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.