Over £1.7m has been allocated to active travel projects across Scotland to make cycling easier.
Some 173 organisations will benefit from investment from the Scottish government’s active travel budget.
Delivered through Cycling Scotland’s Cycling Friendly programme, 148 employers, community groups, campuses and schools will receive funding, with a further 13 registered social housing providers collecting a share.
Furthermore, the Cycling Friendly NHS worker fund will enable staff at eight health boards access to bikes and support during lockdown.
The investment will be used to improve facilities including new showers and new cycling parking as well as providing bikes to employees who may not have access or maintenance equipment.
It is estimated that more than 343,000 people could benefit from this support across Scotland.
Kate Brough, head of behaviour change at Cycling Scotland said: “Cycling rates have soared since the start of the pandemic and we are delighted to allocate Cycling Friendly funding across Scotland to help even more people travel by bike for everyday journeys.”
One project to receive a share of the funding is Link Housing Association. A £20,000 investment will enable it to install external secure bike parking for the 71 households in North Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire, where there currently are no bike parking facilities.
Sheila Maxwell, community investment officer at Link Housing, said: “This will address the current total lack of bike storage and allow tenants to comply with health and safety legislation around storage of items in communal stairwells.
“It will also encourage more tenants and their families to use bikes and make it easier for tenants who already have bikes to use them more.
“Above all, it will help establish a welcoming neighbourhood environment where tenants and their families can store bikes safely and get outdoors and use them more frequently.”
Read more: Extra funding for Scottish e-bike projects announced
