Official opening of the N81 Jobstown Junction Walking and Cycling Scheme. Pictured: Cllr Baby Pereppadan, Mayor Peter Kavanagh & Cllr Louise Dunne.
Benefits of Active Travel
- Active Travel Benefits - Health Benefits on a recent long term health study done in the Dublin Metropolitan Area .Walking and wheeling prevents 2,731 serious long-term health conditions each year, and the physical benefits of walking prevented 547 deaths annually.
- Cycling Health Benefits- Cycling in Dublin Metropolitan Area prevents 476 serious long-term health conditions each year. In Dublin Metropolitan Area the physical activity benefits of cycling prevents 42 early deaths annually.
- Environmental Benefits- More people walking improves air quality by 630,000 Kg of Nox and 25,000kg of particulates. 79% of Residents agreed that their air is clean in their local area. Walking and Wheeling helps reduce the impact of our Climate Crisis with 69,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions saved annually.
- Cycling Environmental Benefits- 24,000 Tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions saved annually, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 340,000 people taking flights from Dublin to London Heathrow. Transport now accounts for 20% of the Republic of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions, of which the main sources are the use of petrol and diesel in road transport. Between 1990 and 2019, transport emissions went up by 137%, while overall emissions went up by just 10%. Cycling can also help manage increases in traffic congestion.
The number of people walking and cycling reduces significantly for journeys over 2km. Whilst understandable for walking trips, the number of cycle trips for short journeys up to 5km should be much higher. According to Census 2016 the table below illustrates the percentage of distance travelled by walking and cycling up to 20km within the South Dublin area.
- Economic Benefits- In Dublin Metropolitan Area, the net annual economic benefit for individuals and society from all walking and wheeling trips is €796 Million, Of this total, €169.8 million per year is from people with a car choosing to walk for transport
- Cycling Economic Benefits- In Dublin Metropolitan Area, the net annual economic benefit for individuals and society from all cycling trips is €311.4 million of this total €162.1 million per year is people with a car choosing to cycle for transport.
- Why don't people cycle? - The table below highlights the primary reasons people choose not to cycle. The three most common reasons include: Cycling is not safe (33%), the poor weather (24%) and not confident cycling (18%).
Public Consultation - Improvements in how we interact and consult.
The delivery of successful and desirable cycle infrastructure requires input from and knowledge from local people and Councillors. To this end the Council committed to the following levels of public engagement in the design and delivery of Cycle South Dublin (CySD) schemes:
- Face to face meetings
- Direct outreach to businesses, schools, and sports groups
- Focus groups
- Online Consultation portal
- Leaflet drops, on street posters and notices
- Computer generated visualizations, 3D fly throughs, photomontages
We have had over 1,030 Submissions and Surveys submitted online through the consultation portal over the last 12 months for our Active Travel Schemes.
