Exeter gets a Bike It officer

Bike It, managed by sustainable transport charity Sustrans, builds on the success of the project in other UK towns and cities, where cycling levels quadrupled in the first year. Emma Osborne, the new Sustrans Bike It Officer for Exeter, has taken up her post just in time for Bike to School Week (24-28 April).

Bike It is funded from the Bike Hub bicycle levy. Cycling England is also now a cash contributor to the scheme.

Osborne will be working closely with Devon County Council’s Cycle Demonstration Town team and the new School and Workplace Travel Plan Advisor, Heather Baker, to raise awareness through schools of the many benefits of cycling. Osborne will be working closely with 10 schools each year, which will be selected for their enthusiasm for cycling.

She has worked on economic and community regeneration projects across the West for the previous five years.

Bike It will form an integral part of the Cycle Exeter project bringing together many important factors, including cycle storage, cycle training and safety, and raising the profile of the many benefits of cycling with pupils, staff and parents. The project will deliver a range of activities, for example, assemblies and classroom, sessions, help in setting up cycle clubs and user groups, as well as fun events, like bike breakfasts and cycling displays.

The Cycling Demonstration Town status was awarded to Exeter in October 2005. The Cycling Demonstration Towns are Brighton, Darlington, Derby, Exeter, Lancaster and Aylesbury. Under the scheme, the towns receive a total of £8.4m government funding over three years and this investment is matched by the local authority.
www.saferoutestoschools.org.uk/index.php?p=n30