Rockin’ around the cycle lane Christmas tree: Backlash as city’s massive tree plonked in middle of contraflow bike lane, forcing cyclists into oncoming traffic

November isn’t quite over yet, but it’s already that time of the year again when, for some bizarre reason, cycling infrastructure and Christmas festivities get on like you and your estranged cousins at an awkward Boxing Day party. Over the past few years, we’ve seen ongoing active travel works in Manchester and Clevedon, along with a bike lane that runs through an Oxford Christmas market, condemned for “ruining” the most wonderful time of the year.

But in Limerick, things are a bit different. This week in the Irish city, for the second year in a row, the local council opted to plonk its huge main Christmas tree smack bang in the middle of a contraflow cycle lane, blocking it completely, in a decision that was branded “baffling” and “dangerous” by cycling campaigners, who called for the tree to be “removed immediately”.

The tree was installed earlier this week on Limerick’s mile-long O’Connell Street, the city’s main thoroughfare and shopping street.

However, the size of the tree meant that it partially blocked the footway and the entirety of the street’s protected contraflow bike lane, with the railings surrounding the tree taking up the full width of the lane, forcing cyclists using it to either stop or ride around the tree, on the footway or on the road, into the path of oncoming traffic.

“Last year, some people were – rightly – annoyed that the fencing for a Limerick city Christmas tree had clipped a foot or two from the O’Connell Street bike lane,” Seamus Ryan posted on Twitter, along with a photo of the soon-to-be-installed tree’s base and its barriers, located just outside Penneys shop (the Irish iteration of Primark).

(Credit: Seamus Ryan)

“Here’s the bike lane at Penneys where this year’s tree is going. They’ve blocked off ALL of it,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Limerick Urban Cycling Group also posted a photo of the bike lane blocking tree, and said that the delivery cyclist captured riding in the protected lane “swerved” onto the road to avoid the Yuletide obstruction.

(Credit: Limerick Urban Cycling)

The new festive obstacle was introduced in the wake of a council meeting at which some traders in Limerick city centre called for the bus lane, located on the other side of O’Connell Street, to be opened up to all traffic over the Christmas period.

Criticising the tree’s placement on social media, Limerick mayor John Moran wrote: “I expect a solution! And for the record, I am not planning to use this as a reason to lose the bus lane on the other side either!”

Meanwhile, in a statement provided to Irishcycle.com, the Limerick Cycling Campaign called for the tree to be “removed immediately” from the cycle lane.

“This is a clearly unsafe and ridiculous placing of the tree and leaves Limerick City and County Council open to serious legal repercussions by forcing cyclists into oncoming car traffic. It must be removed immediately,” the group said.

(Credit: Seamus Ryan)

And it wasn’t just cyclists who were up in arms about the bike lane blocking tree.

“This is placed at one of two extremely busy and entirely unprotected ‘informal’ pedestrian crossings in the city, now made more dangerous,” the Limerick Pedestrian Network said on social media.

“People will come out of Penneys and have to stand in the road to see past the tree to navigate traffic. It’s a baffling decision.”

However, on Wednesday, in the wake of this widespread criticism, the council relented once again, moving the tree and its barriers off the protected lane for the second year in succession, allowing cyclists to now pass safely – just about.

 (Credit: John Moran)

“It is tight but now safe!” mayor Moran said on Twitter of the tree’s adjusted position.

“We’re going to have to think this one through better for next year, as the footpath is now very narrow. But the lesser of two evils I think.”

> Christmas is RUINED… by a cycle lane: Traders blame “most disappointing” Christmas Market on key cycling route

As noted above, the latest furore over the curious cycle lane Christmas tree placement in Limerick came as councillors spoke out in support of some local traders’ calls to open up the shopping street’s bus lane to all motor traffic.

“There’s a push by some city councillors to re-designate the O’Connell Street bus lane as all-traffic during Christmastime,” the Limerick Pedestrian Network said in a statement.

“Not only is this a stupid (against all traffic planning evidence) idea, it’s also dangerous. It must not go ahead.

“O’Connell Street was recently re-designed as a public transport only low-traffic street, with free movement of pedestrians prioritised (i.e. removal of official crossing at Bedford Row). But we’re still waiting for traffic changes, so the street is jammed and extremely unsafe for pedestrians.”