Bikeability to continue during lockdown ‘as things stand’

The first live discussion session delivered as part of the Festival of Road Safety covered a multitude of topics related to encouraging more people to take up cycling while at the same time improving safety.

The session, which took place on Tuesday 3 November, can now be viewed on the Festival website – click here to watch the session (scroll down the page).

The expert panel comprised Emily Cherry, executive director of the Bikeability Trust, Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at Cycling UK and Sonya Hurt, road safety manager for Derbyshire County Council.

The session opened with discussion about the challenges relating to delivering Bikeability training in the current climate (3mins into the video). Emily Cherry confirmed that, as things stand, Bikeability training will continue to be delivered in a COVID-secure manner during the current lockdown period. 

Emily also mentioned new Bikeability training for families which has been introduced and should be delivered to around 2,500 families over the coming months.

All of the panellists welcomed the introduction of the temporary cycle infrastructure currently being introduced in towns and cities across the country, and acknowledged the good work being carried out by local authorities in unprecedented circumstances (10mins 30secs into video).

Other topics covered during the hour long session included: 

• The Government’s recently launched £2bn plan to make England a ‘great walking and cycling nation’ (17mins into video); 
• Delivering cycle training for adults (29mins into video); 
• And how to encourage more cycling among ethnic minority groups, women, disabled people, older people, and those at greater risk of deprivation (37mins 30secs into video).

The session attracted an audience of 73 attendees, 15 of whom left complimentary comments at the end, thanking the panellists for an excellent and informative session.

The next live discussion session will focus on the school run and will take place on Tuesday 10 November at 14.00. Click here for more details.

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