TCD Engineers Highlight Tourism Benefit of Dedicated Cycleways

Posted on: 18 June 2013

A study undertaken by Trinity College’s School of Engineering into usage of the Great Western Greenway in Mayo has found the segregated cycleway generates €1.1 million in tourist expenditure.

The Great Western Greenway, which runs for 42 kilometres between Westport to Achill, is one of Ireland’s first segregated cycle tracks. A segregated cycleway is a cycling track that is completely off road and users have little interaction with vehicular traffic.

TCD Engineers found that the average daily usage at different times of the year varies from just over 100 users a day in December and January to over 400 users a day in August. There were pronounced morning and afternoon/evening peaks on weekdays whereas at the weekends usage consistently increases as the day progresses, the study found.

“This indicates that not only are tourists using this facility, it is being used as a sustainable travel mode for locals,” explained Dr Brian Caulfield, Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at TCD.

An economic analysis of tourists cycling along the greenway found that the cycleway brings approximately €405,000 from non-domestic tourists and €737,000 from domestic tourists to the area annually, giving the facility a payback period of six years.

“This facility in Mayo is a world-class cycleway providing users with a fully segmented cycleway that traverses Clew Bay. Our analysis shows how successful the greenway has been and demonstrates a clear economic return on the €5.7 million investment. The success of the Mayo project shows how the construction of segregated cycleways can boost tourism numbers and have a real economic benefit,” Dr Caulfield added.

The Great Western Greenway in Mayo is the first part of the national cycle network that aims to introduce segregated cycleways across Ireland. These cycleways are designed to attract both tourists and commuters and to increase cycling numbers in Ireland.

The research was conducted using several remote sensors to measure usage on the greenway. The bicycle counters are based on radar technology and record time, date, speed, and direction of the cyclist passing. The device operates by measuring the length of a passing object.

The TCD study is part of a larger project funded by the National Roads Authority and the Sustainable Travel Office in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sports that is looking into the feasibility of a cycleway between Dublin and Mullingar.

The segregated cycleway research has recently been published in the Journal of Tourism Management Perspectives: Deenihan, G., Caulfield, B., O’Dwyer, D., Measuring the success of the Great Western Greenway in Ireland, Tourism Management Perspectives, 7, 2013, p73 – 82.