Safe cycle storage for Billericay pupils
On Monday 1st March, a new bike shed is being unveiled at Quilters Junior School, in a bid to encourage more children to cycle to school.
Sustainable transport charity, Sustrans, has been working with the school since September 2009 to help children overcome the barriers that prevent them from cycling to school.
Recent research from the Department for Biological Sciences, at Essex University, has shown that the fittest children are those that cycle to school. With rising levels of obesity plaguing the country, Sustrans is working to encourage to children to live healthier, more active lifestyles.
Quilters Junior’s currently has around 25 children regularly cycling to school, however, thanks to the popularity of Sustrans Bike It events, this number is set to increase. In November, during the schools successful ‘Bike Week’, 100 children cycled to school.
Anna Hughes, the school’s Sustrans Bike It officer, hopes to build on this success with the installation the new cycle storage. Anna comments, “The new bike shed is vital for children at this school. Many children want to cycle to school, but aren’t able to, because there isn’t sufficient storage space for their bikes. The new storage will help encourage even more children, and their parents, to swap four wheels for two on the daily school run.”
“We've seen a massive response to the events we've run, and as the weather improves and the bike shed opens, the number of regular cyclists should rise and stay high.”
Sustrans works in partnership with Essex County Council with 11 schools in the Basildon District and receives funding from South West Essex PCT and the Big Lottery Fund.
Further information about Sustrans and Bike It, including other news
releases, is available through our website: www.sustrans.org.uk
Published by: Travel Actively on Monday March 01 2010
