DUBLIN HAS been ranked within the top 10 cycling cities in the world.
The Danish authors of the list said they were “surprised” that Ireland’s capital ranked as the ninth when they looked at 80 major cities around the world.
They said the city was undergoing a “grand rebound” in cycling thanks to “a wildly successful bike share programme, visionary politicians who implemented bike lanes and 30km/h zones, and a citizenry who have merely shrugged and gotten on with it”.
It said Dublin was the only city to score 12 bonus points, awarded for “particularly impressive efforts or results”. The rankings criteria included the social and political acceptance of cycling, the perception of safety and infrastructure.
Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Tokyo and Berlin topped the list, but Dublin ranked well above London and New York, whose politicians and officials are pushing cycling and investing heavily in infrastructure.
The list, from international bicycle promotion company Copenhagenize Consulting, said Dublin got where it was because of “ballsy political decision-making” but that more needed to be done.
Dublin Lord Mayor Andrew Montague said the result was “astonishing”.
He said cycling had been “relentlessly” in decline but measures, including the heavy goods vehicle ban, lower speed limits and Dublin Bikes, were helping to reverse the trend.