Bike Week 2026 events wrap up on Sunday, May 17th. Theres a mix of events for different abilities across the country, and a mix of events for children, adults, and families.Among the events in Dublin is the Family Fun Fancy Dress Cycle Dodder Valley Park at 10.30am, and is accessible via the River Dodder Greenway, while on the other side of the city, the Malahide Pedal Parade kicks off a little later at 11.15am, and along the coast on the south east of the city, there are two events the Sandymount Fun Cycle which gets going at 11am, and those up a bit eailier, theres theres the Cycle to Sea Swim from Sandymount Green to Seapoint for a swim at high tide.In Dn Laoghaire, theres also a self-guided Cycling Treasure Hunt, with maps available from the DLR Tourism Office from 10am, and finish by 4pm to collect a prize.Outside of Dublin, Cork City is hosting a Bike Week Bike Bop, described as a disco on wheels, from 2pm, theres also the Cavan Pedal Parade at 10am, also in Cavan, a Teen Cycle in Killykeen Forest Park at midday, while in Gorey town, there is a Biodiversity Bike Ride at 11am, in Cloughjordan theres a Cycle of Nature at 2.30pm, in Co Galway the Abbeyknockmoy Village Cycle is to kick off at 2pm, and at 12.30, Athy Triathlon Club is hosting a Family Blueway Cycle.Likely, the last event of Bike Week will be the Closing Night Cycle of Lights in Cork City from 10pm onwards past midnight. For those who like free things, theres free bicycle hire to explore Corks greenways and cycleways from Cork Bike Hire at locations in Cork City, Midleton, and Youghal.And if you need to get your own bicycle fixed in Co Cork, Cork Community Bikes is offering to carry out any small repairs or advice in Youghal from 10am to 11.30, in Midleton from 12.30-2pm, and in Cobh from 2.30pm.Elsewhere, theres also free entry into the museumat Abbeyleix Heritage House for anybody who arrives by bicycle.A full list of events and more details can be found attransportforireland.ie/getting-around/by-bicycle/bikeweek.

Survey will seek broader views on sharing the road with other road users and everyday cycling behaviours.Campaigners and professionals involved in cycling have been some of the strongest voices advocating for the release of road safety data for years, and the Road Safety Authority has obliged by releasing a new report revealing a significant number of serious cycling injuries towards the end of Bike Week, dedicated to promoting cycling.The RSA said that the report includes information from collision records transferred from An Garda Sochna to the RSA, ranging from 2021 to 2025, and data from the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry Database, covering 2020 to 2024.The summary report outlines: Over 2020-2024, 3,305 pedal cyclists were admitted to hospital following a road traffic collision. Over the same period, 1,327 cyclists were recorded as seriously injured by An Garda Sochna. There may be multiple factors explaining this discrepancy, such as AGS not being alerted of a crash, the definitions of injury used in each case, among others.The summary report said that if the people who were cycling who were hospitalised in the same years, 625 (19%) were termed sustained clinically serious injuries, which are those with a higher probability of having long-term consequences on the persons life.Looking across reports for different modes shows that, on average, people who sustained serious injuries while cycling and were admitted to hospital spent four days as in-patients this compares to 7 days for motorcyclists and 11 days for pedestrians. The RSA has so far only published a summary report, marked as a PowerPoint Presentation and saved as a PDF.Publishing PowerPoints as PDFs and marking them as reports has been the norm for RSA in recent years. At the end of the report published today, there is text which states To see the full reports on cyclist serious injuries, please follow this link, but there does not seem to be a related fuller report published on that page.The report and its press release were published in the RSAs usual fashion, with factoids with little or no context. For example, it states that more than half (52%) of all serious cyclist injuries occurred in Dublin, but fails to provide the context that 66% of people who mainly commute to work or school by bicycle do so in Dublin, according to the last Census. It also outlines that Men accounted for 78% of those injured, while women accounted for 22%, but provides no context, such as that women account for 28% of adult cycling commuters and 20% of members of the sporting body Cycling Ireland.New survey The RSA said that the report shows that 71% of hospitalised cyclists were injured in single-cyclist collisions, which is substantially higher than the 20% recorded in An Garda Sochna data.However, hospital data, as published, make no distinction between road collisions and sporting injuries on or off road.The RSA said: While the hospital data provides important insight into the scale and severity of cyclist injuries, it does not provide information about the circumstances surrounding collisions or how those injuries occurred. To address this gap, the RSA will next week begin a national survey of cyclists across Ireland to better understand the contributory factors and circumstances surrounding cycling collisions and injuries on Irish roads.The RSA said that the survey which will be open to people from age 17 and over will ask people who cycle about their experiences on the road, including whether they have been involved in a