Get on your bikes (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Get on your bikes

8:47am Tuesday 7th February 2012 in Readers' letters By Telegraph & Argus

SIR – It’s great to see Bradford City Council launching their cycling strategy recently (T&A, February 3).

At charity Sustrans, we know that a key factor in making cycling the norm for daily journeys is to encourage people to cycle regularly when they are young, and that’s exactly what we’re about to start doing in Bradford.

Our work with children across the country has shown that more than half want to cycle to school, but less than four per cent actually do, and in Bradford that figure is even lower – less than half a per cent cycle to school.

From the end of the month, we’ll spend the next two and a half years working with pupils, parents and teachers in Bradford schools on things like cycle training and basic bike maintenance, helping pupils plan their routes to school and to overcome any other barriers that stop them from getting on their bikes.

We’re keen to hear now from schools interested in working with us. For more information, e-mail emily.picken@sustrans.org.uk, or call 07775 430612, or write to me at the address below.

Emily Picken, Sustrans officer for schools in Bradford, Jacobs Well, Bradford BD1 5RW