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Cycling Ireland to Work

Designing Cycle Networks to maximise tourism

Richard MantonNUI GalwayTHRIC 201115th June 2011

+Overview

Recovery for Irish Tourism?

Cycle Tourism

National Cycle Network (NCN)

This Research

Case Study: Galway to Clifden

UK NCN & C2C

Conclusion

+Irish tourism: avenues for recovery?Tourism Renewal Group (2009) 1

“Select, Invest in and Develop key market segments based on Ireland’s strengths”

What are Ireland’s strengths?Scenery, people, culture, history?

ITIC (2011)2 trends:“Travel with a Purpose”

“Increasing environmental consciousness amongst consumers”

“Consumers seeking experience and adventure from leisure trips”

1 Tourism Renewal Group (2009). Survival, Recovery and Growth – A Strategy for Renewing Irish Tourism, 2009-2013.2 Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) (2011). Tourism Opportunity – Driving Economic Renewal.

+Introducing Cycle Tourism

Cycle tourism: Travel with a purpose Leisure tourism based on adventure Environmentally friendly Physically beneficial

European value of cycle tourism3:

Average spend per cycle tourist: €353 per trip

Cycle tourism is particularly popular in Mainland Europe – a key market for growth

€54bn

3 Lumsdon, L., Weston, R., McGrath, P., Davies, N., Peeters, P., Eijgelaar, E., Piket, P. (2009). The European Cycle Route Network EuroVelo – Challenges and opportunities for sustainable tourism. European Parliament, Directorate General for Internal Policies, Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion policies, Transport and Tourism.

+Irish Cycle Tourism Underperforming compared to the rest of Europe

Numbers have failed to break 150,0004

This is perhaps even overstated given problems with definition. Further research is needed.

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Overseas cycle visitors (000s) 70 53 78 102 120 114

Spend (€ m) 60 35 81 78 103 97

4 Fáilte Ireland (2011). Cycling reports.

+Restraints on the development of Irish Cycle Tourism

Numbers ‘very satisfied’ with cycling in Ireland5:2000: 76%2009: 38%

Mori survey for Fáilte Ireland on disadvantages of Ireland as a cycling destination

Major infrastructural issues

Cycling on Irish roads is thought of as unsafe

5 Fáilte Ireland (2007). A strategy for the development of Irish cycle tourism: conclusions report.

+Proposal for a National Cycle Network (NCN)

Proposal from Fáilte Ireland and Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport:

Network of high quality and safe cycle routes

Connecting urban centres

Encourage cycling for commuting, leisure and tourism

+This research... shows that issues such as route selection and engineering

design can impact the tourism potential of cycling routes

will give careful consideration to the needs of cycle tourists in order to maximise tourism revenue along NCN routes

uses Galway to Clifden corridor as a case study, investigating (i) the factors affecting the route selection (ii) methodologies for the estimation of cost for each proposed route (iii) the potential economic benefits of such a route (iv) engineering considerations such as pavement design, maintenance and the safe operation of the route.

Guidelines drawn from this project could be used as a basis for rolling out the proposed NCN in Ireland.

+Factors affecting route selection

NCN User

Groups

WalkersSchool

Children

Directness

Accessibility

Scenery

Comfort

ChallengingRoutes

Urban

Rural

Cost Engineering

Commuter Cyclists

Leisure Cyclists

Cycle Tourists

Lane width

Traffic

+Case Study: Galway-Clifden

Facts: Makes up 83km of Dublin-Clifden corridor Passes through Connemara – a region of natural beauty with

a strong tourism product Passes near/through two intermediate towns – Moycullen

and Oughterard (and villages Maam Cross and Recess) Ends with connections to103km of cycle loops, opened in

2009

Criteria for route selection: Maximise scenic views Facilitate commuting from Moycullen and Oughterard Optimise safety using traffic-free segments Pass by local businesses and villages Maximise benefits in relation to cost

Based on these criteria, four potential routes between Galway and Clifden have been identified

+Case Study: Galway-Clifden

+Route 1 – Aligning the N59

Route Description Advantages Disadvantages Estimated Cost

(i) Aligning the N59

The N59 is a secondary national road connecting Galway City to Clifden, passing through Moycullen and Oughterard. The road is due to be upgraded including widening. This upgrade may allow the incorporation of on- or off-road cycle lanes on either side.

(a) scenic (b) cost-effective if incorporated in upgrade phase (c) facilitates commuting from Moycullen and Oughterard (d) emergency access

(a) poor journey ambience (b) safety compromised due to interaction between cyclists and motor vehicles

€ 4.8 m

+Route 2 – Fáilte Ireland proposal

Route Description Advantages Disadvantages Estimated Cost

(ii) Fáilte Ireland (2006) proposal

Fáilte Ireland has proposed to construct a greenway along the disused railway line from Galway to Moycullen, then taking local roads along Lough Corrib to Oughterard. The route would return to local roads along Lough Corrib until Maam Cross, taking the R336 to Screeb, and a combination of R340, local roads and the R341 to Clifden.

