British Cycling has welcomed the actions of a primary school in the North East for getting 225 of its pupils to support the petition. Now British Cycling would like to see more schools across the country lead by their example.
With nearly 70,000 signatures currently on the Get Britain Cycling e-petition on the Government’s website, it is clear that cyclists across Great Britain want to see a debate in Parliament about how we can get the nation on bikes. However, in order for this to be considered, the petition needs to reach at least 100,000 signatures.
"Cycling plays a huge role in our school life. When we saw the opportunity to sign the petition and make a difference to cycling in this country it was something that we, as a school, felt that we had to do and we were more than happy to pledge our support to this cause."
Michael Bell, Head of Morpeth Road Primary Academy
British Cycling has this week received some surprise support for the campaign from a primary school in the North East - Morpeth Road Primary Academy.
Cycling is a huge part of the school’s curriculum - from a toddler groups riding balance bikes to Year Six students doing Coast-to-Coast rides. So far, 225 of the school’s pupils have lent their support to the petition.
British Cycling’s Director of Legal and Policy Affairs, Martin Gibbs said:
“We applaud the initiative that Morpeth Road Primary Academy has shown in getting its pupils to support the Get Britain Cycling campaign. One of the recommendations of the Get Britain Cycling report is to include cycling on the national curriculum so it is in the interest of schools that are behind cycling to lend their support. Everybody who has an interest in cycling or just wants to make our towns and cities more pleasant places to live should sign the petition to help make a difference.”
Michael Bell, Head of Morpeth Road Primary Academy said:
“Cycling plays a huge role in our school life. When we saw the opportunity to sign the petition and make a difference to cycling in this country it was something that we, as a school, felt that we had to do and we were more than happy to pledge our support to this cause.”
The Get Britain Cycling report has identified five key areas where changes can be made to improve cycling infrastructure in the UK:
- Political leadership backed by cross-departmental Cycling Action Plan, with annual progress reports
- Create a cycling budget of £10 per person per year
- Make it a statutory requirement that cyclists’ and pedestrians’ needs are considered at an early stage of all new development schemes
- Extend 20mph speed limits in towns, and consider 40mph limits on many rural lanes
- Provide cycle training at all primary and secondary schools.
