Kids, let’s ride a bike to school – 2018

In order to state the importance of cycling in urban transportation, to improve the understanding that cycling is an effective means of transportation and to encourage the use of bicycles, Turkish Healthy Cities Association continued its efforts initiated last year to raise awareness with the slogan “Kids, let’s ride a bike to school”. With the announcement we made, 4th and higher grade students at primary schools living in our member municipalities were asked to ride their bicycles to go to their schools between 7-11 May 2018. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Bilecik Municipality, Antalya Gazipaşa Municipality and Giresun Tirebolu Municipality supported our announcement by taking part in this initiative.

In the scope of “Kids, let’s ride a bike to school” campaign held under the auspices of Menderes Turel, Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality and the Chairman of Turkish Healthy Cities Association, students at Altındağ Training Center were reminded of the benefits of riding a bike for transportation, rules to be followed while cycling, and the rules to be followed by the pedestrians and drivers to support cyclists. 15 students of AKBEM, which provides educational opportunities for children between the ages of 8-14, cycled to their school. AKBEM officials stated that students participated to the Turkish Healthy Cities Association’s awareness activity with great enthusiasm, and said, “Our goal is to encourage the students to go to their schools by their bicycles and increase the use of bicycles. We will continue to encourage riding a bike to grow healthy generations, and for a cleaner environment and energy-saving.”

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Youth and Sports Directorate supported our campaign as they did the previous year. In order to draw attention to healthy living and to promote cycling, “Kids, let’s ride a bike to school” campaign has been put into practice with the participation of the students from Çatalca Çakıl Secondary School and Kadıköy İmam Hatip High School.

In addition, the local people enthusiastically followed the activity which was carried out to raise awareness of environmental and sustainable transportation solutions with the participation of more than 100 students. During the activity performed between 7-11 May 2018, the children who rode a bike to school gave a message to the people by drawing attention to a healthy life.

Within the scope of the “Kids, let’s ride a bike to school” campaign, students rode bikes to go to school in the activity organized by Bilecik Municipality, which also supported the campaign last year, with the corporation of Bilecik Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urban Planning and Cyclists Associations’ Bilecik Branch.

During the activity, which was held with the slogan of “Healthy Future, Healthy Generations”, groups of students from Bilecik Murat Hüdavendigar Secondary School and 700. Yıl Secondary School rode their bikes to their schools. During the activity, Abdullah Ay, Deputy Mayor of Bilecik Municipality, Mustafa Budak, Director of Environment and Urban Planning of Bilecik, Hakan Yavuz, Bilecik Representative of Cyclists Association, farewelled the students riding bikes on the first day of the activity. Hakan Yavuz, Bilecik Representative of Cyclists Association, told the students about the benefits of cycling and the rules to be observed in the traffic.

Antalya Gazipaşa Municipality launched the campaign, which was held with the slogan of “Kids, let’s ride a bike to school” for the second time this year, in Ahmet Tuncer Primary and Secondary School. The children who gathered in front of the school with their bicycles toured on a 4-kilometer road which was closed to traffic under the supervision of cycling coaches of Gazipaşa Municipality. Approximately 200 students attended the activity.

Adem Kaya, Deputy Mayor of Gazipaşa Municipality, said that they were pleased with the interest in the campaign organized jointly with Turkish Healthy Cities Association. Kaya stated that all the roads constructed by Gazipaşa Municipality had a cycling lanes and added “The number of people riding bicycles and using it as a means of transportation in our district increased significantly because of the cycling lanes constructed in European standards by the municipality in recent years. Our goal is to encourage the students to go to their schools by bike and increase the use of bicycles. We will continue to encourage riding bikes to grow healthy generations, and for a cleaner environment and energy-saving.”

Abdullah Karabıçak, the Mayor of Giresun Tirebolu Municipality, who made a statement within the scope of the “Kids, let’s ride a bike to school” initiative organized by Giresun Tirebolu Municipality, said “Bicycles are outstanding transportation vehicles; significant projects have been carried out every year in our country; we encouraged the students in our municipality to ride a bike while going to school and coming back home by donating 50 bicycles as part of the ‘Kids, let’s ride a bike to school’ initiative”.

As Turkish Healthy Cities Association, we would like to thank Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Bilecik Municipality, Antalya Gazipaşa Municipality, Giresun Tirebolu Municipality for their support in our “Kids, let’s ride a bike to school” initiative. The member municipalities that supported our campaign will be granted a certificate for their efforts during Turkish Healthy Cities Association Conference, which will be held in October in Kadikoy, Istanbul