collision in the last five years and the circumstances surrounding those incidents.It said, that the initiative forms part of the RSAs ongoing work to improve cyclist safety and to build a more complete picture of the factors contributing to serious injuries among cyclists.Michael Rowland, director of research at the RSA, said: Cycling has enormous benefits for individuals, communities and the environment, and it is essential that people feel safe when using our roads. This survey will help us better understand the experiences of cyclists, the circumstances surrounding collisions and injuries, and the challenges cyclists face every day.By complementing the existing data we have on collisions and injuries, with the survey findings, we can develop a much fuller understanding of cyclist safety in Ireland and help inform future road safety measures, policy and education initiatives, he said.

Road Safety Authority officials have published an updated online interactive map and its source data for the first time in over a decade. Its a move welcomed after years of the authority being slow for years to share data, claiming there were legal issues in doing so.The map, at rsa.ie/road-safety/statistics/collisions, includes fatal, serious and minor injury collisions on public roads between 2016 and 2024. The data is based on injury collision information collected by the Gardai, which the RSA is responsible for sharing.Users can filter the data by county, local authority area, year and collision severity type of road user is not available in the interactive map, but it is included in the source data, and it is understood that third parties will be making this available in other mapping tools.Finola ODriscoll, senior programme manager with the active travel section of the National Transport Authority, said: The RSA has today published an interactive national road collisions map covering the period 20162024. For those of us working in sustainable travel and road safety, its a vital tool to inform better design and investment decisions.Commenting on the release of the map on LinkedIn, she added: This resource represents so many tragic events in so many peoples lives. The value is now how this data can be used to inform interventions and designs and improve safety on our streets and roads.In a press release, Sean Canney, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, said: This new interactive collision map will provide communities, researchers and local authorities with valuable information about where road traffic injury collisions are occurring across the country. Access to reliable location data is essential in helping us better understand collision trends and identify areas where further road safety measures may be required.He added: Ultimately, this resource will support evidence-based decision making as we continue working to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads.Michael Rowland, director of research at the RSA, said: The RSA has a statutory remit to report on fatal, serious and minor injury collisions on public roads. This new map represents an important step in making collision location data more accessible and transparent for the public and stakeholders. It will be a valuable tool for researchers, road safety advocates and local authorities.

Irish Rail has this morning started a second round of non-statutory public consultation on the preferred options for six new stations, upgrades to existing stations, a new fleet depot, electrification of the lines, and park-and-ride as part of Phase 2 of the upgrades on the Cork commuter network.The service to be provided on the network is described as a turn-up-and-go service with a frequency of a train every 10 minutes. In a press release this morning, Irish Rail said the new phase will deliver the remaining infrastructure to support trains operating up to every 10 minutes across each of the three commuter lines to Mallow, Midleton and Cobh.The State-owned railway company said consultation is asking for the publics feedback on proposed plans as local knowledge will continue to inform the design and help shape the project plans and will run for a four-week period up to June 12th 2026.The plans include new stations at Blarney, Monard, Tivoli, Ballynoe, Carrigtwohill West and Water-Rock, upgrades at Cobh and Mallow, park-and-ride at Blarney and Dunkettle station, and a new depotat Ballyrichard More. Details, including the public consultation events, can be found at irishrail.ie/cacr.IMAGES: Artists impressions images provided by Irish Rail, with the proposed Carrigtwohill station shown in the main article image above, and in the gallery: the upgraded Mallow Station, two images of the depot, and a view of the proposed Blarney station.This current process is part of the run-up to Irish Rail making a Railway Order application, a type of planning application for rail projects. The company said it plans to submit this to An Coimisin Pleanla in late 2026. Mary Considine, chief executive of Irish Rail, said:The Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme will transform the Cork transport network. Phase 1 is largely complete, and the delivery of Phase 2 will ensure that more communities across Cork can access high-capacity, high-frequency, and more sustainable rail transport.She added: Feedback from surrounding communities is important and will be central to finalising design proposals. I encourage everyone to engage with the consultation process and have your say in shaping this transformative rail investment programme.

