More needs to be done to create safe cycle routes to school

Following a recent survey by Sustrans, the body that manages the UK’s network of cycle paths, findings have shown that almost 50% of the 16,500 cycle route pathways in the country are unsafe for young children.

With many cycle routes being assessed as poor or very poor, the organisation is currently lobbying the Government to provide £2.8bn in funding to repair and upgrade specific routes after the study highlighted that 42% of paths were not suitable for a 12-year-old cyclist to use.

The quality of the route surface, restrictive barriers and the fact that some routes force young cyclists onto fast and heavily used roads have led the charity to call on the Government to help improve a vast percentage of the routes and make them safe for cyclists of all ages and abilities.

For parents encouraging their children to be more active this summer, this news comes as a real blow as local cycle routes are often used by families on sunny days as a way of getting children out of the house and enjoying some fresh air and exercise.

Raw Labels is encouraging carers and parents to contact their local authorities in order to report any route surface issues or restrictive barriers as well as identifying potentially unsafe routes that have high levels of traffic.

By drawing the attention of local councils to any problems on nearby cycle routes, communities and individuals can help put the pressure on to get the improvements needed to make these routes and pathways safe and give children the ability to get out and about on their bikes without fear of injury.

Another way that parents can help safeguard younger children when cycling with friends is to provide them with a Raw Labels ID wristband.

Reusable, waterproof and colourful, the ID wristband range from Raw Labels contains an area to include the child’s name and parents phone number should they stray away from their friends or get lost on poorly signposted cycle routes so that parents and guardians can be contacted quickly and can arrange to pick their children up, so they don’t get into further difficulties.

To find out more about the ID wristbands from Raw Labels, visit https://www.rawlabels.co.uk/