Bicycle road safety markings burnt off Dublin residential street because they were “too big and intrusive” and “confusing” drivers, councillor says

Painted bicycle markings on the road – the kind that prompted the Daily Mail to ask if there was “any room left for cars” when the road safety logos popped up in Boscombe two years ago – were burnt off a residential street in Dublin after residents and councillors complained that they were “too big”, “too intrusive”, and were confusing drivers in the area.

The markings were painted on three sections of the road at Riverside Cottages in Templeogue, a Dublin suburb located around 10km from the city centre, as part of the construction of part of the nearby Dodder Greenway, which once complete will stretch for 17km and, Dublin City Council claims, will provide cycling and walking infrastructure “on a par with the best in the world”.

Acting as a wayfinding feature for people riding their bikes to the greenway, the symbols were also installed as a reminder to motorists to expect a higher than usual number of cyclists using the street.

Similar markings have been installed in the UK and Ireland since the 1970s, indicating that the road is shared use, while also encouraging cyclists to adopt a ‘primary’ position in the middle of the lane. They were soon adopted in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, where they evolved into the much-maligned 'sharrows’ (or shared arrows), a source of both confusion and frustration for cyclists in those countries.

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However, on this occasion, the confusion seemed to stem from local motorists, who according to one councillor believed that the symbols indicated that the road was only open to cyclists. These complaints ultimately led to the symbols being removed from the road, with no alternative yet installed on Riverside Cottages.

However, on another approach to the greenway, at Kilvere, the markings remain in place, with Ireland’s National Transport Authority Cycle Design manual even citing that particular area as an example of a “shared street”, which provides “access-only” for motor vehicles but “serves as a primary route within the cycle network”.

According to an email exchange from October 2021 obtained by IrishCycle.com, local Labour councillor Pamela Kearns claimed that the markings on Riverside Cottages were a “mistake” – despite a South Dublin County Council official pointing out that they were, in fact, part of standard road safety procedure.

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“I’ve been over and back with the consultant on this,” Ronan Carroll, an executive engineer with the council, told Kearns via email. “The markings have gone in to indicate a shared street as per the 2017 P8 planning grant. They are as per the standard logo in the traffic signs manual.”

The original plans for the street

“When I called the office about this, I was informed that the signs on riverside were a mistake and that they should have been the same as the ones on the opposite side of the bridge, a blue circle with a bike logo in the middle. There is clearly more than one type of logo,” Kearns replied, referencing the small blue signs indicating a shared-use pedestrian and cycle path, and located at the start of the greenway.

“We also agreed that they were too big for such a small area and they would be burned off as soon as possible and replaced with what was originally planned for that area.

“This is the message I relayed to the residents and they were relieved that the council were taking on board their concerns. I made a commitment to the residents in good faith, based on what I was told and I really don’t see how I can renege on that commitment.”

Kearns’ objections ultimately led to the symbols being (somewhat) removed from the road the following year, while a council meeting is expected to be held soon to discuss an “alternative logo” for the area.

When asked by IrishCycle.com this week why residents had complained about the markings, which offer a safety and wayfinding measure for cyclists, the Labour councillor replied: “You are perfectly correct that road markings were agreed as part of the Part 8 planning process and I support that.

“However, the chosen logo was too big and intrusive and was also confusing to other road users as it looked as if only bicycles could use the road. It was agreed, at my request and on behalf of the residents to remove them and replace them with a more appropriate one yet to be decided.

“I stand over my request and look forward to meeting with the project team in the near future to discuss an alternative logo, as I am sure you agree road safety is paramount.”

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The confusion surrounding the bicycle markings in Templeogue echoes the outrage caused when Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council opted to paint similar symbols on a road in Boscombe to encourage cyclists to take a “prominent” position on the narrow streets.

This decision prompted a meltdown in the national press, as the Mail and Daily Telegraph claimed that cyclists in Boscombe were being encouraged to “ignore” the town’s dedicated bike lane (one that has since been the subject of complaints by local cyclists due to the constant presence of illegally parked cars).

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“Cyclists are being encouraged by council officials to ignore a dedicated cycle path and use a busy main road instead in an attempt to force traffic in the town centre to slow down,” the Mail wrote in May 2022.

“Although cyclists have the use of the 7ft wide bike lane alongside the A35 in Bournemouth, Dorset, large bike symbols have been painted on the main road as well.”

The newspaper then described the markings as the “latest move by the authorities to drive cars off the road” and included in their headline the question: “Is there any room left for cars?”

Meanwhile, the Telegraph quoted readers who claimed that the new markings “made the bike lane redundant while making cyclists think ‘they own the road’.”