A new high-quality active travel bridge across the Liffey between the Point Village and the East Link toll plaza, which was to run directly to the west of Tom Clarke Bridge, is delayed again.The previous project update in the first half of 2024 outlined that the project would be in the planning system by 2025 and would have an anticipated opening date of around 2029. Options to improve active travel conditions at the crossing including attaching a structure to the current bridge have been considered at least as far back as 2017.The current bridge has heavy traffic, narrow footpaths, and no space for cycling, while the new bridge would create a high-quality cycle route between the North Docklands and East Wall on the north side and the south side areas of Ringsend, Irishtown, and Sandymount. It could also likely form the main trunk of the S2S Dublin Bay cycle route, although a lower-quality cycle path is planned to be included on the bridge being built by the Dublin Port Company. The Dublin Port bridge, part of their 3FM Project, would be east of the existing road bridge, and the road and active travel route would then run along a viaduct as far as the current location of the Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club.This route would be closest to the water, but it would also be closer to busy roads, leaving the planned main S2S route which, in this area, would largely run via Fairview Park possibly more attractive.Regarding its planned bridge, this week, Dublin City Council said it has appointed a contractor to dig test holes around each side of the bridge, and that work is to get underway next week. IMAGE From a public consultation held in 2024.In an update, the council said: Dublin City Council is progressing the preliminary design stage of the Point Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge Project. As part of this process, slit trench excavations are required to gather ground information to inform the design. Dublin City Council has appointed Causeway Geotech Ltd to carry out the ground investigation works on North Wall Quay, on the north side of the Tom Clarke Bridge.IMAGE: Draft drawings from June 2024.The test work will include slit trenches at selected locations on North Wall Quay and is scheduled to take place during the week of May 18th22nd 2026.The council said: Investigation works will take place at selected locations on North Wall Quay and on the north side of the Tom Clarke Bridge. These works will consist of slit trenches and are planned to take place during the week commencing on Monday, 18 May to Friday, 22 May 2026 between 08.00 and 18.00. Overnight works for this investigation are planned to take place on the 22 of May 2026 between 22.00 and 06.00. These overnight works will include a temporary lane closure.More details can be found via the bridges project page for the Point Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge and Tom Clarke Bridge Widening Works.

For the record: I have only ever tried to act professionally towards CllrElisaODonovan despite her very unprofessional approach towards me when Ive sent her a request for comment, and she didnt like my coverage of her opposition to active travel routes or different elements of them.I had hoped that Cllr ODonovan had stopped making sweeping claims about me with no backing. But, regrettably, shes continued to make sweeping claims on social media this week. I cannot be fully sure what her issue is with me or this website, but a lot of it seems to stem from her problem with this website publishing articles reporting facts and analysing her objection to Limericks South Circular Road active travel project, as it is currently planned, and more minor objections to safety-focused corner narrowing on another project. Cllr ODonovan has claimed that Im working in cahoots with the Limrick Cycling Campaign on this. If she took a second away from her battles with such groups, she might realise that the Limrick Cycling Campaign actually shares her scepticism about the use of bollards in the project the difference is that they, unlike her, did not spread misinformation about the project or profess total opposition to it. Lets be clear here: Cllr ODonovan made no issue of the Limerick Leader reporting that she was completely opposed to the cycle route or reporting that she claimed that its a new scheme. She developed issues when I re-reported it and added a clearer context that the project follows the planning conditions set by her fellow councillors. So, claiming it was a new scheme was a misrepresentation (more details and links to the relevant coverage are below). Following this, she even claimed that the council were not providing detailed drawings for the project just weeks after she posted a photo of a public information event where the detailed design was shown.This week, Cllr ODonovan claimed on X:No I wont click on an Irish cycle blog post. They have previously made complaints about me and made unsubstantiated claims in blog posts about my family membersThis is the full context to the above Cllr ODonovan posting about the University Hospital Kerry bike hub and how she thinks the spending should be scrutinised. Among others who asked her to consider her position or other facts, the Safe Cycling Ireland account then shared an IrishCycle.com