Cork Luas plan risks pushing cycling out of the city centre warning issued to avoid serious injuries caused by tram tracks in Dublin Shared design mixing cycling with trams at some points and pedestrians at other should be replaced with segregated cycle paths, group says. If the current draft plans for a Luas route in Cork arent improved on, authorities risk pushing cycling out of the core of the city, the Cork Cycling Campaign has said in its submission to the current public consultation for the tram route. Cork Luas is a plan for a route between Ballincollig and Mahon Point, connecting locations such as MTU, Cork University Hospital, UCC, Cork city centre, Kent Station, Cork Docklands, Pirc U Chaoimh, Blackrock and Mahon. The Emerging Preferred Route Consultation on the near-19km line ends today, Friday, June 12th, at 5.30pm.The Cork Cycling Campaign said: We support the revised preferred route and recognise its potential benefits, including improved public transport capacity and reduced reliance on private car use. We also welcome the avoidance of greenway disruption in the revised alignment.Importantly, we see cycling and Luas as complementary systems. Together, they should form an integrated transport network that enables people to move safely, efficiently, and without dependence on private cars. For that reason, our submission focuses specifically on ensuring that cycling is properly designed into the Luas corridor from the outset, the group said.The campaign also said that there were risks for people cycling around tram tracks, including wheels getting trapped in tram rail grooves and reduced traction on the top of tram tracks, especially when they are wet. To counter this, the campaign points to international best practice of providing cycling crossings as close as possible to 90 degrees to the tracks, and generally no less than 70 degrees. The submissions pointed to tram-track related injuries highlighted by the Dublin Cycling Campaign in 2017, and said: Evidence from Dublin has shown that poorly designed interactions between cyclists and Luas tracks can lead to serious incidents. These are well-documented and highlight the importance of getting design right from the beginning and educating people rather than retrofitting solutions later. Only this way will the Cork Cycling Campaign remain supportive of the Luas.Partick Street should have cycling provision The work to install Luas along Corks Patrick Street should also include creating provision for two-way cycling that reflects the growing demand for cycling into and through the city centre, campaigners said. As a primary civic space and transport corridor, it must support all modes, with cycling treated as an integral part of the design.They said this ask should not come as a surprise, as it is baked into Corks transport strategy and the Cork Cycle Network Plan 2017.The Cork Cycling Campaign, in their submission, said: Current proposals risk pushing cycling out of the city centre. That would be a clear mistake. Patrick Street is a key link between Daunts Square, Lavitts Quay, Merchants Quay and St Patricks Quay, where cycling infrastructure already exists. Restricting cycling here would break that network and undermine its value. What is needed instead is better connectivity to improve links to existing cycle infrastructure, thereby creating better coherence for the cycle network in the city centre.A public transport-only corridor in the western and central sections would weaken connectivity. Continuous two-way cycling should instead be included to preserve access, improve safety, and support local businesses through increased footfall, the campaigners said. St Patrick Street should not exclude cycling. It should be embedded as a core element of a coherent, future-ready street. Below is an example of a design where the space is being used effectively to allocate some space for a safe cycle track, and a safe distance from the Luas stop.Improvements sought along the routeElsewhere, campaigners said that shared running arrangements, where people cycling are expected to cycle on the tram route, at Station Road in Ballincollig and at Washington Street in the city centre, should be replaced with segregated cycle paths. On the approach into the city centre from the west, the campaign notes that the route along Western Road through to Daunt Square exhibits significant inconsistency and lacks overall coherence.The campaign said that, for cycling, this stretch of route transitions too much between a mix of quiet streets on Wood Street, single-direction lanes on Sheare Street, shared-use treatment on Little Hanover Street, two-way facilities on Liberty Street, and contraflow cycling on Castle Street, before terminating abruptly into the heavily trafficked pedestrian space at Daunt Square.Similar issues at a smaller scale also pointed out where cycle routes are convoluted or disjoined. Along large parts of the route, while accepting that the drawing may be indicative, the campaign said that it is not acceptable that the entry/exit points to new cycle lanes are through pedestrian space and rather than using shared space at junctions and other crossing points for people walking and cycling, the campaign said that clearly marked out crossings should be used. While providing alternative drawings with more continuous cycle routes and clear crossing points (see examples below), the campaign notes that these are suggestions and other options could also be considered. IMAGES: The current draft design (top) and the alternative suggestion by Cork Cycling Campaign (bottom) for the junction between Western Road, Dyke Parade, and Mardyke Walk. The alternative includes the removal of the shared area and replacement with more continuous cycle paths and clear crossings.The full submission can be read at corkcyclingcampaign.com, while more details on the project can be found at luascork.ie.
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