Our group has been promoting cycling for everyday transport and leisure since 2020, growing from nothing to almost 40 members, and becoming a hub for cycling in Navan (and beyond). So we were delighted to meet someone who’s been at this much longer than we have, and who has completely transformed not only cycling, but active travel, public transport, and how we think about transport in our towns and cities across Ireland.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD, along with officials from the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann, were in Navan to officially open the new bus interchange on Kennedy Road. This new main bus stop location brings public transport users into the heart of the town where they can then hop on a local town bus, a taxi, or one of the many rental bikes.

Slowly, then all at once

In 2011, 88 out of every 10,000 journeys in Meath were by bike.

In 2016 that had remained the same, 86 out of 10,000 journeys.

By 2022 the most recent year we have census data for, the number is now 139 journeys by bike – a really significant increase.

In 2024 we don’t yet have new data, but if the number of bikes we see in Navan is anything to go by, cycling really is flying. So to speak.

Cyclists: Avid, Livid, Valid

There are clichés, and there are cycling clichés. People on bikes used to be “avid cyclists”. Then we were lycra-clad and livid. Now, travelling by bike is just something people do to get from A to B. When we see full bike racks like the ones below, and we don’t know the people who own the bikes, we can see that cycling is really becoming mainstream.

Grasp the bull by the handlebars

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan this morning attended Meath County Council to launch the Climate Action Plan, and to speak with councillors. We were delighted that, in the midst of all the PR, he took a few moments to speak with us about cycling in Navan – how was it, does it feel safe, is it getting better?

Though it was tempting to throw Meath County Council under the bus (not literally) we have to give credit to the Transport and Active Travel teams for the work they’ve done so far, and navigating under the constraints they work by. At the same time, the goal of cutting emissions by 51% in just six years is going to take more than just “business as usual”, which means we’re going to need to accelerate rapidly.

Kilometres, Not Kilobytes

We’ve spent much of the active travel budget so far on design and paperwork. Now we need construction and concrete. Kilometres of cycle lanes, not kilobytes of PDFs.

This is starting to happen, with the Trim Road project. This needs to continue, and our councillors need to step up and ensure it happens at pace. It’s an election year, so the temptation will be to wheel out the tried-and-trusted clichés. Our experience talking with ordinary people from all over Navan is that this won’t wash this time. The appetite for change is in the air, and the silent majority will be voting with climate action in mind this June.

Left: Ed Moynihan, Chairperson, Navan Cycling Initiative with Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD. Right: Dónal Ó Murchú, Ed Moynihan, Dave Anderson and Minister Ryan (photo credit: Barry Cronin)