Council rules out bicycle repair stations along Kildare's Royal Canal Greenway

The provision of bicycle repair stations on the Royal Canal Greenway between Maynooth and Kilcock has been ruled out by Kildare County Council.

The argument for bicycle repair stations along the greenway was made by Cllr Tim Durkan (FG), who tabled a motion at a recent Clane-Maynooth Municipal District meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Durkan said he had read the council's report on his motion, and did not agree with its findings.

He said a greenway is somewhat different to other cycling infrastructure throughout the county.

Cllr Durkan said that several people had been left with their bicycles needing repair, and had to walk the entire length of the greenway before getting them repaired.

If there were a bicycle repair station, he said, “it would make things an awful lot easier.”

Cllr Durkan said he has cycled many greenways in Ireland himself, and they are all “much better serviced” in terms of repair stations and infrastructure.

He said he would be prepared to make a contribution from Local Property Tax – the repair stations, he pointed out, cost just €500 each.

He was not talking about one every kilometre along the greenway, he said, but instead “two or three” that would facilitate the journey from Maynooth to Kilcock.

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Cllr Durkan pointed to the “huge amount” of people who cycle and walk from Maynooth to Kilcock, and said his proposal was to support the shift towards more environmentally friendly modes of transport.

A council official , responding to Cllr Durkan, said that firstly, the issue was prioritising LPT monies, and secondly that the problem with bicycle repair stations is that “they attract vandalism.”

They also require maintenance costs, the official pointed out, so that there were ongoing costs involved, not simply installation.

The official said the council would be “reluctant” to start introducing bicycle repair stations for theses reasons.

Cllr Durkan pointed out that the purpose of greenways is to encourage the use of walking and cycling, so that he believed bicycle repair stations helped the active travel model.

He said he would be seeking LPT funding and would be speaking to Waterways Ireland in order to try and push the proposal forward.

A report issued by the council said that whilst a formal policy had not been drafted, “the provision of bicycle repair stations across County Kildare would be impractical and expensive and would not be a service area that should fall under the local authority remit.”

The report stated that limiting these stations to greenways “would not be in line with an equitable and fair distribution of cycling infrastructure.”