Laois County Council is delighted to unveil a new Bike Library at People’s Park, Portlaoise. Developed by the council’s Climate Action Team, this initiative aims to provide access to bikes for schoolchildren, promote cycling, and support training programs designed to encourage safer and more sustainable travel in the community under the Travel Cluster Project.
The Bike Library features a secure, keyless bike hanger designed to store upcycled bicycles for cycle training by teachers and Green Schools Travel Officers working locally. This weatherproof facility, located next to the learning area in People’s Park, ensures the bicycles are safely stored and readily available for training and educational purposes.
The bicycles in the library were generously donated through a bike amnesty organised by Laois County Council’s Environment Section in August. To bring ten of the bikes up to standard for the local Portlaoise school bike library, the Environment Section engaged Frontline Bikes, to refurbish and restore the bikes to a high standard.
The bike hanger storage unit was funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA) through the Active Travel Section. The Projects Office installed the concrete pad to which the bike storage unit is securely anchored. This initiative reflects a successful cross-departmental effort within Laois County Council, demonstrating how cooperation across various teams can deliver valuable community infrastructure.
The Bike Library was developed to support the Portlaoise Travel Cluster Project which is a groundbreaking initiative, marking the first time in Ireland that all schools within a single town have collaboratively focused on the Green-Schools Travel theme simultaneously. Sponsored by Laois County Council it is delivering the Green-Schools Travel theme across the ten mainstream Portlaoise schools and aims to increase sustainable travel among students by promoting walking, cycling, scooting, and the use of public or shared transportation
Students from Maryborough NS and Portlaoise Educate Together NS attended the launch and took the bikes on their first spin around the Learn to Bike park. They really enjoyed getting on the bikes and around the Learn to bike park; smiling and laughing; pointing things out; waving at each other to practise their indicator skills!