article covering the spending. As far as I can tell, IrishCycle.com has never included unsubstantiated claims about Cllr ODonovans family. To be clear: IrishCycle.com is happy to correct any errors in its articles, but no complaint has been received to substantiate Cllr ODonovans claim of unsubstantiated claims. Just vague comments made on public forums.Because of these types of vague, disparaging comments and apparent attempts at gaslighting or abuse, such as Im embarrassed for you. Pathetic (see below for context), I took the unusual position of making two complaints. There were also messages posted about and to me from some of her supporters, indicating that at least similar, if not worse, claims were possibly being made about me behind closed doors or via public channels, which I am unaware of.The complaint was sent to her party, the Social Democrats, and to Limerick City and County Council. The party one went nowhere as far as I know, and the council wanted me to put the complaint in a different format in PDF form on reflection, I decided not to resubmit that complaint, as I thought having something on record with both might be good enough for her to stop making actual, unsubstantiated claims about me. For clarity, I am including the full complaint here I hope it clears things up: ***STARTS***I would like to make a complaint about CllrElisaODonovans unprofessional behaviour towards me, which seems to fall short of what would be expected from a councillor from any party.I am a journalist who runs the small, transport-focused publication IrishCycle.com, which includes active travel routes in Limerick. Within the last month, Ive publishedthree articles about CllrODonovanspreading misinformationabout theSouth Circular Road Active Travel project. These are as follows two news articles followed by a comment and analysisarticle:Soc Dems cllr completely opposed to cycle route claiming its a new scheme when project follows planning condition set by councillorshttps://irishcycle.com/2025/05/09/social-democrat-cllr-completely-opposed-to-cycle-route-claiming-its-a-new-scheme-when-project-follows-planning-condition-set-by-councillorsLimerick councillor continues to spread misinformation on a key active travel routehttps://irishcycle.com/2025/06/06/limerick-councillor-continues-to-spread-misinformation-on-a-key-active-travel-route/Why is a Limerick councillor who says she supports active travel spreading misinformation on a key project?https://irishcycle.com/2025/06/11/why-is-a-limerick-councillor-who-says-she-supports-active-travel-spreading-misinformation-on-a-key-project/The facts outlined in my articlesare supported by my previous professional coverage of the South Circular Road Active Travel projects Part 8 proceedings, statements from the council via its press office and the councils legal advice on the Part 8 proceedings as published by local media.When I contacted CllrODonovanfor comment on the first article, on May 8th at 21:11, I wrote:Good eveningElisa,Ive seen the Limerick Post article and your Facebook posts outlining your opposition to theSouth Circular Road as approved by councillors after a lengthy Part 8 process.Can you please outline why you think the project as it stands is unworkable?I hope to cover this tomorrow or in the next fewdays.Thanks,CianCllrODonovanreplied May 8th 2025 at 21:22 as follows:Oh Cian Im embarrassed for you. Pathetic. If the limerick cycling campaign want to speak to me on this they can speak to me directly but of course they wont as they are cowards. I proposed this scheme by the way Cian but Im sure [name of individual who had noting to do with the enail removed] left that out.Ive blocked you on social media. Dont ever contact me againFor clarity: I regularly cover what councillors and other politicians say about active travel routes and other projects, and I was not working as an intermediary of the Limerick Cycling Campaign. To respect her wishes I did not contact her again, but to abideby journalistnorms, I checked with the Social Democrats press office if there was confusion about my questions etc and if she wanted to comment, there was no reply.Last week, when CllrODonovancontinuedto spread information about the South Circular Road project, I followed up with another news article and contacted theSocial Democrats press office again. They confirmed by phone that they had received my request, but they did not respond tothe request forcomment by the time given.On a video posted to Instagram yesterday, CllrODonovansaid:Over the weekend a second article came out about me in a publication in relation to me spreading misinformation [added context: at this point she signals sarcastic air quotes with her hand and contunes]on that South Circular Road active travel scheme and that led many men on Twitter [now X] calling me a liar. I just want to say that, look, Im so used to this, this is being purposefully being done to discredit me, so, I have just written a comment which Im going to put in the next post in relation to this. All I am asking for in relation to this scheme, I dont know how this is misinformation, all I am asking is for better collaboration between the active travel team and the community, and I am asking for information on the scheme. [added context: quote my transcript of her audio]Within the