Laois County Council are in the process of drafting their Climate Action Plan, with a series of public consultations already underway.
As part of the process they ran a series of six in-person community workshops across Laois, as well as a virtual workshop.
Attending local citizens participated in a range of exercises that were designed to capture insights and ideas which will directly feed into the drafting of the Climate Action Plan.
Below are a sampling of some of the more popular ideas and suggestions to come out of these workshops:
Portlaoise Workshop
- More affordable public transport,
- A bus depot or travel hub,
- Bike hire facilities,
- Investment in community gardens,
- A greening project for each village/town.
Portarlington Workshop
- Cycle paths along and bridges across the River Barrow,
- Better connection to neighbouring villages and towns through bus services and public transport,
- A pedestrianised town centre, with dedicated space and services to support artisanal/pop-up markets.
Mountmellick Workshop
- New walkways and greenways around the town
- More cycle lanes throughout the town,
- A Parking/Traffic Plan to address private vehicle congestion within the town,
- More bus stops, bus shelters, and better signposting to make it easier for people to use public transport.
Abbeyleix Workshop
- The creation of new greenways and a blueway in the areas around the town,
- A sustainability plan for the town, alongside the funding and personnel to help deliver it,
- A community energy plan,
- Community bikes and dedicated cycle lanes,
- An electric vehicle hub where people can co-share electric cars and charging points.
Rathdowney Workshop
- A community-owned energy project,
- More electric car charging infrastructure,
- The creation of blueways and greenways on local bogs and rivers, as well as an eco-park.
Ballylinan Workshop
- The creation of a greenway/blueway on River Barrow,
- Enhancing the use of rivers as outdoor and educational resource.
Virtual Workshop
- The creation of sustainable green corridors across the county,
- Investment in community gardens to help deliver more sustainable local produce.
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