Vote for cycling!

Bike Friday rides, April 30, the Love Your Bike and Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign (GMCC)

As part of the Bike Friday rides, April 30, the Love Your Bike and Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign (GMCC) is encouraging people all across Greater Manchester to ‘vote for cycling’ when voting in the local elections on May 6.

To encourage all local councillors to support policies that will help to increase cycling levels across Greater Manchester the campaign groups have contacted local election candidates in every ward asking them to complete a cycling issues survey.

In the next 10 years all Greater Manchester councils will need to meet many challenges:

• obesity
• congestion
• air quality
• rising transport costs
• meeting C02 emission reduction targets

Cycling is the ideal way to help people save travel costs, reduce obesity levels, become healthier and more active, as well as tackle congestion, reduce air pollution and C02 emissions.

With public funding widely predicted to be under severe pressure after the General Election the good news is that investments in policies and projects to increase the levels of people cycling can save money.

Research for Cycling England by SQW Consultants highlighted how “each new additional cyclist generated, by promoting and encouraging, cycling would deliver saving benefits of up to £382 in relation to health, pollution and congestion issues.” The research also
illustrated how a surprisingly small number of additional cyclists would pay for investment in new cycling infrastructure.

As an example, encouraging just 110 additional people to cycle regularly in Greater Manchester would save up to £41,000 each year in terms of health, congestion and pollution costs and could justify £1 million expenditure on cycling infrastructure and facilities.

Catherine Thomson from Manchester Friends of the Earth said: “Love Your Bike and the Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign believe that making Greater Manchester a great cycling city will help local councils meet many of the challenges such as reducing traffic
congestion, air pollution levels and help tackle rising obesity levels. Cycling is fun, healthier, good for the environment and cost-effective too”

Bike Friday combines a range of cycle rides into the City Centre from various locations as well as working with companies and local authorities in Greater Manchester to promote cycling, improve cycle facilities and to encourage more people to continue cycling to school, work and for leisure all year round. Bike Friday is part of the Love
Your Bike campaign.