Dublin is located on the east/east midlands of Ireland. It is the Capital City of Ireland and one of Europe's most vibrant cities. Dublin is a youthful and dynamic city with a number of universities such as Trinity College and technical colleges. The population of Dublin City is 506,211 with an area of 117.61 km2 (census 2006). Dublin has a large commuter belt bringing a large number of people into the city for work, education and recreation.
Dublin City provides guidelines and policies for planning and development in the 'Dublin City Development Plan 2005-2011'. The plan contains a number of policies promoting sustainable transport, such as; Integrated Land Use/Transportation, Promoting Modal Change, Quality Bus Network/Priority, Rail and Interchange, Cycling and Pedestrian Use, Mobility Management Plans and Transport Impact Assessment, Pro-active Parking Policy, Provision of Additional Road Capacity (also for public Transport and Pedestrians), Traffic Management, Additional Provision for the Mobility Impaired and Disabled.
The local authorities in Dublin have agreed on the DTO Cycle Policy as a statement of intent. This policy specifies people travelling to work and education as target groups and refers to the objective of the DTO Strategy to decrease the share of short trips (up to 6km) undertaken by car to 30% by 2016. The target of the ASTUTE project to increase walking and cycling by 10% across all partner cities, is in support of the DTO policy.
