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The campaign promotes the benefits of cycling and walking to boost health and wellbeing , as well as helping to build a cleaner , greener future for the area . It comes as the number of people cycling and walking reached record levels during lockdown and new cycling and walking measures have been put in place to build confidence and enable residents to cycle and walk more easily . A national survey undertaken by The Department for Transport – All change travel tracker ( DfT ) – found that :
• 11 % of people have been cycling more during lockdown
• 33 % of people have been walking more during lockdown
• 62 % of people are willing to do more cycling and walking to reduce their contribution to climate change
Additionally , a recent regional survey – ( Travel West Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan survey 2019 ) – reported that 94 % people in the West of England think the West of England would be a better place if more people walked or cycled .
West of England Mayor , Tim Bowles said , “ During lockdown many people have taken advantage of quieter roads to walk or cycle more regularly . 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
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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 .”
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 .
The campaign has been planned in partnership with Bath & North East Somerset Council , Bristol City Council , North Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council as well as many partner organisations across the region in including Business West .
Business West ’ s latest business survey shows that Covid-19 has accelerated many business ’ plans to encourage employees to walk and cycle more . 54 per cent of the 500 businesses surveyed said they are putting in plans to increase the uptake of cycling amongst employees , with a further
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34 per cent saying that they are investing in supporting infrastructure to help store bikes securely .
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 .”
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For more information , visit the ‘ joyinthejourney ’ page on the TravelWest website .
@ travelwestEng
For more info : www . travelwest . info
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14 www . tbebathandsomerset . co . uk |