above, there is an unnamed but clear reference to the IrishCycle.com article published late on Friday afternoon. She also published a written statement, which further implies that misinformation is being used against her.The claim that the coverage is purposefully being done to discredit her has no basis in reality. The coverage on IrishCycle.com is within journalistic standards and covers an issue which is in the public interest. In responseto this, I wrote the third article, the comment article linked above, outlining CllrODonovans further examples of misinformation and how she was misrepresenting IrishCycle.coms news coverage.This afternoon, CllrODonovanreplied to an automated IrishCycle.com post on Bluesky that linked to the article.CllrODonovansaid:Nice work Cian! A nice touch to bring in my family too. Very reasonable and this 3rd article doesnt come across as some unhinged vendetta at all! As I said Im embarrassed for you. [link:https://bsky.app/profile/elisaodonovan.bsky.social/post/3lrdg6k2ors2z]This was clearly sarcastic and really makes the claim that there is an unhinged vendetta. There is no reason why I would have a unhinged or other vendetta against her, I am just trying to do my job.After a few comments, CllrODonovanblocked me on Bluesky, and that also blocks the thread for all users, but the following is an accurate representation of the posts in the main thread after that comment:@irishcycle.comat June 11, 2025 at 3:27 PM: I will be contacting SIPO.@irishcycle.comat June 11, 2025 at 4:07 PM: Re your family member, your sister is publicly campaigning against the project, including using paid Facebook adverts. Why is that not relevant? (1/2)@irishcycle.comat June 11, 2025 at 4:10 PM: SIPO outlines Cllrs must show Courtesy and respect should also be observed when using social media channels and written communications. Do you think youre living up to that with claims of some unhinged vendetta, calling me or my actions Pathetic and you being embarrassed for me?I took a screenshot of the thread before she blocked me:Her reply within this thread after that was:I stand by everything I have said about you! I am used to the far right and extremists placing SIPO complaints as well as all the cycling campaigners who have attempted multiple times to put in complaints about meso go aheadThis is a screenshot of the same:The councillor seems to be having active conflicts with a number of people and groups at once, and maybe seems to have an issue with confusing those battles. Otherwise, I do not understand why she is, in the case above, and also on social media, conflating different groups and people.I find her behaviour surreal and is nothing like what Ive encountered in around 15 years covering active travel routes and reporting on the words of councillors from all parties and independents. The last time a politicianacted even close to this unprofessionally towards me was when I was on placement as a student journalist, and a TD didnt like beingquestioned by a student. I cannot think of a single other time since that would come close.One of the strongest compliments I have received from councillors previously is that while they might not agree with everything I write in comment articles, they have viewed my coverage of council meetings on contentiousprojects or other issues as fair and accurate.CllrElisaODonovans behaviour seems to fall far short of the behaviour expected from councillors, and I would ask that you please act on this complaint. If you require anything else please let me know.***ENDS*** Some people would say that I should have just let this go, but I dont think its healthy in a democracy for councillors to go around claiming that journalists covering their objections to projects are making unsubstantiated claims without even trying to back them up.I also dont think its okay for councillors to go around claiming that journalists have an unhinged vendetta just because they follow up with more coverage after more claims were made against the project in question and then against this site. This website has a deep focus on active travel publishing three articles in close succession about a key issue is not unheard of. I hope Social Democrat councillors and members realise I have nothing against their party, and I have just been reporting on issues as they arise (in the main case above, the issues were first aired on the councillors own Facebook page and then on a local newspaper). This also isnt targeted at one person I have also covered issues with Social Democrats and other parties councillors in other parts of the country. Itll come as no surprise to readers that this website mainly covers the objections politicians from other parties have to active travel and public transport. Those parties being the main objectors does not mean it is not legitimate to cover issues where councillors from parties generally supportive of active travel have issues with projects, etc and, indeed, that does not even mean the councillors are always wrong; projects are not flawless.Councillors or council officials are not infallible, and nor is this website. Nobody is. Thats why this website checkings infromaion first and asks questions. Nobody is obliged to respond to a request for comment, but nobody should get abuse in reply to such a request.

