In the latest episode of Ours To Protect, Orla travelled to Co. Carlow to hear about climate action plans at Carlow County Council.
Community Climate Action Officer
Carlow County Council has recently appointed a Community Climate Action Officer to roll out a funding stream to Community Groups under the Community Climate Action Programme.
What is the Community Climate Action Programme?
The aim of this programme is to support and empower local groups to build low carbon communities in a planned way and contribute to national climate and energy targets. County Councils in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications will support communities to promote and assist in the scale up of community climate action. Funding support will be targeted at a range of different projects, from small projects under €20,000 up to a maximum of €100,000 for large projects. The funding offered will cover 100% of the costs up to the maximum level of the funding support available.
How can I find out more details?
Any group in Co. Carlow interested should contact Áine Byrne to discuss their potential idea, and to receive advice on the application process on [email protected] .
If you are part of a group interested in another county you can contact your local county council to get more details.
E Bikes launch in Carlow Town
The shared e bike scheme launched in Carlow Town on September 22 at 11am in the Exchange . The launch day was chosen to celebrate World Car Free Day, when cities and towns worldwide shared a common goal of reducing the number of cars on the streets and reaping the benefits of a day with less traffic congestion, a greener environment and reduced fossil fuel demand.
How do people use the E bikes in Carlow town?
By downloading the Bolt app, Carlow’s 27,000 residents can avail of the Bolt ebike @ €0.18 a minute, with no charge to unlock a bike.
If you are new to electric motor-assisted light vehicles, there is a ‘beginner mode’. This limits the top speed of the bicycle to 15 km/h. Once ‘beginner mode’ is turned off, the bicycle has a maximum speed of 25 km/h.
GPS technology is packed into the bike's hardware. There are go-slow zones (where speed is limited to 15 km/h), as well as no-go zones, where e-bikes are prohibited. E-bikes will be stationed in over 30 designated mandatory parking locations; this means riders will be shown where they can park their bike through the app and physical signage.
There are 50 ebike locations in Carlow- they include but are not limited to:
- Carlow Train Station
- Carlow Bus Park
- SETU
- Fairgreen Shopping Centre
- Carlow Town Hall
- The Exchange, Carlow Town Centre
- Athy Road ( near Seven Aaks & HSE)
- Carlow Post Office
- Askea Church
- Dunne Stores area
- Carlow Credit Union
- Pennys
When can I use an E bike in Carlow?
The service will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but in the interest of public safety the company will be employing an in-app cognitive reaction test from 11pm to 5am. This means prospective riders will have to prove they are in a fit state to ride a bicycle through their reaction time.
To find out more visit:
https://bolt.eu/en-ie/ebikes/
https://www.tipperarycoco.com
https://www.waterfordcouncil.ie
https://www.kilkennycoco.ie/
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