Last Thursday the pilot project ‘To school by bike’ (‘En bici al cole’) was launched in Pilar de la Horadada by the Councillor for Mobility, Alfonso Armenteros together with local police officer and head of the project, Jesús Navarrete and Juan Meseguer, Headmaster of the CEIP Martín Artigot.
The project aims to bring the world of cycling closer to children and to schools. It is an idea generated by the councillors of Tourism and Security through the use of the network of cycle routes that are already available in the municipality, so that schoolchildren can get to school safely by bike on an established route.
The bicycle has a positive value for childhood and for the town as a whole. It enables freedom in the movement of children as they are getting older, an opportunity for play, and to improve their relationship with the environment. The bicycle is also a means of transport that reduces the high levels of pollution and stress in towns. In short, it is part of the solution to tackle health, environmental problems (fumes, noise) and mobility (occupation of public roads, traffic jams) that takes motorised traffic into towns.
The first students who will take part in the pilot test are from 5th and 6th grade in the CEIP Martín Artigot.
Jesus Navarrete said that one hundred percent security does not exist although in Pilar de la Horadada the municipality will allow children to follow a previously marked route over which they will be accompanied by monitors, all of whom will be identified with “fluorescent breastplates”.
The CEIP Martin Artigot headmaster thanked the city, families and students for the work and effort that they have put into this project, because he believes that the use of bikes for journeys to and from school will be of a great benefit to his students.
