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Cities, Cycling, Europe, Ireland, Transport policy, World news - June 25, 2019

Dublin disappoints: what happened to city cycling's great hope?

In 2013 the Irish capital was ranked among the world’s top 20 bike-friendly cities, but only a small part of the promised cycle network was ever built

One sunny May afternoon in Dublin, as the Spice Girls prepared to kick off their Spice World 2019 tour at Croke Park stadium, the coaches bringing their fans unwittingly sparked another reunion – the city’s cycle activists.

It had been two years since the direct action group I Bike Dublin had mobilised to protect cycle tracks from car parking – uniting around twice a week under the hashtag #freethecyclelane – but as police officers directed coach drivers to park in the bike lane by Dublin Bay, blocking the track, the protesters were back.

We’ve lost our way with the private car over the last 50 years. I hope we find our way back

That public meeting was the closest thing to a lynch mob I have ever been in front of

Share your photos of the best and worst cycling infrastructure in your cities

Some cities feature spectacular bridges, bike paths and transport hubs designed with cyclists in mind, while others remain less than cycle-friendly. We want to see your examples, both good and bad

Some of the best and worst of examples of cycling infrastructure in cities have hit the headlines this week. On Monday, the Bicycle Architecture Biennale – which celebrates cutting edge designs from around the world – launched in Amsterdam. Schemes included a 8km bicycle skyway in Xiamen – China’s first suspended cycle path and the world’s longest aerial cycle lane, and projects from cities as far afield as Australia, the US and of course the Netherlands.

Build it and they will bike: the second Bicycle Architecture Biennale – in pictures

15 projects from nine countries have been selected for the second Bicycle Architecture Biennale, which launches on Monday in Amsterdam

• Guardian Cities is running a short series next week on urban cycling around the world – from Dublin to Johannesburg, Berlin to Karachi

Could the Cycle to Work scheme start an ebike revolution?

New guidance on £1,000 ‘cap’ means more expensive ebikes are available as part of scheme

Over the weekend, new guidance on the Cycle to Work scheme was announced by the Department for Transport (DfT), making it clear that ebikes are eligible for it. This clarification could encourage a new demographic on to two wheels, and provide huge benefits to disabled and elderly people.

The scheme is a complicated but well-used salary sacrifice scheme in which employees can get bikes, tax-free, via their employers. It starts with a year-long loan, which most people extend until the bike is worth so little they can “buy” it for a nominal sum or extend the hire for a percentage of the bike’s value. (After five or six years, HMRC considers a bike to have a negligible value).

How to get more women cycling in cities

To cut greenhouse gas emissions we need to increase cyclist numbers and that means getting more women on their bikes

So much of the world around us is designed for men; from the mundane (public toilets and smartphones) to the potentially deadly (stab vests and crash test dummies). My own research, recently launched at the C40 Women4Climate conference, revealed similar trends in how we design cities and formulate transport policy, with devastating consequences.

Transportation accounts for up to one-third of greenhouse gas emissions from the world’s biggest cities and traffic is the largest source of toxic air pollution. To create sustainable, healthy and liveable cities, we need to increase the number of cyclists on our streets, and that means getting more women on their bikes. In San Francisco, only 29% of cyclists are women; in Barcelona, there are three male cyclists for every female cyclist; in London, 37% of cyclists are female.

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Dublin disappoints: what happened to city cycling's great hope?

Share your photos of the best and worst cycling infrastructure in your cities

Build it and they will bike: the second Bicycle Architecture Biennale – in pictures

Could the Cycle to Work scheme start an ebike revolution?

How to get more women cycling in cities

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