As a group that promotes sustainable living in the community and climate action, we are very much backing the idea of cycle networks mentioned in Chapter 5, be it for commuting to work and/or school or to link towns and amenities outside urban areas (TM029).
We would like to give our full support to TM021 whereby Lullymore, Killinthomas Woods and the Blueway in Rathangan will be connected by walkways. Our group tried several years ago to engage with landowners so that a safe walkway could link Rathangan to Killinthomas Woods but we were not able to get a consensus from all the landowners. Having the support of KCC to see to the completion of this project would be a great achievement locally.
We would also urge Kildare County Council to consider in their Development Plan to link Donadea Forest to Killinthomas Woods with a cycling route. This would enable the connection of various natural amenities (Coillte woodland, conservation bogland areas in Lullymore and Umeras and the Blueway) and enhance local eco-tourism.
We would like KCC to support and enable a car-pulling concept at county-level, although it would be preferable to have it at a national level. There are many examples of successful car-pulling initiatives on the continent (e.g. Blabla Car which is available in several countries). This would complement other solutions to reduce our carbon footprint and would give the freedom to travel anywhere in Ireland at a low cost. We believe this inexpensive solution for local authorities would benefit rural areas in particular, where public transport service is either poor or not enough subsidised to make people change behaviours (i.e. driving by themselves in their own car). With remote working now being normalised, car-pulling facilities along with more local transport bus routes may give people the opportunity to live with just one car or maybe none. We anticipate that most of the work involved would be around communication, promotion, awareness campaigns and a website/app (maybe through the NTA?).
Finally, we would not be in favour of lighting cycling routes (where lighting isn't in place, e.g. outside urban areas) to the detriment of wildlife. Although LED lights are recognised for their energy-saving advantages, research has shown that they have negative impact on wildlife (for instance moths that do not lay eggs in vegetation lit by LED lights etc.).