Cork City Council promotes Bike to Work Week
24th – 31st May 2008
Cork City Council is promoting Bike to Work Week from May 24th to May 31st as one of a calendar of initiatives the Council is undertaking to promote cycling for an EU project called "Trendy Travel".
The aim of the initiative is to devote one week to promote cycling amongst workers in local businesses. To this end, three initiatives have been organized.
- The first is a "Back on your Bike" event to encourage adults and teens to cycle on the streets of Cork city. To assist, free "Cycle Safety Skills Training" is being offered on Saturday 26th May in Mahon. There will be a choice of one-on-one beginner sessions or group refresher sessions (all participants must pre-book with the Traffic Division, Cork City Council by May 20th).
- The second event targets employers. It is a lunchtime seminar on how employers can incorporate cycling provisions into their Mobility Management Plans. Promoting cycling at work is an integral part of corporate mobility management planning. At the moment all businesses applying for planning permission are required to submit a Mobility Management Plan but the requirements to develop and implement sustainable Mobility Management Plans are likely to be more widely applied under forthcoming legislation.
To learn more about incorporating cycling provisions into Mobility Management Plans people are invited to come along to a lunchtime event on this topic on 26th May from 12:30 pm to 2pm in the Imperial Hotel, South Mall, Cork. A light lunch will be served based on the pre-registered attendance.
- The third event is "The Cycle-To-Work Challenge". All businesses/workplaces participating in this challenge can have their company profile uploaded onto Cork City Council's website www.corkcity.ie and the workplace that makes the most effort to promote cycling will receive an award at the annual CEF Environmental Awards.[1]
To enter it is suggested that employees form groups of four, preferably including a mix of regular and irregular or novice cyclists. Team members record how many miles they cycle each day during the week and record this on a chart displayed in the workplace. Results can also be submitted to Cork City Council for upload on-line. Where there are several teams within the workplace, the Council recommends that the best team be awarded a prize by the employer. The Trendy Travel team in Cork City Council can help by providing bells, helmets and mileage counters upon request e.g. for prizes etc. The City Council is also offering free use of rented bikes for the week to those who would like to try a new bike.
Information and Registration Forms for all events are available on-line on www.corkcity.ie (see Our Services / Roads & Transportation / Traffic Division) or from traffic@corkcity.ie
Further information on Cork City Council's Bike to Work Week is available from the Traffic Division, Roads & Transportation, tel: 021 4924452.
ANCILLIARY INFORMATION
A "Bike to Work Week" is promoted in different countries around the World in May or June. (For a selection of English speaking sites see www.biketoworkweek.org or www.bikeweek.org.uk;) In Denmark they devote a whole month to the "We Bike to Work" Campaign which encouraged 8,000 people to get back to cycling last year!
Feedback:
Cork City Council's Traffic Division welcomes feedback and ideas on ways to improve provision for cyclists.
It is acknowledged that Cork city does not have the same cycling infrastructure as cities in the Netherlands or Denmark. In many cases the city's streets are just too narrow to accommodate cycle lanes, however Cork City Council has designed 10 Green Routes with prioritisation for bus/cycle lanes where possible. There are also plans in the pipeline for some contra-flow cycles lanes to make the one-way system a little easier for cyclists to negotiate, but again the Council will record and consider all specific suggestions for locating more cycle friendly measures- traffic calming, toucan crossings, advanced stop-lines / cycle-lanes etc.
Why Bother?
As an employer the benefits of more staff cycling are:
b People who cycle to work regularly are more productive: they arrive at work more alert and less stressed
b Cycling employees take less time off sick than non-cycling employees
b Less space is required for car parking (financial advantage),
b Cyclists are less likely to be late – cycling journey times are more predictable
b A pro-cycling company is seen as being a more caring and environmentally aware employer
The employer also profits indirectly from the wider socio-economic and environmental benefits:
Environmental/City Benefits:
Wide ranging benefits of reduced traffic are:
b More cyclists means less air pollution/noise pollution
b More cyclists make our city more attractive to visit
b More cyclists makes Cork city more attractive for investment – lower travel costs
