Cycle Project gets South Dunedin students onto two wheels

Cycle Project gets South Dunedin students onto two wheels

Public Health Association media release, 7 September 2015

Increasing provision for active transport modes is a central part of the Dunedin City Integrated Transport Strategy and cycling is important to that as it plays a significant role in improving health, the Public Health Association Conference heard in Dunedin today. However, there can be a number of challenges to overcome and it’s not always easy to get kids onto bikes.

Dunedin City Council’s (DC’S) Safer Journey’s Coordinator Charlotte Flaherty said the South Dunedin Cycling Project (SDCP) was developed as a collaborative approach to road safety, sport and recreational cycling. It includes the DCC, secondary and primary schools, recreational bike clubs, local funding bodies, the Neighbourhood Policing Team and youth training providers in South Dunedin.

“These partnerships have meant we’ve had a lot of local buy in into the SDCP. Around 40 percent of South Dunedin households do not own a car and many families in the area do not have access to helmets and bikes. The SDCP provides skills training, equipment and opportunity to practise the skills for independent journeys by bike.”

To improve road safety awareness, cycle skills training sessions were provided for 700 young people aged between 12 and 17 years last year. The cycle skills training was followed by led rides which showcased the new cycle network and were funded by the Otago Motor Club Trust. Funding was also provided by the Otago Community Trust to enable 500 young people to participate in introductory mountain-biking, BMXing and road cycling sessions.

This year, the focus is to continue to build on the success of last year’s programme Additionally, teaching staff, high school and tertiary students will continue to be trained and accredited to deliver cycle skills training on an ongoing basis.

“Sport NZ, which is partnering with the DCC and NZ Transport Agency to fund this project, has identified biking as being in the top five sporting activities that both girls and boys wanted to try,” said Charlotte Flaherty.

“We think we’re on the right track with our project as we’re getting very positive feedback from the students and teaching staff. However, we are finding that a large proportion of families don’t have access to a bike or equipment that meet safety standards.”

To address this need the DCC is using bikes donated by the public for the community bike library.

“For young people, fun is a key driver to participating in sport and recreation and we take a kinaesthetic, hands-on approach to learning. The kids spend the majority of their time during this programme on their bikes, meaning they stay actively engaged,” Charlotte said.

The SDCP will be funded until 2016/17. A key focus is to establish mechanisms and partnerships in schools and the community to enable the project to become self-sustaining. This will include accrediting and supporting key personnel, including teachers and youth leaders and incorporating skills training and cycling activities into school curricula and more community programmes.

Evaluation of the SDCP is being undertaken by the University of Otago School of Physical Activity and Exercise Sciences.

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