) of the Council, which consists of the Mayor and the Chairs of each of the other SPCs, before being brought to a full council vote. The Coalition looks forward to presenting once again, and appreciates the insights gained from todays meeting from the political, business and social leaders who voiced their support for the transformative results a Salmon Weir Bus Corridor could provide.But a number of councillors who voted to block the suggestion of a trial at last nights full council meeting were reported by Galway Bay FM as implying or stating that the group had said or implied that it was a sure thing.Cllr Peter Keane (Fianna Fil), a Project Development committee member who was not in attendance for the original vote on the trial concept, was reportedly said to have said that the Galway Commuter Coalitions press release and extensive media coverage had misled people.Galway Bay FM reported that Cllr Keane called it a hare-brained idea before he later softened his language and he stated that it was a well-intended proposal.Cllr Frank Fahy (Fine Gael) reportedly said that the group has every right to make a presentation to the committee but that they had ran to the media like it was gospel.Cllr Mike Cubbard, who is the chair of the committee, reportedly said it was shocked as anyone to see the press release. and said that the passing of the motion was never going to be a rubber stamp.Galway Bay FM reported that many councillors were keen to stress that in voting down the suggestion of trialling a bus priority measure they were absolutely not voting against public transport. Some gave reasons for this, including wanting a more comprehensive plan in place and more buses ready to go first.Wrong messagingIn an interview given to Galway Bay FM and published this morning as part of the Galway Talks with John Morley show recording this morning, Cllr Keane said: Unfortunately the messaging around the motion that was proposed by the Commuter Coalition was de facto that we were going to make a decision around the closure of the Salmon Weir Bridge, even on a pilot basis to see if we could improve mobility around that location.Unfortunately, the messaging around how that process takes place has been such that a lot of the businesses and the residents in the vicinity felt it was not correct, he said.He said the bus gate proposal was also part of the Galway BusConnects project, but that it was a much easier discussion to take place when there were more buses in place and more frequent routes in place by then and, with the help of God, the Galway City Outer bypass would be constructed and in full flow.A permanent bus gate on the Salmon Weir Bridge is planned to be put in place by BusConnects Galways Cross-City Link, which has planning approval but is being judicially appealed.Cllr Keane complained that the pedestrianisation of the Cross Street Lower in recent years restricted one of the four vehicular bridges over the River Corrib, and the suggestion to close off another bridge would be insane.He claimed that the council were willing to look at solutions but said: We cannot have a situation where an impression is given that something requires a quick rubber stamp and itll just be done, he said.There are processes to be followed in here, and the strategic policy committee around transport erred, as in my view this motion should not have been taken; it should have been ruled out of order. It should not have proceeded to the corporate policy group. But today was the day when the legislators for this city make the decision, and that was at a plenary session, and we just had to reject it.Within minutes of calling the suggestion insane, he also said that it was also laudable, but it cannot be done without more bus frequency.Permission for bus gatesGalway Bay FM also reported that an unnamed senior council engineer poured cold water on Galway Commuter Coalitions assertion that trialling the bus gate could cost less than 30k, and would not require any additional permissions.The broadcaster reported that the senior official said absolutely stunned if implementing a trial didnt require additional permissions. However, Section 38 of the Road Traffic Acts allows for bus priority measures and traffic restrictions, including significant restrictions and changes to traffic movements.Section 38 of the Road Traffic Acts allows traffic calming, cycling and bus priority measures to be trialled and even made permanent. The process has been used to provide bus priority by restricting general traffic on Dublins quays from passing OConnell Bridge.Section 38 guidelines issued by the Department of Transport in 2023 outline how the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, exempts works within the existing road which is under a value of 126,000 or which is primarily to enhance public bus services or improve facilities for cyclists from the requirement of obtaining Part 8 or other planning permission as long as the works are within the boundary of a public road or do not trigger full environmental assessments.The Court of Appeal also gave legal backing to the use of Section 38 to trial making Strand Road and Beach Road, a 2.8km section of a regional route, one-way for motorists. However, this has yet to be trialled.Group said it never viewed the trial as a givenIn a statement issued this afternoon, the Galway Commuter Coalition