A local school will soon be establishing a cycling club after a donation of 20 bicycles from the Western Cape department of transport and public works (DTPW).
Cloetesville High School received 20 #Bike4All bicycles, according to Jannis Jagger, office manager at the Pedal Power Association. These bicycles are speed utility bicycles, which are easy and affordable to maintain, explained Jagger.
The school also received a safety and repair kit with basic tools and additional training on road safety practices, said Jandré Baker, spokesperson for the Western Cape DTPW.
The Western Cape department of transport and public works (DTPW) recently donated 20 bikes to Cloetesville High School as part of their Provincial Sustainable Transport Programme. Stellenbosch Municipality is one of the programme’s high-priority areas, according to Jandré Baker, spokesperson for the DTPW. PHOTO: Tamia Retief
Cloetesville High School cycling club pending
“The kids were quite excited,” said Dorian Meyer, the principal of Cloetesville High School.
The school will be establishing a cycling club, rather than donating the bikes to individual learners, said Meyer.
“What we are concerned about is the safety of the learners, because these bicycles could easily be stolen from them,” explained Meyer. “What we decided on is that, for an extra-mural activity, we will use the sets of bicycles to start a cycling club at the school where, on certain days, we will allow different learners to go on cycling routes with staff supervision.”
The new cycling club should be in full swing by next year, said Meyer.
The bike handover at Cloetesville High was held on 15 September, with members of the municipality present at the handover, according to Stuart Grobbelaar, spokesperson for Stellenbosch Municipality.
“The kids were very excited,” said Dorian Meyer, principal of Cloetesville High School, on the recent bike donations from the Western Cape department of transport and public works. The school hopes to use this donation to start a cycling club where students can ride the bikes as part of their extramural activities, said Meyer. PHOTO: Stellenbosch Municipality/Twitter
An ongoing effort
The donation is part of the Provincial Sustainable Transport Programme (PSTP) run by the DTPW since November 2019, said Baker.
PSTP is a “bicycle distribution programme” in collaboration with the DTPW and the #Bike4All initiative. This initiative is run by the Pedal Power Association, a public benefit organisation focused on promoting cycling to the public, according to Jagger.
The Western Cape DTPW has distributed over 1 700 bicycles since the establishment of this project in November 2019, said Baker.
The aim of the PSTP is to “address the transport barrier and help local community organisations and schools to maximise their reach and to meet the needs of their beneficiaries better”, added Baker.
“Stellenbosch Municipality is one of the PSTP high-priority municipalities,” said Baker.
This is because Stellenbosch has many rural communities and their need for alternative transport, such as cycling, is high, he explained.
“The PSTP recognises that non-motorised transport, is the most accessible mobility option, especially for rural communities. […] Bicycles improve the opportunities for those for whom public transport is unaffordable,” he explained.