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Bikeability takes honours at road safety awards

Via and Nottinghamshire County Council score a double at the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation Awards.

Via East Midlands and Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) emerged victorious when its Bikeability Scheme was named the winner in the Road Safety category at the recent Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) East Midlands Awards. The NCC/Via Bikeability Scheme is the only training provider to have won an award and this recognises the key contribution of their efforts towards casualty reduction.

There was cause for further celebrations when Via and the council’s contributions to the work on Colliery Way, also known as the Gedling Access Road (GAR), were recognised with the Engineering Challenge Award. The Colliery Way project was a joint initiative between Via, Balfour Beatty and NCC.

Via’s and NCC’s representatives were joined on the night by the national Bikeability Trust’s CEO, Emily Cherry, who was delighted to see the project receive its first award at a regional level.

Tracy Graham, Via’s Road Safety Manager who leads the Bikeability Scheme, said, “I am delighted that Bikeability has won the Road Safety award and that we’ve emerged as winners among such a distinguished field of nominees. This award celebrates the hard work and dedication of our Bikeability team who strive to give children and adults skills for life, instilling them with confidence, as well as sharing their knowledge and expertise in safe cycling practices.”

Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, NCC’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, lent his support at the event, saying, “It was great to see Via and the council recognised, winning both these awards which showcase the strength and depth of our community-based initiatives and civil engineering expertise. Many congratulations to all our winners.

“These successes are a testament to each team, marking the work that Via’s Safer Highways team do to make the roads across Nottinghamshire safer through education and engineering, whilst also shining a light on the delivery of major projects that make a real difference to our people across our county.”

The Bikeability Scheme has been on a high and last week’s win follows in the footsteps of a series of successes. These include the donation of 36 frog bikes worth over £12,000, which were presented to Via by the Bikeability Trust in December last year, as well as the participation of children from King Edwin School, in Sherwood Forest, who rode alongside their Bikeability instructors, during Stage 4 of the Tour of Britain.

The Nottinghamshire Bikeability Scheme is one of the UK’s largest cycle training initiatives. It is led by Via and aims to empower individuals of all ages with the essential skills and confidence to cycle safely on public roads.

In 2023, Via's Bikeability Team trained over 10,500 young adults and children. This figure includes the introduction of 3,000 balance bike sessions which were held to assist children in learning to ride before advancing to Level 1 Bikeability training. In response to the government's increased annual delivery targets set by the Bikeability Trust, Via’s programme has expanded significantly and is set to offer over 11,000 places for the 2024/2025 period.

Similarly, Via’s multidisciplinary team was recognised with the Merit Award at last year’s Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) East Midlands Merit Awards (EMMAs) for its work on the Colliery Way project alongside NCC and Balfour Beatty.

The CIHT Awards is held annually and it celebrates the outstanding achievements and contributions made by professionals in the highways and transport sector.