said that it wishes to make a number of clarifications covering the time from before its presentation to the Project Development SPC and last nights decision.Peter Neill, secretary of the Galway Commuter Coalition, said: From the first press releases on the Proposal, the Coalition expressed our gratitude for the opportunity to present to the Council and always proceeded with caution with regards to the next stages of the proposal, and caveated any progress with the fact we were proceeding towards the next step of a process.The Coalition engaged in a discussion with multiple stakeholders at the original SPC, hailing from commercial, environmental, construction and engineering backgrounds, and the subsequent engagement with the media was part of our wider pro-public transportation advocacy which ran alongside our campaign against the increases on bus and train fares, he said. Neill said: The Coalition views the discussions had by mainstream media, social media, and Galway residents both for and against the proposal as being inevitable, by virtue of the proposal being conducted via the City Council. The Coalition made a well-researched and balanced proposal in September, which was received well at the time, and continued that same approach moving forward in all media appearances and debated the merits of the plan when asked by the media in the interest of fair-and-frank discussion about real solutions to Galways transport crisis. He said the group never viewed the trial as a given or a rubber-stamp at any stage and was very grateful for the opportunity to present to the Project Development Strategic Policy Committee.Any narrowing of the facts was not conducted on our part, and we never engaged in any discussion that did not include the work if or could. Any timelines given out were those discussed at the SPC, and were likewise caveated as being points of discussion and hypothetical, said Neill.He added: The Galway Commuter Coalition has committed significant time to researching this case and still believe in the merits of the proposal, and will continue to work in good faith to see how different perspectives on planning policy and costings have been applied to the initial proposal. For those who believe the Salmon Weir Bus Corridor could not stand on its own, we ask that they advocate for the timely funding of the entire BusConnects programme for Galway, as that has been one of the major roadblocks to progress on public transportation in our city.

A takeaway not delivered, or at least delayed, might have been the hook, but Garda in Kilkenny used their Facebook page to deliver a more serious message which applies nationwide: Using souped-up bicycle-shaped objects risks not bicycle-level fines but Court-based motoring fines. Under Irish law, a legal e-bike is a pedal-assisted electric bicycle with a maximum continuous rated power output of 250 watts, and a maximum speed of 25km/h before the motor stops helping. Anything else is a moped or even a motorcycle depending on speed and power.If a device exceeds the e-bike limits or has a throttle that lets you use the bike without pedalling, it does matter if pedals are present; it wont be counted as a bicycle or legal e-bike. Takeaway service continues, said the official An Garda Sochna Kilkenny Facebook page. Kilkenny Roads Policing Unit were somewhat alarmed last night when they encountered a delivery rider on an e-moped with no lights travelling at roughly 40km/h in the City.The 1,000-watt machine had throttle-only capability and was capable of speeds of up to 45km/h. The machine is classed as an L1e-B Moped, and it requires the user to (1) wear a helmet, (2) have an AM Driving Licence, (3) register the vehicle, (4) tax the vehicle, and (5) insure the vehicle, they said.Garda added: The machine was seized under Section 109a of the Road Traffic Act and it will be destroyed unless its user is successful in an application to the District Court. The rider will have a mandatory court appearance for no insurance and, at the discretion of the Judge, have their Learner Permit suspended. If you are using a similar machine, remember those rules apply to you too.Chart: Know your devices(clicking image links to Google Sheets version) Notes:Published by IrishCycle.com, based on information provided by the Department of Transport. The above is an overview of the differences, not an exhaustive list of rules that apply.All higher-power and any e-scooter that does not comply with the above technical parameters for scooters remain illegal for use on public roads. E-scooters must be fitted with front and rear lights and reflectors, brakes, a bell, and a manufacturers plate certifying the power output, weight and design speed.Devices are classed depending on their full requirements for example, if a bike has pedals but the motor can go faster than 25km/h, then it will be the higher-powered mopeds, or if a scooter meetsall other requirements but doesnt have a manufacturers plate outlining the required detail, then it is not road legal, or if a bikes motor max speed is 25km/h but it has a throttle, it may be classed as an L1e-B moped. Normal rules for each device apply for example, brakes and other requirements for all devices. This is not a comprehensive guide to legal requirements.This is designed as an easy-to-read overview of the law. It may not be fully comprehensive.