Cyclists Could Soon Be Restricted Only To Cycle Lanes In Dublin

Dublin cyclists could soon be forced to no longer use the roads under new proposals under consideration by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Dublin Live reports that the new considerations, which would mean cyclists can only use cycle lanes to travel, are included in a report from the Transport Minister Shane Ross.

RSA chief Moya Murdoch said that the current law needs to be reviewed because the number of cyclists on Irish roads is rising.

Ms Murdoch said: "It's got to the stage where there is congestion on some cycle lanes, such as the canals in Dublin.

"The cycle lanes are stuffed, so there is a separate issue of increasing capacity on the cycle lanes."

Cycling groups however, have hit back and said that if the city's lanes were properly looked after there would be no need for cyclists to use the roads.

Paul Corcoran of the Dublin Cycling Campaign told Dublin Live: "The facilities provided are below quality and of poor design. The current cycle lanes - which are just painted lines on the side of a road - aren't particularly safe.

"If there was proper cycle lanes, people would use them. In Copenhagen, where there's two or three hundred kilometers of quality lanes that people use, you can see that they don't need these laws."

The RSA report will be submitted in the next few weeks.