CLONAKILTY CAR POOL PUBLIC MEETING THIS THURSDAY
LIKE A "SPEED DATING INTRODUCTION FOR COMMUTERS"
The Clonakilty Community Environmental Group, Sustainable Clonakily, has organised a public information meeting on the concept of Car Pooling/Car Sharing for this Thursday evening 22nd September at 8.00pm in O' Donovan's Hotel. The aim is to get like-minded people together and empower those travelling to the same destinations to organise car pooling. In doing so, participants have an option to cut their transport fuel costs, cut their carbon emissions, avoid gridlock, get to know other people in the community and possibly get to work faster.
The Sustainable Clonakilty Transport Group, a sub-committee of the main organisation, has been planning the event for several months, and the aim is to get people into the one room with an open mind, hear how car pooling is already working for some people, as well as giving them an opportunity to raise points of concern.
The meeting aims to identify two distinct groups of people in the Clonakilty general area for whom Car Pooling would be beneficial:-
(1) People living locally who travel to the same local destinations regularly, at similar times. This would include mainly parents taking children to the local Schools, which in Clonakilty is a frustrating time for drivers with daily gridlock on the roads between 8.30 - 9.30pm each morning. Also falling into this bracket are people working in large employments in the town like the local hospital and Technology Park.
The meeting will also discuss the idea of setting up a local mini bus service to ferry large groups from various pick-up points around town to the schools and workplaces if there is enough interest.
(2) The second group who may benefit from Car Polling would be people who commute out of Clonakilty to other urban centres like Skibbereen, Bandon and Cork City, and back again around the same times on a regular basis.
Sustainable Clonakilty is very conscious of the gridlock in and around Clonakilty each day around school delivery and collection times, and believes car pooling and/or a local mini bus service could help improve the quality of life for all involved, and benefit other road users unable to avail of car pooling.
The organisation also believes that it would make a lot no sense if people travelling from Clonakilty to other areas to work were to car share. With petrol over 1.50/litre, it would reduce travel costs, wear and tear on cars and vehicles numbers on the routes involved.
At Thursdays public meeting the pros and cons of Car Pooling will be discussed, with the object at the end of the night of having people who regularly travel the same or similar routes around the same times, getting together, exchanging phone numbers, etc. and going on to try out car pooling/car sharing perhaps on a trial basis at first. "It's a bit like Speed Dating for Commuters!!", said a spokesperson for the organising committee.
"If it works for people, its a win, win all round, with fuel costs reduced for the participants; reduction of carbon emissions, and reducing gridlock on the roads at particular times of the day".
"In the ideal world, having a dedicated mini-bus service for the Clonakilty town schools, coupled with other parents engaging in car pooling arrangements, would have great potential to lessen traffic on the roads at critical times, lessen frustration and save money for everyone. Mar a dúirt Obama, "Is féidir linn!!"END
Go raibh maith agat,
Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin,
P.R.O.,
Sustainable Clonakilty.
086-2202029
See our website: www.sustainableclon.com for up to date information on our activities.
Join our Facebook pages
Sustainable Clonakilty
and
The Transport Group at
Go raibh maith agat,
Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin,
P.R.O.,
Sustainable Clonakilty.
086-2202029
See our website: www.sustainableclon.com for up to date information on our activities.
Join our Facebook pages
Sustainable Clonakilty
and
The Transport Group at
Secretary,
Sustainable Clonakilty & Sustclon Ltd
CRO number 463930
Charity No. 18535
Reg Office: 11 Redwood Park
Clonakilty, Co. Cork
E: sustainableclon@gmail.com
Ph 023 883 5241
W: www.sustainableclon.com it's a new one and new logo too!
Winner of the 2010 Tidy Towns National Sustainable Development Award.
Cork Environmental Forum Annual Environmental Awards 2010:
Winner of Community & Voluntary Category for 2010 Energy Week.
