Sir, - It is difficult to know where to start in responding to Dr D. Keegan's letter (December 12th) on Dublin's traffic gridlock and the role of the Dublin Transport Office (DTO).
Let's begin with the climate. Dr Keegan states that the DTO seems to have forgotten that "it rains in Ireland" and that "it can rain every day". True, it can rain every day. But it doesn't. In fact, according to the Meteorological Service's statistics, Dublin has 325 dry mornings (8-9 am) and 318 dry evenings (3-5 pm) a year.
Taking weekends and school holidays into account, it would be reasonable to estimate that there are around 20 wet "school mornings" and 25 wet "school evenings" in a year. Given these figures and the fact that modern clothing and protective gear reduce the risk of exposure in bad weather (and the subsequent risk of suffering from arthritis), it is clear that rain is not the great problem for cycling schoolchildren.
The biggest danger is the daily dice with death as cyclists compete for the same road space as cars, trucks and buses. This is why the DTO should be commended for developing the badly-needed Cycle Route Network and is right in promoting cycling as an option for schoolchildren as it introduces its pilot "safe routes to school" projects. Increasing the number of bicycle-riding school commuters by the introduction of these routes will make a significant impact on rush-hour traffic levels.
I found it bizarre that Dr. Keegan felt it necessary to comment on the case of arthritis in the context of wet-weather cycling, but did not mention the many health benefits that regular cycling offers. These include improved functioning of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and training of the leg muscles.
He goes on to mention our "peasant level of car ownership" and our "need to nearly double the number of cars on Irish roads to get up to the EU average". In solving Dublin's traffic chaos, the last thing we need is to have double the number of cars on the Irish roads. If we are to compare ourselves to Europe, let us emulate the Dutch and Danish with their 950,000 km and 350,000 km of cycle-lanes respectively.
The 183 km cycle-lane network (as opposed to Dr. Keegan's recommended road tunnel network) to be built over the next five years is a good start for the DTO. It is hoped that this £18 million project will bring the number of people cycling to work from 20,000 to 40,000. May this be just the start of a trend to civilise the city centre and unclog the streets. - Yours, etc.,
Damien Ó Tuama,
The Dublin Cycling Campaign, An Feachtas Rothaíochta Atha Cliath.