When I see a sign saying, “bicycles locked to this railing will be removed”, I consider it an invitation to secure my steed to city fences for a reasonable time, out of the way of passing wheelchairs, prams and the visually impaired.
Just try removing it, mate. I’ll be 10 minutes doing whatever chore I need to perform in the city centre. Meanwhile, it would take you a couple of hours to chew through my new, woven-steel bicycle lock with your bolt-cutters.
Dublin city centre, along with other Irish urban zones, is well served with car-parking spaces, thanks to the “visionaries” of the 1950s and 1960s. They flattened much of the “run-down” 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century architectural heritage to build offices and facilitate motorised commuting from the new suburbs, first by providing brownfield parking areas and then multistorey car parks.
We are way behind with bicycle parking, however. Despite the provision of some on-street spots in recent years and the installation of “bike loops” on some lamp posts, bicycle parking is an ugly, dangerous mess — take a look at street corners to see what I mean.
Of course, cyclists do need to take personal responsibility and consider others who might use a pavement when finding somewhere to park. Campaigns, such as the recent one to raise awareness of the needs of disabled pavement-users, are admirable, but without alternative bike parking they will not make much difference.
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The private sector has a role to play here. It has the space and could probably deliver bike parking much faster than city councils at a much lower cost. Many employers have been proactive — my office building has excellent secure bike parking, with showers.
Private car park companies could be doing more to encourage non-working cyclists into the city, however. They are of significant commercial value, despite what anti-cycling trolls might say.
Ground floors of some inner-city car parks could be given over to secure bicycle parking, with the city council picking up the tarrif to encourage more shoppers and coffee drinkers to get on their bikes and come into town.
I would much rather lock up in Brown Thomas car park than antagonise the sign-painting Nimbys nearby.