Lets be honest, most people complaining are also complaining about other active travel and environmental funding. But there are also questions that make sense to ask.Comment & Analysis: The cost of 127,385 for the Unverity Hospital Kerry bike hub, amounts to just 3,184 per space for a far more substantial structure than the Dail bike shelter which is wide open to the elements half the time and only secure because its in the grounds of Lenster House, and came with a staggering cost of cost 336,000, or 9,333 per space. A key question might be: What is the limit people think there should be on the cost of a bicycle parking unit?As covered last week, a multi-storey car park at Wexford General Hospital recently cost around 13 million, or 36,516 per space, for the 356 spaces in the car park. Again, I have to ask: Where is the outrage?You could say itll be paid for via parking charges, but theres a large overlap between the people calling a bicycle parking unit a scadle and those who think everybody should get free parking at hospitals whatever about the value for free parking for those who need it, a free-for-all would mean that that the people who need the spaces the most (regardless of income) would not get them.Meanwhile, space-efficient and high-quality bicycle parking, which is attractive to users, has the potential to get more staff out of cars and freeing up car parking space for the patients, staff and visitors who really need to drive.The Kerryman newspaper broke the story about the cost of the parking structure after lodging a Freedom of Information (FOI) request about the process. The glass and steel structure itself cost 49,990 with the steel bike racks for 40 bikes comming it at 7,800, and VAT on those combined came to 13,292. There were also ground works costing 39,363 this included the concrete base for the structure, demolition of existing paths around the structure and a replacement tarmacpath, which, according to some photos, looks large enough. Electrical work and CCTV also came to 16,940, including VAT.So, lets look at some of the comments about the bike shed:You go to Utrecht Citya fabulous city for cycling.. youll see what they have provided there.which doesnt seem to come to 127kUnlike some of the other comments here, this was not made by a random person or bot online. It was Independent Ireland TD Ken OFlynn on national radio, speaking on RTEs Drivetime. The Dutch city of Utrecht, in reality, spends tens of millions on bicycle parking structures for thousands of bicycles.The price of one unit that holds 12,500 bicycles in three levels under Utrechts elevated station square was 30 million. After its construction, Kees van Ommeren, a transport economist working with the Decisio, wrote that people thought the cost was crazy and it led to heated discussions. But he said the analysis pointed towards value for money. It worked one third of the public transport subsidies related to people travelling to the central train station by bus or tram, and even more so compared to car trips.He wrote: The negative impacts and externalities associated with car travel were in the order of tens of millions of euros every year, including effects like congestion, emissions, climate change, health, etc, even in the most optimistic scenarios. The message was very clear: investing this big amount of money on just a bike parking was very much worth it!But, even with that in mind, lets look at some of the other statements and questions on the Unverity Hospital Kerry bicycle hub:Building a house would be cheaperNo, it would not. And its telling that a lot of the people making such comments likely paid for their houses when houses cost a small fraction of what they do now.Even looking at the price of modular homes, it would have to be reasonably large to be equivalent to the structure which fits 40 bicycles with inverted-U racks and spaces between them. And when looking at modular homes, people often dont think of the cost of groundworks, utilities such as water and electricity, and any paths or driveways, etc. And thats before we talk about the cost of the land or any legal fees involved in building a house.How many hospital beds would that pay for ??????In a general hospital, zero hospital beds is the answer. The cost of running an in-patient hospital bed across acute hospitals is 878 per night in 2019. Inflation is likely to have pushed that well above 900 per night by now. Thats without looking at construction costs for building the space for that bed in the first place. But using 900 per night as a low estimate, a hospital bed likely costs well over 330,000 per year just to run.How many portable buildings could be bought and put beds in instead of trolley s or having to sit in A E for 14 hours inAnd even bigger, fatter zero. It would have been better spent on other staff facilities!The majority of the cost was paid for from national active travel funding via the National Transport Authority, and the remainder came from the HSEs Green Fund, which is ring-fenced for projects like this.Hard to justify that expenditureOn the face of it, yes, it is. But thats largely because most people have very little idea of the cost of structures, building work, and electrical work, etc this bicycle hub at Unverity Hospital Kerry fits 40 bicycles; its not a shed