As I was buzzing through some sites this morning to get my brain going after a 4-day weekend, I came across some exciting news on the BikeBiz site. There is a lottery give away in England that the people can vote for - what's the prize? 50 million pounds (as in money, but I can't find the symbol here in blogger...hmmm). Who gets it? Not an individual, but an initiative that will change the way people live for the better.
From what I can tell, the lottery sytem in England is giving away this boat load of money to one of four different initiatives. The finalists are: Black Country Urban Park, Sherwood: The Living Legend, Eden Project: The Edge and Sustrans' Connect2.
All are great projects, but the Connect2 is one that all cyclists in the UK should get online and vote for. You can read more about the project on the summary page, but here is a little exerpt:
"Connect2 is a UK-wide project that aims to improve local travel in 79 communities by creating new walking and cycling routes for the local journeys we all make every day.
By building bridges and crossings over busy roads, rivers and railway lines, Connect2 will get people to the places they want to go. Each crossing will link to a network of walking and cycling routes, taking you to your schools, shops, work and green spaces. Connect2 will also bring people closer together, making journeys quicker and more convenient and leaving more time to spend with family and friends.
Around 6 million people live within a mile of a Connect2 project. Each one will change the lives of people of all ages – from cyclists and leisure walkers to commuters and schoolchildren, as well as elderly people and wheelchair users – everyone will have a better quality of life thanks to Connect2."
Voting started today and continues through noon December 10. You can also vote via phone, if you'd like. You can spread the word about your favorite project in a number of ways, including imbedding images into your Facebook page.
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Connect 2 is a great idea but so are the Black Country and Sherwood projects, both of which also major on cycling and walking routes. I'll back the Black Country bid myself. Rather than spread the money as thinly as possible this is about wholesale transformation of a really deprived major urban area of 1m people where the need for healthy living is greatest.
It's great that the national cycleway network has already had about £60m Lottery money. But the Black Country communities are the kind of people who actually buy most of the Lottery tickets. In terms of how much they've had back per head to improve their own lives and environment they'd need to win about £90m just to catch up to the national average!
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