One of Dublin's newest largescale cycling lanes has become a death trap for cyclists on wet mornings, with calls now coming for Dublin City Council to intervene.
The cycling lane on Griffith Avenue, which stretches from Clontarf to Glasnevin in north Dublin, forms part of major works that were undertaken since the onset of the pandemic.
A cycle lane was installed, and parking arrangements changed significantly, in a bid to facilitate safer cycling in the area.
However, while the segregated cycle lane has been a great addition to the area, the leaves from the trees all along Griffith Avenue have made conditions dangerous at times.
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The new segregated nature of the cycling lane is trapping fallen leaves, which are not being cleared frequently enough. The build-up has created dangerous conditions for cyclists, which significantly worsen when it's wet.
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Cllr Bernard Mulvany of People Before Profit told stickybottle he had been contacted by residents and families with kids who cycle on the lanes asking can cleaning take place regularly.
He said Dublin City Council was obviously aware the problem of fallen leaves was an issue at this time of year, adding the fact they were not being clean was having a "substantial impact" on cyclists.
"We need to offer people safe alternative solutions to the car but if those options are consistently impacted by lack of resources to keep… our bike lanes open and safe, then people by default will revert to the car for their transport needs," he said.
"As the leaves are an annual event it would seem appropriate that targeted removal of the leaves would be a plan DCC could put in place and with the right resources and equipment the bike lanes would remain leaf free and safe for everyone to use."
