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You are > Home > On your bike – for a healthier lifestyle
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Wednesday, June 30, 2010
On your bike – for a healthier lifestyle
BY PAUL CLAFFEY
CREDIT is due this week to Iompar Castlebar, a voluntary organisation promoting sustainable transport in Castlebar who organised a day themed Live Better, Travel Smarter, in the Mall, Castlebar last week and it proved to be an overwhelming success.
The day included a wide range of activities including a mass cycle around Castlebar, cycling workshop for parents on how to train children to cycle safely, fun activities for school children and the Road Safety Authority Interactive Shuttle bus.
There appears to be a major push at present to promote the whole ‘cycle’ experience which is great to see. Perhaps its recession related but whether it is or not it’s still nice to see so many people using bicycles.
I know that Iompar Castlebar have been working hard to promote Castlebar as a more accessible town for pedestrians and cyclists.
This work is really paying off. We've seen the roll out of the bike to work scheme and the bike scrappage scheme across Mayo.
They are working closely with the council to make Castlebar more accessible for everyone and they now have a commitment from the Castlebar town manager for more pedestrian crossings, safer walking/ cycle routes and the introduction of cycle lanes in the town before the end of this year.
This is very positive and welcome development and it shows that when everyone sings from the same hymn sheet anything is possible.
When you consider the benefits of leaving your car at home – less congestion, healthier and more pleasant environment for everyone – it proves that we are on the right curve.
I know that Iompar Castlebar is currently carrying out a consultation with the people of Castlebar and they are asking participants to fill out an online survey on www.castlebar.ie.
Staying on the subject of bicycles a man who now lives in Westport is to feature on the RTE series ‘Higher Ground’.
Paul Harmon, originally from the UK, has just launched his company Electric Escapes and it’s based on the idea of providing locals and tourists with tours on electric bicycles.
What’s even more novel about the idea is that he offers daily tours around Westport where local producers of fish, foods and industry are visited daily and those on tour are given the opportunity of having hands-on experience of what these businesses actually do. I think it’s a great idea and you will be able to follow Paul’s progress on RTE when the series commences in a few weeks time.
Finally, a sincere thanks to all our listeners for making our shopping festival in Castlebar such a success.
Whilst I know the incentives of finding cash may have ignited much interest in this promotion I do believe that when people realised that local businesses were putting on real value for money sales over the three-day event people weren’t afraid to avail of the bargains and the fact that the streets of Castlebar were thronged with people spoke for itself.
The only way business will survive during this recession is by persuading people to shop local and more importantly getting the word out there that there is genuine value on offer.
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