Waterford’s public transport network needs significant investment and expansion to present a reasonable alternative to car ownership for most people. Services are infrequent, unreliable, and routes are no longer relevant to the areas where many people live and work.
Our cycling infrastructure is focused on tourism, not daily use by local people. Excessive on street parking, drop off allowances, illogical routing of cycle lanes, ridiculous implementation of bollard systems are some of many reasons it can be not only frustrating, but dangerous to commute by bike in Waterford.
I challenge any person involved in the drafting of this climate action plan to forgo the car for one week and see what it is like to rely on walking, cycling or public transport day to day in Waterford. There are so many barriers it is near impossible to list, and many of these could be addressed by planning and traffic/parking enforcement. Those making decisions on public transport infrastructure in the city should also be users of that infrastructure.