The future of Cork City

Cork is overall a relatively small, easy city to cycle around in terms of distances. 

However, the lack of cycling infrastructure, particularly on the Northside of the city and other areas, especially the suburbs, makes cycling an unattractive and unsafe option for many, creating congestion as people have no choice but to drive (due to poor, unreliable or even non existent public transport alternatives) 

The City Development Plan promises a range of new cycleways, which are of course welcome, however these need to be delivered in a reasonably quick timeframe in order to alleviate congestion on our roads and provide the residents of our growing city a solid, safe alternative to the private car. 

Cork City Council over the past year have delivered numerous pieces of cycling infrastructure which has been wonderful, but this is only a small piece of an overall larger puzzle which needs a joined-up, connected cycling network connecting all areas of the city and suburbs safely and efficiently, providing clear priority to the movement of pedestrians and cyclists over the private car. (for example, the new South Mall cycleway continues to prioritise the movement of private vehicles, providing long wait times for cyclists and pedestrians, and giving cyclists approx. 4-5 *seconds* to cross a busy junction when the lights finally go green - this is totally unacceptable in a modern city which should be prioritising sustainable modes of transport over other unsustainable modes such as the private car)

Enforcement with regards to illegal parking and blocking of cycling infrastructure should also be taken much more seriously. The sheer amount of illegal parking across even brand new cycling infrastructure is ridiculous and places vulnerable road users in danger as a result. High quality kerbing, planters should be looked at going forward to protect cycling infrastructure and ensure illegal parking is kept to a minimum acrosd these cycleways. 

A high quality, bi-directional cycleway between City Centre and Blackpool, City Centre and Douglas, and Douglas - Rochestown (via Rochestown Road) should all be provided ASAP as these routes are frequently used by those on bikes, but many more would be encouraged to cycle with safe infrastructure in place. It has the potential to remove thousands of cars from our roads, especially at peak commuting times. 

A 4% modal share for cycling in 2040 is not at all ambitious enough.

Cork can and will reach this figure and beat it within the coming few years through the fast-paced delivery of cycling infrastructure in the city and suburbs.

The ball is firmly in Cork City Council's court to deliver high quality infrastructure in order to encourage more and more to cycle wherever possible. 

The same goes for public transport - 25% in my opinion isn't ambitious enough either. To say that in 20 years time 50% of the general population of Cork will still be commuting by private car is not good enough, and will certainly not help us achieve our transport & emissions goals. Quality bus and rail corridors are needed, with frequent services and affordable ticketing across all routes. All areas of the city need to be served. Some areas which are only a ten to fifteen minute journey away, like Whites Cross or Grenagh, for example, are served by two buses *A WEEK*! Who can rely on that?! Much more ambition is needed here please both in terms of public transport and cycling uptake going into the future. 

Cork has the second largest natural harbour in the world. 

The River Lee is a prime part of our city's heritage. 

Yet the plan fails to include any meaningful or ambitious plans for river transport in Cork. 

There should be numerous public passenger ferries running on the Lee as part of Cork's public transport network - for example, City Centre to Blackrock, Passage West, Cobh and more. Cities like Bordeaux, Sydney and others embrace their rivers and harbours and take advantage of them to reduce congestion on their already-full road networks. We can do the same in Cork. 

The plan talks about an integrated public transport system yet fails to mention one of our largest assets - our river, the Lee and the greater Cork Harbour.