Family walking and cycling in Malahide Demesne
One silver lining of this challenging time is to see so many people out walking, jogging and cycling. We’re fortunate in Malahide to have Robswall Park (Paddy’s Hill), Malahide Demesne and Estuary Park, with lots of green spaces between. We need to share space with care as we walk, jog, bike and drive, respecting the needs of children, vulnerable and mobility impaired people.
When walking…
Let’s remember to drop to single file and observe 2 metres social / physical distancing.
When jogging…
In many of our parks, the council has cut grass paths around beautiful wild meadows. Where possible, let’s jog on the grass and leave paved paths for vulnerable and mobility impaired park users.
When biking…
Paths within our parks are “share with care”. When passing pedestrians from behind, let’s slow down, tinkle our bells from about 20 metres – smile and say hello.
Heading home after tennis lesson in Malahide Demesne
When driving…
We need to look out for people on bikes, especially children. Our parks provide safe places to cycle, but until we have segregated cycle lanes we all have to cycle on roads to get to our parks. Let’s slow down and give people on bikes plenty of space when overtaking. Let’s also think before we park – cars parked on footpaths make social distancing more difficult and cause serious issues for our mobility and visually impaired residents.
Young people cycling to Malahide Demesne over the railway bridge
Note: The Malahide Community Forum is working with Fingal County Council to link our parks and green spaces to enable residents and visitors to walk and cycle more safely between them. We’re also working on the development of walking / cycling routes to local schools, clubs and shops.
Malahide Community Forum 
Well done….
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When biking… lets wear appropriate safety gear, that means helmets and high visibility clothing (it doesn’t matter if it ruins your hair or clashes with your outfit, it means people can see you coming and may just safe your life). Lets make sure bikes have working lights, bells and brakes and actually use them (they are not for decoration). Lets keep both hands on the handle bars and not cycle with noise cancelling headphones on. When cycling on footpaths, lets be aware of driveways and not cycle right up against walls/hedges in blind spots (people driving out of driveways often cannot see you until the drivers window clears the gate/pillar/hedge etc.). When cycling on the road, lets follow the rules of the road and use some common sense (bikes are small, silent and when without lights or high-vis, can be impossible to see). Where there is a designated cycle lane, lets use it and not cycle on the road next to it.
So please, when biking.. lets at least take some responsibility for your own safety, be mindful of others and stay safe.