Businesses all over Milton Keynes to be offered FREE bicycle parking stands for workers

A new Ride It, Lock It, Love It campaign aims to encourage more MK residents to cycle to work by providing safer and securer bike storage for local businesses.
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Milton Keynes Council is working in partnership with sustainable transport firm PWLC Projects, and bike park suppliers Turvec, to offer free bicycle parking stands to businesses in the borough.

The council has earmarked £45,000 from its Transport Policy budget for the project, and businesses are being urged to apply to help them reduce emissions and boost their green credentials.

Steve Wong, Partner at PWLC Projects, said: “The ‘Ride it, Lock it, Love it’ campaign is a great way for businesses to take the worry out of bike ownership and set them on the path toward safe, secure bicycle parking.

The campaign encourages people in MK to cycle to workThe campaign encourages people in MK to cycle to work
The campaign encourages people in MK to cycle to work

“It is really important to us that we engage meaningfully with businesses to register with us onto Modeshift Stars for Business and put together a Workplace Travel Plan that will help them encourage staff to adopt sustainable transport options such as cycling.”

As part of MK Council’s £500,000 Green Recovery Fund for Sustainable Transport Initiative, businesses could also qualify for a grant of up to £1,000 for use on measures introduced to the workplace that help encourage staff to use more sustainable modes of transport.

This could allow companies or parishes to enhance their facilities by providing covered parking, public bike pumps, repair stations, or charging points for e-bikes.

Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at the cycling charity, Cycling UK, has welcomed the initiative: “We’ve seen a huge resurgence in the number of people cycling during the pandemic as people, in part because they’re looking to avoid public transport as they commute to work," he said.

“That’s why it’s really important we support people to feel able to cycle, whether that’s by providing more cycle parking or installing more cycle lanes so they feel safer travelling by bike.

“Not only is cycling great for our health and mental well-being, enabling more people to cycle is a crucial step towards improving air quality and reducing road traffic congestion in our towns and cities.”

Providing cycle parking for businesses is just one of the council’s initiatives to support both sustainable transport and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the other schemes include Bikeability cycle training courses, which are a great way to help your staff become more confident when using their bikes. The courses also make for a fantastic activity to tag onto team building away days.

Milton Keynes Council also loans eCargo bikes to businesses to support clean, green, healthier transportation; offers opportunities for residents to try out ebikes; as well as providing access to free bikes for low income or unemployed locals living within the borough of Milton Keynes.

Bike sales have rocketed nationally by 63 per cent during lockdown, according to the Bicycle Association. And a survey by the Department for Transport found 34 per cent of cyclists are cycling more now than they did before the pandemic.

Businesses can find out more information on the cycle parking for business scheme by getting in contact with PWLC at [email protected] or speak to Jamie Stephens directly on 07736 286 277. More information about this initiative and all of the other MK Council led projects to support active and sustainable transport will be available at www.getcyclingmk.org.

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