West of England mayor launches new cycling and walking campaign

The benefits of cycling and walking are at the centre of a new campaign from the West of England Combined Authority.

Residents are invited to “find joy in the journey” by swapping short car journeys for walking or cycling to help reduce congestion and improve air quality.

The number of people cycling and walking reached record levels during lockdown, with new cycling and walking measures recently put in place across the Bristol region to enable people to cycle and walk more easily.

West of England mayor, Tim Bowles, said: “As more people begin to return to school, college and work we have a real opportunity to capture the positive changes we have seen to improve the physical and mental health of residents, improve air quality and ease congestion across the West of England.

“That’s why I’m encouraging more people to find joy in the journey by swapping a short car journey for walking or cycling whether commuting to work, taking the kids to school or popping to the shops.

“Not only will walking or cycling boost your mood but it will also help us on the road to a greener future for the region.”

A £1.1m investment by the Department of Transport aims to benefit both pedestrians and cyclists on a stretch of the Bristol & Bath Railway Path – photo by Martin Booth

Research from Sustrans showed that even before the coronavirus pandemic, a majority of residents in the WECA area supported measures to improve walking and cycling on high streets, and the restriction of traffic outside schools and on residential streets

Jon Usher, head of partnerships at Sustrans, said that as schools and workplaces prepare to reopen, “we need to take this opportunity to make active travel the obvious choice for all ages and abilities”.

He said: “It’s great to see the measures that the West of England Combined Authority and councils in the region have already taken and we fully support the vision for the future.”

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Read more: 10 Bristol roads where improvements to walking and cycling could easily be made

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Business West’s latest business survey shows that Covud-19 has accelerated many business’ plans to encourage employees to walk and cycle more.

James Durie, chief executive of Bristol Chamber & Initiative at Business West, said: “We are strongly helping support this new campaign as we know there is a growing appetite amongst employers across the city region to encourage employees to travel more sustainably and reduce their impact on the environment, particularly as awareness of climate change only grows.

“In short, it makes sense in economic, environmental and health terms to accelerate what has been happening.”

The government is trying to encourage people not to use public transport when they return to work – photo by Martin Booth

WECA has agreed £13m investment in measures to enable cycling and walking in the region. £3m will underwrite the cost of short-term measures such as widened pavements and temporary cycle lanes to help people to maintain social distancing while walking and cycling.

A further £10m has been agreed for longer term solutions to encourage active travel in the region.

Main photo by Martin Booth

Read more: ‘We need to admit that cycling and walking are completely different activities’