Rise in people on bikes after summer cycle project

Open Streets has been encouraging families to saddle up all summer

A summer project to get Leicester families on their bikes comes to a close on Sunday.

The final regular Open Streets event for 2024 will take over Town Hall Square from 13:00 to 16:00 BST, with an “extreme” mountain bike show, a Dr Bike fix-it session, interactive junk-art bikes, live music, and an art market in nearby Green Dragon Square.

A bike ride around key historic sites in the siege of Leicester will also take place.

The regular monthly Bike Fest also takes place on Saturday from 13:00 to 16:00 at Leicester Cycle Circuit and Ride Leicester said events like these have helped increase cycling across the city.

Janet Hudson, Active Travel Corridors project manager at Leicester City Council, said: “It’s been a good year for cycling across all of the events we do. We’ve seen a lot of people.”

"Fantastic infrastructure"

Ride Leicester has been working to encourage bike use in the city, with initiatives ranging from family events to women-only cycling lessons.

Janet said: “It’s not just about teaching people to ride a bike, it’s about supporting them to navigate around the city using the fantastic infrastructure that we have.

“You can get from Abbey Park to Watermead Park and be 90% on cycle tracks.

“That then encourages people to come into the city by bike.

“Cycling in the city is increasing. We have electronic counters across the cycle tracks to capture the numbers on a daily basis and the numbers are rising.”