Among the other faults with democracy as a political system is the concept that I call “He who complains most effectively  gets what he wants”. This is a shame, because what tends to happen is that we complain about what we don’t like but then don’t congratulate people for doing things we like. So, credit where credit is due, this is a positive post.

Dublin City Council have made some amazing progress on the issue of transport in the city. I must submit a word of congratulations on both the Bus Gate at College Green and the Dublin Bikes scheme, which has had an incredible uptake. It’s absolutely fantastic seeing so many cyclists around the city (cycling is up 64% in the last four years). Dublin is slowly but surely becoming a better, safer and more pleasant place to cycle. I’ve no doubt that this bike scheme now needs to be replicated around the country (Cork, Limerick and Galway in particular) and expanded within Dublin.

We had Councillor Andrew Montague (of Labour) in to talk with us on Saturday (for USI’s green training) and he spoke on transport in Dublin. He also let us know that Drury St Car Park has cycling parking spaces that are sheltered, secure, close to the car park supervisor’s station and, best of all, free! It’s all of a 3 minute walk from Grafton St, so it’s perfect for shopping. See a map here.

What else are they working on? For me, the most interesting are real time bus information (finally!) and expansion of  our bike lane network, including along the canals.

Andrew said on Saturday that he had received 33 complaints and only a handful of e-mails in support of the bus gate! The bus gate has been a fantastic change in traffic in Dublin. Join the Facebook group and e-mail your local councillors. Do you know how often they get e-mails that simply say “well done”? I reckon it’s not very often. They are working for us and it’s only by giving them positive as well as negative feedback that this political system works. So, take 5 minutes to go to this page, find your local councillors and send them off a simple e-mail. It doesn’t have to be too complex. You could say:

  • The bus gate has made your morning bus commute quicker
  • The bus gate has increased the footfall (amount of people visiting the street) of College Green by 6%.
  • The bus gate has decreased maximum peak journey time from Parnell Square to Nassau St from 40 minutes to just under 10 minutes.

You could also say:

  • The Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) limitations has made cycling in Dublin safer
  • The Dublin Bikes Scheme has made getting around Dublin easier

I’ve already done this. It took me about 5 minutes to e-mail all my local councillors. So go on! Give it a lash!