Derby
Derby was the largest of the first wave of Cycling Towns, and is focusing its efforts on a sizeable proportion of its population - the 100,000 residents under the age of 25.
To date, Derby City Council has invested considerable time and resources into embedding cycling into the school day. Having built on an already well-developed network of on and off-road cycle routes, it has encouraged children to bike to school, providing cycle parking spaces and shelters at all schools that have expressed an interest. Every Year Six pupil in the town (2,800 children in total) has been offered Level 2 Bikeability training, and Derby is also helping parents with free ‘Learn to Cycle’ sessions.
In addition to training and secure parking, local schools have been engaged through after-school cycling clubs, with 28 schemes set up in 2007. Young people are also reached through promotional campaigns most notably a six month ‘Festival of Cycling’ which ran from March to November 2007, comprising family bike rides, cycle try-outs and ‘Dr Bike’ cycle repair and maintenance sessions. This push was championed by ‘Shift and Sprocket’ - cartoon characters invented by the town and used in marketing and publicity material, as well as providing real-life entertainment at events and school assemblies.
From September 2008 Derby will begin to reach out to university and college students as well as school-aged pupils, providing cycle maps and other innovative ideas like midnight bike rides and even cycle dating! It also plans to extend work to target hard-to-reach groups, developing a bike recycling project as part of its approach.
For breaking news on these initiatives, please visit www.derby.gov.uk or contact:
Bella Stewart
Derby City Council, The Council House, Corporation Street, Derby, DE1 2FS
01332 715 070