as most people would think.The Lenster House bicycle shed also not a shed and even ineffective at keeping anything dry when the rain is blowing in a prevailing direction was a total waste and outrageously expensive. People who go around calling everything a waste need to ask themselves, does that devalue actual scandals?Thats not to say it was the cheapest possible solution, or even that the kind of solution could not be built for cheaper. But the level of scandal vs what is possibly justified here is likely to be less than what will be spent inquiring into whether it was value for money. But why not go with the cheaper options?The costs of the cheaper units were just based on the structure cost, it would not have included works such as the concrete foundation and other ground work, or CCTV and other electrical work, etc. As far as has been reported, the alternatives would have been open to the elements and more open to bicycle theft. Leaving bicycles non-secure especially electric bicycles or any bicycles for lower-paid staff is not a great way to encourage people with long shifts at a hospital to take up cycling.One option, which was secure, was made of timber, came with a lower build cost, but a far higher maintenance cost and more importantly, we are not good at maintenance.But come on, youre not really saying it was value for money?Still asking that question means youre making a value judgment about bicycle parking. Over time, the health benefits of cycling are likely large enough to pay for it once again: Where is your outrage over the cost of car parking to taxpayers? The OPW is spending 1.2m a year to rent parking spots for public servants in different State bodies thats a recurring cost.It does not matter how much it costs, house people firstGiven that transport is needed for housing, how much of the transport funding do you want reallocated to housing? Given that the lack of transport infrastructure is already an issue with housing delivery, do you really want to make it worse? For some context, all of the active travel budget for 2026 including footpaths and cycle routes, and greenways, etc amounts to 3% of the total housing budget for this year.You could nearly do up a derelict house for thatEstimates from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, available on their website, show that this is also unlikely when all costs are accounted for. The Government is also offering people 70,000 each to renovate derelict houses, and there are thousands of energy improvement grants, so, its not like theres no action being taken in that area. Overall, including property which was just vacant, over 200 million has been paid out in vacant and derelict grants (the fund is combined).Put in an FOI for the details of the contract or is that a classified state secret?As mentioned above, this is news because the Kerryman newspaper used an FOI to get the details stop getting your news from Facebook video clips and always-outraged populists.I could have made it for 2,000 including vat where the 125,000 go?????2,000 wouldnt have paid for the concrete base, and, according to the Kerryman, just in terms of structure alone, without all the other costs (see above), even a cheaper, non-secure shelter would have cost over 2,900 for 40 bike spaces.It will come in very handy to the staff who live 20-30-40 and 50 miles awayJust because some staff live miles away does not mean there is not a benefit to providing alternatives to staff living closer, which frees up parking spaces for staff living miles away.Is it even used?An article in the Daily Mail, which lambasts the spending, shows photos of around 12 or so of the 40 spaces being used. Clearly, usage may vary at different times, just like car parks can be less busy at times. So a wider survey would be needed to check on its usage. Will usage increase? Even at around 12 spaces used, its a start for somewhere like Co Kerry, where cycling would not exactly be known as the main form of transport.This structure is also built to last more than a few years. Similar units in Dublin are packed, often after years of promotions encouraging people to cycle.They take the busAs above, the bus costs more to subsidise. Most people think funding public transport is a good idea. Why not fund the cheaper options too?What did they do years ago, only put a plastic bag over the saddle and put a lock on it, oh the waste the wasteThose were the days when bicycle theft was not a problem, and spending 500 on a bicycle for commuting was outrageous. And, yeah, and most people who say these kinds of things including the above-mentioned TD dont go for the cheapest car possible today. Strange that, isnt it? Its like making things attractive helps attract people to things. In the same vein, why is it so hard to imagine that giving people somewhere thats weather-proofed and secure, and also a bit nice-looking, with lighting at the front of the hospital entrance, might actually be helpful in getting more people cycling compared to a half-exposed shelter in a dark, dingy corner of a car park? Why isnt anyone saying who supplied the pink porch. If we are told that we can then follow the money trailIf you cannot figure that out when the supplier name has already been reported on, do you think you might be missing more context too?

