The Minister for the Environment gave up his Ministerial car for a bicycle yesterday when he rode along the quays to introduce the Dublin Transport Initiative's Cycle Route Network.
The number of people cycling to work in Dublin each day has fallen from 100,000 in the mid1960s to 20,000 today. "Our fondness for our cars" and a significant increase in car ownership were responsible for the decline, said Mr Dempsey.
The Cycle Route Network will provide over 180 kilometres of cycleways when it is completed and will encompass the main commuter routes from the suburbs to the city centre.
Mr Dempsey said improved facilities for cycling were necessary because although the car had "revolutionised our personal mobility", it was now "becoming the instrument of our immobility" in urban areas.
A Dublin Transport Initiative survey, which found that one in three people would start cycling or cycle more often if improved facilities were provided, showed "the opportunity was there for cycling to make a comeback", he said.
Nevertheless, "a lot more work remains to be done in promoting cycling as a mainstream mode of transport", he added.
The former racing cyclist, Sean Kelly, who accompanied the Minister on the ride from the Four Courts to the Customs House, joked that while Mr Dempsey's difficulties with a bike may be "because he's relying too much on the Ministerial car these days", commuters who wanted to cycle to work had to be "very experienced and very good bike-handlers" to get through Dublin's "dangerous" traffic.
Mr Dempsey said he was conscious on the eve of travelling to the Kyoto summit that a switch to cycling would not only reduce traffic congestion and improve commuters' health, but would also have a beneficial effect on the environment.
Ms Hazel Jones, a senior planner with the Dublin Transportation Office, said the DTO hoped to double the number of people cycling to work in the city over the next six years. Cyclists would then account for 10 per cent of commuter travel - equal to the number who commute by rail at present.
A number of "Safe Routes to School" pilot projects are being developed by the DTO with the local authorities to promote cycling as a safe option for schoolchildren. The DTO also launched its "Cycle Facilities Design Manual" yesterday, which Mr Dempsey said would facilitate a consistent approach to the provision of facilities and ensure that cycling would be "safe and comfortable".
