Coleg Gwent is celebrating being awarded over £46,000 to improve cycling facilities to encourage more staff to cycle to work.
The grant, from South East Wales Travel Alliance (SEWTA) will provide new bike shelters, courses in cycle training & cycle maintenance and improvements in changing facilities across the College which will be in place by spring 2011.
Coleg Gwent’s Organisation Development Manager Gill Pollock is over the moon with the grant: “One of the barriers to cycling to work has been the lack of bike storage and changing facilities for staff. The benefits of the grants will not be in place until spring 2011 but we are working on this implementation now so it should provide improved facilities ready for the lighter days.
“We’re also launching our involvement in the Government’s Cycle to Work Scheme so the timing of this grant is ideal and hopefully we’ll see more staff cycling to work in the future.”
The grant coincides with the College’s Sustainable Travel Month which will run throughout November and will promote cycling, car sharing and public transport to all staff and learners to help them save money, reduce their impact on the environment and increase their fitness.
Sustainable Travel Roadshows will take place at all campuses and will provide information and advice from a range of specialist organisations who will attend the events including Sustrans, SEWTA and Traveline Cymru.
Two members of staff are already reducing their carbon footprint and getting fitter at the same time. is Paul Mugleston and Huw Morgan, based at the College’s headquarters in Usk, have been cycling to work since September and October respectively and welcome the improved facilities that the grant will provide:
“It will be better when we have somewhere more secure to keep our bikes during the day,” says Paul, from Pontypool, who is also a qualified mountain bike instructor. “And I expect that better changing facilities will be an incentive for staff to ride their bikes to work. One factor that could discourage people is safety on the roads, but if they are offered training and advice on how to ride safely on the roads, staff may be more inclined to cycle to work, for at least some of their journey if not all of it, which I think would be great.”
This is what one member of staff is already doing. Huw Morgan from Abertillery drives to Paul’s house then they cycle the rest of the way together. “The distance and time it would take from my house to work would not be practical to cycle so cycling some of the way is a better compromise. Since I’ve been cycling in I’ve noticed I’m getting fitter, I’m improving the time it takes and it gives me time to unwind on my way home from work. I’m also using less petrol which is better for the environment but also better for my pocket – any saving at the moment is a good thing.”
