Brighton and Hove children urged to cycle to school

7:24am Monday 24th March 2008

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More schoolchildren will be cycling safely to school this year thanks to a Government grant.

Free Bikeability cycle training will be given to 1,380 schoolchildren by March 2009, after Brighton and Hove City Council received £55,200.

The scheme will give youngsters the confidence to cycle on busy roads.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, chairman of the environment committee, said: "Equipping young people with the necessary cycling safety skills will contribute to the city council's targets of reducing congestion in the city and particularly around our schools."

Dean Spears, principal transport planner at the council, said: "This successful bid was jointly submitted by the city council's road safety and cycling demonstration town teams, and will provide one-toone tuition for young people enabling them to cycle safely throughout their lives."

Brighton and Hove is one of six Cycling Demonstration Town projects in the UK, which aims to improve cycling infrastructure.

Its projects include the cycle freeway on Grand Avenue and The Drive and schemes such as personalised travel planning, cycle training, car-free days and bike week.

Funding for the scheme and Bikeability has been provided by Cycling England, the Government's specialist cycling organisation.

As summer approaches and more people choose to use two wheels to get around, cyclists are being warned to keep their bikes secure. In Brighton and Hove an average of 70 bicycles are reported stolen each month.

A multi-agency cycle theft steering group, including representatives from the police, local authority, cycle organisations and councillors, was set up to tackle cycle theft in September 2006.

The group consulted national specialists Bikeoff, from the Design Against Crime Research Centre in London, which advised cyclists to lock their bikes at all times.

Other advice was to use a combination of two different good quality locks and to lock both wheels and the frame to a bike stand.

Councillor Brian Oxley, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council and chairman of the Community Safety Forum, said: "As more and more people take to cycling in the city, it's important that cyclists know how to protect their bikes against the most common bike theft techniques and get into the habit of locking their bike securely and effectively."

For more information about street bicycle parking, visit www.journeyon.co.uk or call Sussex Police on 0845 6070999 and ask to speak to a crime prevention officer about cycle security.

To register your bike with a national property and recovery scheme visit www.immobilise.com.

Are roads safe enough for your children to cycle to school? Tell us what you think below.