Electric bike scheme would provide 'safe and sustainable way' to travel around Clonmel

An electric bike scheme in Clonmel would provide a safe and sustainable way to travel about the town, a local councillor has suggested.

Cllr Michael Murphy said that Mayo County Council had launched a very successful Share a Bike scheme in Castlebar, which had made 100 bicycles available at various locations in the town.

He said that such a scheme could link in with Clonmel’s town bus service, about which they had received good news about a more comprehensive service.

In her report to the meeting, District Administrator Carol Creighton said that the National Transport Authority (NTA) had reassessed the routes and was reviewing a report to provide “a more optimal streamlined bus service for Clonmel town, considering its population size”.

Cllr John FitzGerald said that the electric bike scheme was a wonderful initiative that would work well in Clonmel, especially with proposals to link the Blueway riverside cycleway, walkway and kayaking trail with St Declan’s Way and the Greenway in Waterford.

District Mayor Pat English said that the electric bike scheme was a good idea and they should work together on this.
Other towns around the country had similar schemes.

Margo Hayes, administrative officer with Tipperary Council’s Directorate of Community and Economic Development, agreed that it was a really good idea.

They would need to develop an inter-departmental group between the Borough District and the council’s environment section to discuss the proposal with the HSE’s Healthy Ireland initiative and the government’s Sláintecare programme.

They would also need to look at costings, she added.