A woman cycling an e-bike in Co Tipperary early on Saturday morning sustained serious injuries and the driver of the vehicle involved left the scene, Garda said this morning.A Garda spokesperson said: Garda are appealing for witnesses following a serious road traffic collision involving an E-Bike and a vehicle that occurred on the Fethard Road towards Killusty, Lisronagh, Co Tipperary on Saturday 9th May 2026 at approximately 2am.A woman in her 40s riding an E-Bike sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries. The driver of the vehicle left the scene, the spokesperson said.Garda said that they are appealing to any witnesses to this incident to contact them, including anyone who was traveling on the Fethard Road between Fethard and Clonmel between 1.45am and 2.30am on Saturday 9th May 2026.The spokesperson added: Anyone with camera footage (including mobile phone and dash-cam) is asked to make that footage available. Garda can be contacted at Clonmel Garda Station on 052 6177640, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.Image: File photo.

30km/h limits backed by traffic calming, enhanced visibility treatments, and shared road markings and speed-activated signage are among the design features planned for a Quiet Road pilot project planned in Co Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is planning the project between the villages of Scotstown and Ballinode in Monaghan, with public consultation running until June 3rd, 2026, at 5pm.The narrow country road, in this case, the LT20001 Clontoe Road, runs parallel to a wider road, which is more suited to through traffic. Robert Burns, chief executive of Monaghan County Council, said: Innovation in rural mobility doesnt always require major infrastructure projects. It can start simply with rethinking how existing roadspace is allocated and how road layouts can be designed to enhance safety for all users.Burns points to other countries where such low-traffic routes are marked out and are traffic-calmed to enable safer walking and cycling. Irish campaigners have called for such routes to be marked out and called Rothar Roads.The concept reflects approaches already used successfully in countries such as Denmark, where low-speed, shared rural roads help create safer environments for pedestrians, cyclists, local residents and farm traffic, while maintaining the character of the landscape, he wrote in a post on LinkedIn.He said: What makes this pilot particularly interesting is that it treats rural roads not only as transport corridors, but as shared community spaces. The successful design and implementation of the Quiet Road concept could significantly improve road safety and the comfort of pedestrians and cyclists on rural roads and support a shift to more sustainable transport modes like walking and cycling in rural communities.He added: The Quiet Road concept, if replicated at scale, offers enormous potential to enhance road safety and improve connectivity within rural communities right across Ireland. Public consultation is now open, and feedback will help shape the final outcome.

Bike Week 2026 events start today, Saturday, May 8th, and run until Sunday, May 17th. Theres a mix of events for different abilities across the country, and a mix of events for children, adults, and families.Events today include Phizzfests Community Cycle in Dublins Phibsborough, a Vintage Bicycle Exhibit on Arthurs Quay in Limerick, a free family fun day at the Learn 2 Cycle Track in Millennium Park in Dublin 15, an Early Morning Cycle & Sauna in Blackrock in Cork City, a Bike Repair Clinic in Galway City, and a Womens Social Cycle on the Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway in Co Meath.On Sunday, Dublin City hosts its main event called PedalPower Dublin from midday at the Sundrive Velodrome in Eamonn Ceannt Park in Crumlin, and directly before it there will be a cycle to the event leaving Parliament Street at 11am. Meanwhile, in Cork, theres a Cargo Bike Open Day from midday to 2pm at Marina Park, A full list of events can be found at transportforireland.ie/getting-around/by-bicycle/bikeweek. Local event details can also be found on your local councils website.