At the launch of the new Cycling Inclusion Centre
New Cycling Inclusion Centre of Excellence
ON Thursday, Ministers Emer Higgins (Dept of Children, Disability & Equality) and Sean Canney (Dept of Transport), alongside Deputy Mayor of South Dublin County Council Trevor Gilligan, officially opened a new Cycling Inclusion Centre of Excellence at Collinstown Park Sports Complex, Neilstown Road in Clondalkin.
The Cycling Inclusion Centre of Excellence has been designed as a space where everyone can feel empowered to ride a bike.
It will offer adaptive bikes for riders with disabilities, training and safety programs for new cyclists, community rides, repair workshops and educational initiatives promoting sustainable and active transport.
The complex will have a permanent, specially designed cycling course where people with non-disabilities and people with disabilities can learn to cycle together.
The centre initially started as a bike hub five years ago, with funding from Active South Dublin purchasing a container and 40 bikes for children and adults.
Staff in Collinstown Park Sports Complex, which is funded by Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB, manage the facility and undertook training to provide cycle training to local primary schools, to teenagers in the secondary school on site and to lead community rides and promote cycling in this very disadvantaged area.
Variety – the Children’s Charity of Ireland, which provides hundreds of special mobility trikes to people with mobility issues across Ireland every year, subsequently became a partner this year and provided funding for a 2nd container and 10 mobility bikes of various sizes. South Dublin Co Co, through their Climate Action Dept, also provided funding for the installation of the road mark stencils and play games on site.
Thus a new, fully inclusive centre of excellence has been created and there is great pride and excitement for what this centre can provide in the future.