(a) scenic(b) interaction with villages(c) traffic-free route to Moycullen

(a) difficult access in parts(b) on-road interaction with traffic(c) indirect route

€ 2.2 m

+Route 3 – disused railway

Route Description Advantages Disadvantages Estimated Cost

(iii) Use of disused railway

The Galway-Clifden railway, as part of the Midland Great Western Railway, was opened in 1895 and closed in 1935. Parts of the line have been constructed upon and many of the bridges have collapsed, but large tracts remain in place. The route roughly follows the N59 and would enter Galway City through the NUI Galway campus.

(a) scenic(b) traffic-free route (c) N59 nearby(d) direct(e) marketing opportunity(f) access to mountain bike trail

(a) very expensive € 12 m

+Route 4 – along Galway Bay

Route Description Advantages Disadvantages Estimated Cost

(iv) Along Galway Bay

The R336 follows the southern coast of Connemara along Galway Bay, passing through Spiddle, Rosaveel and Screeb. At Screeb, the R336 meets the R340 where the route may continue along proposal (ii) to Clifden. This option completely excludes potential commuters from Moycullen and Oughterard.

(a) scenic(b) interaction with villages(c) link to Aran Islands ferry at Rosaveel

(a) large and dangerous traffic volume on R336(b) no link to Moycullen and Oughterard

€ 0.9 m

+Route Description Advantages Disadvantages Estimated

Cost

(i) Aligning the N59

The N59 is a secondary national road connecting Galway City to Clifden, passing through Moycullen and Oughterard. The road is due to be upgraded including widening (NRA, 2011). This upgrade may allow the incorporation of on- or off-road cycle lanes on either side.

(a) scenic (b) cost-effective if incorporated in upgrade phase (c) facilitates commuting from Moycullen and Oughterard (d) emergency access

(a) poor journey ambience (b) safety compromised due to interaction between cyclists and motor vehicles

€ 4.8 m

(ii) Fáilte Ireland (2006) proposal

Fáilte Ireland (2006) proposes to construct a greenway along the disused railway line from Galway to Moycullen, then taking local roads along Lough Corrib to Oughterard. The route would return to local roads along Lough Corrib until Maam Cross, taking the R336 to Screeb, and a combination of R340, local roads and the R341 to Clifden.

(a) scenic(b) interaction with villages(c) traffic-free route to Moycullen

(a) difficult access in parts(b) on-road interaction with traffic(c) indirect route

€ 2.2 m

(iii) Use of disused railway

The Galway-Clifden railway, as part of the Midland Great Western Railway, was opened in 1895 and closed in 1935. Parts of the line have been constructed upon and many of the bridges have collapsed, but large tracts remain in place. The route roughly follows the N59 and would enter Galway City through the NUI Galway campus.

(a) scenic(b) traffic-free route (c) N59 nearby(d) direct(e) marketing opportunity

(a) very expensive (b) no interaction with villages

€ 12 m

(iv) Along Galway Bay

The R336 follows the southern coast of Connemara along Galway Bay, passing through Spiddle, Rosaveel and Screeb. At Screeb, the R336 meets the R340 where the route may continue along proposal (ii) to Clifden. This option completely excludes potential commuters from Moycullen and Oughterard.

(a) scenic(b) interaction with villages(c) link to Aran Islands ferry at Rosaveel

(a) large and dangerous traffic volume on R336(b) no link to Moycullen and Oughterard

€ 0.9 m

+Benefits of a NCN, lessons from the UK

UK NCN: Started construction in 1995, in 2009,

carried 407m journeys In 1995, UK cycle tourism worth €718m;

in 2009 worth €1.4bn May attribute to creation of NCN

C2C Route (North-East England): In 2006, 241,000 trips made

(14,000 end to end) Economic benefit of route: €12m mainly

accommodation and food & drink Created or safeguarded 173 jobs Similar to Dublin-Clifden corridor

Day Visitors

Overnight Visitors

Accommodation

- 48%

Food & Drink 72% 40%Retail 3% 2%

Car costs 7% 3%Cycle costs 4% 1%

Public Transport

8% 3%

Other 6% 3%

+Conclusion

Potential for Irish cycle tourism

Lack of suitable infrastructure is the major inhibitor

The construction of a NCN could rectify this

The Galway-Clifden corridor shows how route selection can impact tourism potential,

Careful consideration must be given to the needs of cycle tourists and other users

UK NCN and C2C route shows the potential benefits

This project will form guidelines for roll-out of the NCN

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Acknowledgements

This project is funded by the Sustainable Transport Office at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the

National Roads Authority.

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Questions?