About us

By 2011, we want Colchester to be a place where cycling is a natural choice of travel for increasing numbers of residents, workers and visitors thanks to easy access to key locations.

To achieve this we need to encourage more people to cycle more often. We’ll do this in a number of ways, partly by providing first class cycling routes, signage and maps while working to create an environment which promotes, educates and trains people to cycle safely.

We will work with a wide range of age groups and will look at all aspects of daily life to find out what barriers there are stopping people cycling and what can be done to remove these.

Our key aims are to:

1. Increase the number of cyclists cycling regularly by at least 75% over the life of the initial plan period
2. Increase the mode share of children cycling to targeted schools to 10%
3. Double the number of people travelling to targeted work places by bike
4. Increase the number of people travelling to the town centre by bike by 50%
5. Increase the number of cyclists travelling to the towns 3 rail stations by 50%.

To achieve this, we will focus on three main areas:

• Infrastructure improvements to improve cycle access to and from the town centre, rail stations, new developments and growth areas
• Education, training and school cycle promotion to give access to Bikeability training to people of all ages
• Communications and partnerships, to win hearts and minds.

Our strategy seeks to appeal directly to new generations of cyclists by targeting a range of new audiences exploring possible areas of motivation such as the economy of cycling as an alternative to car travel, the enjoyment it can bring and the environmental and health benefits it offers.

The project is being delivered in partnership by Essex County Council, Colchester Borough Council, local cycling groups and other key stakeholders.

Click here to view the Cycle Colchester strategy.