University praised for commitment to encouraging cycling to and from campus
Edinburgh Napier University’s commitment to getting more staff and students cycling to campus has been recognised with a top award from Scotland’s national cycling organisation.
The University’s Merchiston campus has received a Cycling Friendly Campus Award from Cycling Scotland in recognition of the support Edinburgh Napier offers to its cycling community.
Presented during the University’s Sustainable Travel Fair at Merchiston this week, the award – which is delivered with funding from Transport Scotland – sees Merchiston join Edinburgh Napier’s Sighthill campus in being accredited. The University also holds a gold Health Working Lives Accreditation.
The University’s Merchiston campus provides 100 bicycle storage spaces, with 14% of staff based at the campus using their bikes to get to and from work – 4% more than the 2020 vision of 10% set by Cycling Action Plan for Scotland.
Merchiston campus shows the highest number of staff and students travelling on foot and by bicycle out of the University’s three main campuses.
Overall, 66.8% of Edinburgh Napier staff and students either cycle, walk or take public transport when travelling to the University – something that Edinburgh Napier is committed to improving even further in the months ahead.
Kerry Dewar, Director of People and Services at Edinburgh Napier, said: “We are delighted to receive this award and would like to thank all of our staff and students who have shown a commitment towards sustainable travel.
“We hope to build on this by continuing to support our cycle to work agenda and aim to have even more people cycle to work in the future.”
Jamie Pearson, Environmental Sustainability Manager, said: “The support we receive from organisations such as Cycling Scotland is absolutely fantastic. Their resources and funding help the University to identify and develop better facilities on campus for current prospective cyclists.
“We will use the recommendations highlighted within the assessment to work with our community and plan our next steps. Thank you to everyone at the University that has contributed towards gaining this award.”
Cycling Scotland’s Valentin Jeanjean, who delivered the award, said: “With two-thirds of Edinburgh Napier students and staff travelling by bike, on foot or by using public transport, the University has worked hard to support its community to make sustainable transport choices.
“Having installed cycle storage, ran promotional events over the last four years and developed successful partnerships with external organisations such as Sustrans and Bike for Refugees, to name just a few, we’re very pleased to recognise the University with this well-deserved Cycling Friendly Campus Award.”
The award for Merchiston campus was received as Edinburgh Napier launched its 2020 Travel Survey at its Sustainable Travel Fair.
Guests from Sustrans, Lothian Buses, Edinburgh Trams, Police Scotland and Just Eat Cycles (Edinburgh’s Cycle Hire Scheme), joined staff and students with travel information and advice across all three campuses, with free bike advice and sustainable smoothies also available to attendees.
The Edinburgh Napier Travel Survey looks at travel behaviour by asking how people get to University and to meetings. It gives the participants a chance to comment on their journeys and what factors influence their travel choices.
The University will use its results to determine how best it can support and encourage more sustainable travel. The insight gained also helps it feed into public infrastructure consultations alongside calculating its carbon impact as a University.
The last survey was conducted in 2017 and had over 2000 responses. More information on Edinburgh Napier’s 2020 Travel Survey can be found here.
The Cycling Friendly Campus Award is run by Cycling Scotland with funding from Transport Scotland and recognises exemplar projects from Scotland’s college and university campuses where cycling is a real and accessible part of campus life.
Campuses can register to become a Cycling Friendly Campus at www.cycling.scot
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