Kids get Bikwise

Kids are taking to their bikes this month in the Queenstown Lakes District.

The children of Hawea Flat School will be encouraged to ride to school tomorrow for the national ‘Go By Bike Day’, as part of ‘Bikewise’ month, Queenstown Lakes District Council travel demand manager Rae-Anne Kurucz said.

“It’s a fantastic initiative for the school with ‘cycling’ children rewarded with some ‘Bikewise’ goodies courtesy of the New Zealand Transport Agency and a healthy snack lunch courtesy of the council,” she said.

Other schools will be joining in.

“On Thursday Queenstown Primary School students will hold its ‘Go By Bike” day, again receiving goodies and a healthy snack for their efforts,” Ms Kurucz said.

The whole school will receive a cycle skills course with support from the entire community.

“From the council, the police and the school through to local businesses and parents, it will be a real push for kids to think about how they can safely travel to school on their bikes,” she said.

In the case of children who lived a long way out of town, there was encouragement to park and ride.
“If they normally get dropped off at the school, they can talk with parents or caregivers about being dropped off a few kilometres from school with their bike, which all helps with the reduction of traffic congestion and parking issues,” Ms Kurucz said.

Arrowtown School gets in on the act on Friday, 26 February.

“Arrowtown’s biking students will also get goodies and the council healthy snack. It’s just great that we have had so much support from schools this year,” she said.

For all school initiatives, children 10-Years and under needed to be accompanied by an adult and all children and adults must wear helmets and reflective gear.

“We want this to be a safe and enjoyable experience for all children,” Ms Kurucz said.

For its part, council staff had signed up to a staff travel plan with more than 50 staff exploring new ways to travel to work through biking, walking, bussing, car pooling and park and ride, in February.

“We are also using Bike Wise month to spring board an exciting district-wide initiative which will be announced by the Mayor on Monday,” Ms Kurucz said.

Meanwhile she encouraged any members of the community to ‘Go By Bike’ tomorrow and asked that commuters took ‘special care’ of cyclists, particularly around schools.