Sheffield to host UK’s largest active travel event

Last year, the Government announced plans to make England a great walking and cycling nation, and will provide around £2 billion to help local authorities across England to make the vision a reality.

The two-day Cycle City Active City event will take place on 5 and 6 July at City Hall and Barkers Pool, and will see more than 800 active travel professionals welcomed to Sheffield by Cllr Terry Fox, Leader of Sheffield City Council and Oliver Coppard, Mayor, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

There will be cycling and walking tours taking place around the city, including visits to Hillsborough Park and Kelham Island, to try out its walking and cycling infrastructure and amenities.

Says Cllr Terry Fox, Leader of Sheffield City Council: "Active travel is a key priority area for Sheffield City Council - from infrastructure to the health and wellbeing benefits for our local residents and those that work here.

Embracing the great outdoors is an important part of our culture, influencing so much about life in Sheffield. We look forward to sharing best practice, learning from others and welcoming all Cycle City Active City delegates to our Outdoor City."

Easier and safer active travel options help communities to choose healthy modes of travel for short trips – walking, cycling, scooting and wheeling – which in turn improve air quality and make the region’s streets safer and quieter.

Innovative private sector companies are also rising to the challenge, with schemes offering shared bikes, e-bikes, e-cargo bikes and e-scooters increasing across the country – and possibly coming to Sheffield soon….

To date, local authorities across the Sheffield region have overseen transformational active travel schemes, from the inspirational Connecting Sheffield programme, the establishment of Active Neighbourhoods across South Yorkshire, and the Active Travel Implementation Plan, which sets out how, by 2040, a fully connected network of walking and cycling routes will link the region for safe and active travel.

Active travel will also help Sheffield to become a zero-carbon city by the start of the next decade: both Sheffield City Council and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority have declared Climate Emergencies – in line with more than 525 other local authorities in the UK – affecting more than 61 million residents. In Britain around 93 per cent of the population lives in areas where the local authorities have declared a climate emergency.