Press Release – Horsham Cycling Summit draws UK’s top cycling experts

Horsham Cycling Summit draws UK’s top cycling experts

Both Horsham District Councillors and West Sussex County Councillors, along with officers from WSCC and HDC, will have the opportunity to hear some of the country’s top cycling experts discuss how to bring the benefits of cycling to Horsham.

Local businesses and groups such as the Horsham Society and Horsham Blueprint will also be in attendance and will get the opportunity to meet and discuss how to make cycling a safe and convenient transport option in the town.

Delegates will hear how making it possible for people of all ages and abilities to get about by bike benefits the whole community and how the economic, health and social benefits that providing for cycling brings to the town makes it a more attractive place to live.

Keynote speaker Dr Rachel Aldred, Senior Lecturer at Westminster University and one of the UK’s leading cycling experts will be talking about her pioneering research into what prevents people from cycling, and how we can overcome those barriers.

Mark Strong, a transport consultant from Brighton who has first-hand experience of Horsham, will be talking about how we can design our streets today to allow people to cycle safely and conveniently. Delegates will discover how countries such as the Netherlands are making active travel possible for people of all ages and abilities.

During the roundtable discussions delegates will discuss how to apply these lessons to local issues such as Horsham’s Missing Link (the completion of the cycle route to Crawley) and how to apply best international practice in new developments such as those proposed north of Horsham.

The event is being held in the WSCC offices, Park North, Horsham from 7:30pm on Thursday 9th July.

From 7pm outside the offices there will be a display of transportation bikes, including an electric bicycle and a Dutch roadster.

Cycle Forum Steering Group member Peter Silburn says:
“It’s increasingly understood that providing for cycling benefits the whole community, not just cyclists. But to reap those benefits you need to build infrastructure. Encouraging people to ride in the current environment just isn’t going to get more people on their bikes. The roads are too unpleasant and too dangerous. HDC’s own review of cycling in Horsham commissioned in 2009 identified most of the through roads in Horsham as being ‘major barriers to cycling’ and unsuitable for ‘all but the most experienced cyclists’. Where exactly are people supposed to cycle?”

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