Ways church can welcome people who cycle

Ways to welcome people who cycle

The Diocese of Manchester has a unique opportunity to play a vital role in Beelines, which is a radical plan by Chris Boardman and Transport for Greater Manchester to transform Greater Manchester into Britain's first 'cycling city'.

As the Diocese of Manchester continues to work towards becoming an Eco Diocese, a plan to revolutionise how people travel has been unveiled and is gaining momentum.

Many churches within the boundary of Greater Manchester may soon find that they are on a 'Beeline': over 1000 miles of a fully joined up cycling and walking network.

As the work on improving Greater Manchester’s infrastructure gets underway, churches can begin to make provisions for people on bikes - in ways both large and small.

Chris Boardman, Greater Manchester cycling and walking commissioner, said: Churches are a fantastic hub that can bring people together; places where a lot of things can happen and be organised for the good of an entire community. By supporting cycling, they can help people get around in a more ecologically friendly, healthy and pleasant way."

The Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, said “Beelines is all about making it easier to get about the city, on foot and by bike. We’re really excited about it because it will improve people’s health and it will help to people to get about. Our churches are ideally placed in every community to offer a welcome for cycling. It fits well with our desire to become an Eco Diocese, which means taking seriously our care of God’s creation.” 

There are lots of ways churches can begin to welcome cycling.

• Cycle parking - these come in many shapes and sizes and grants are available to fund them
• Hosting a cycle training or cycle safety course
• Running bike schemes for refugees or those out of work
• Forming a cycling club
• Getting children riding confidently, by providing them with a place to practise - cycling games for children
• Having tools and a cycle pump available in the church porch
• Putting a welcome notice outside and on the church website
• Holding a cycling cafe
• Hosting a spin class in the church hall
• Entering sponsored rides for charity
• Displaying a map of local cycling routes
• Commenting on the Beelines plans on the interactive map, helping to improve cycle nearby routes
• Building cycle tracks for families and young people in church grounds