The project aims to teach children how to ride a bicycle safely
Kindergarten and primary school students in Loulé are being taught to ride bicycles as part of a new initiative called ‘Bicicleta vai à Escola’ (Bicycle goes to School).
The initiative is part of the ‘Healthy Cities’ project promoted by Urbact, a European exchange and learning programme promoting sustainable urban development.
The goal is to teach schoolchildren what they need to know to ride a bicycle, autonomously and safely, including actual bike-riding skills and traffic rules.
Students completing fourth grade will receive a ‘Driver’s Licence’ attesting to their bike-riding abilities.
The overarching objective of the initiative is to promote cycling as a healthier and more environmentally friendly means of transportation. As the local council points out, many children still do not know how to ride bicycles.
“Despite the efforts by the council to promote bicycles as a means of transportation and physical exercise, the truth is that the percentage of the population, particularly children and youngsters, who do now know how to ride a bicycle is very high (some studies show that the percentage is around 70%), whether it is due to parents not having time to teach their children, lack of spaces to practice or due to road safety concerns,” the council says.
