We’re encouraging people to continue requesting improved walking & cycling facilities, and to contact the councils & local councillors in support of the new measures that have been introduced. Pushback against these new walking & cycling facilities is inevitable, so it’s vital that supportive voices are also heard.

Over the past few months we’ve seen our local councils responding brilliantly to the Coronavirus pandemic by introducing new measures to enable more people to walk and cycle. Some great examples of these measures include:

• The trial pedestrianisation of Malahide’s New Street in Fingal.

• The new coastal cycle route from Blackrock to Sandycove in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown.

• Blackrock’s transformation into a people-friendly town with increased footpath widths, one-way motor traffic, and a contra-flow cycle lane.

• A four-week trial of a traffic filter in Grangegorman which aims to eliminate rat-running in that neighbourhood.

• A pedestrianisation trial of multiple streets in Dublin city centre, including South William Street, Anne Street and Drury Street.

• The installation of bollards to protect cycle lanes across the city, including in blackspots such as Rathmines, Westland Row and Manor Street.

• The accelerated installation of the interim Liffey Cycle Route and a game-changing contraflow cycle lane on Nassau Street.

How can I help?

If you would like to see these new facilities maintained - and more measures like them introduced - then it is vital that you contact your council and your local representatives to make sure that your voice is heard.

There has already been some pushback against these initiatives, and this is likely to increase as motor traffic levels begin to return to pre-Covid levels. (They were at 75% of pre-Covid levels last week.)

If you have ideas for how similar measures could benefit your local area or neighbourhood, you should submit your suggestions to your local council. If you can gather the support of some of your neighbours, even better.

You can submit Covid response suggestions to your local council via the following methods:

• For Dublin City Council, submit requests via this dedicated online form.

• For Fingal County Council, email requests and/or support to your local councillor.

• For Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, submit requests via this online form.

• For South Dublin County Council, email requests and/or support to your local councillor.

We also highly recommend emailing your local councillors, or copying them in your emails to the local council. You can find your local councillors’ (and TD & MEP) contact details using the website WhoismyTD.com. We have also collated Councillors’ email addresses in list format for your convenience: Dublin City Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

If you’d like any help, advice, or feedback on your Covid requests please feel free to email us: info@dublincycling.com