“A key focus will be holding power to account in ensuring cycling and active travel are given the funding that’s needed to transform the number of people choosing cycling. “It’s essential that this is a collaborative approach I want to help bring together the best of Coventry and showcase what’s possible when you put people first. “I am engaging with key stakeholders to outline my vision as Bicycle Mayor,” said Tranter. Prioritise the implementation and promotion of initiatives that benefit the most vulnerable: children, people with special mobility needs, vulnerable road users and those affected most by pollution Engage media and partners to better communicate and showcase the benefits of cycling for everybody in Coventryģ. Work to ensure that Coventry meets its cycling potential working with policymakers to ensure priority is given to cycling and active travelĢ. Tranter states his three key priorities as Bicycle Mayor as:ġ. He will work to promote the benefits of cycling, walking and other active travel modes to challenge the status quo of one of the UK’s most car-centric cities. He aims to “hold Coventry’s policymakers to account”, ensuring cycling is a key priority in tackling the Climate Emergency declared by Coventry City Council and over 60% of local councils in the UK. “We now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help more people onto bikes for greater personal and public health and to help the climate crisis that’s why I’m working as Bicycle Mayor of Coventry,” he said. His mission is to help Coventry reach its potential by supporting those who live, work and visit the city in making cycling and walking the obvious transport choice for short journeys, regardless of age, gender or background. Tranter received endorsements to be Coventry’s Bicycle Mayor from Sir Chris Hoy, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling and Walking, British Cycling, BBC Coventry and Warwickshire presenter Phil Upton, the Warwick University Bicycle Users Group and other local cycling advocates. The programme started in Amsterdam and is run by non-profit BYCS. There are over 100 Bicycle Mayors operating around the globe from Madrid to Mumbai. They aren’t part of the local Government but are volunteers recommended by local cycling groups and city stakeholders. The Bicycle Mayor position helps coordinate between existing cyclists, the community, Government, and nonprofits. However, “it’s proving very difficult to make happen”, Adam adds, “the system is so entrenched with valuing parking above people.Coventry has become the first UK city to get a Bicycle Mayor.Īdam Tranter was born and raised in the city and now runs Fusion Media, a PR and marketing agency looking after brands such as Brompton Bicycles, Evans Cycles, Red Bull, Shimano and the Tour de France. This would shift the focus away from creating public spaces that prioritise cars and parking and re-positions this energy on spaces that can directly serve people. If councils make the planning processes more participatory then people would have more power to determine what their area should look like. The solution is pretty straightforward to Adam. That would translate into more concern about how their public spaces are being used which could improve the way areas look. If people take more ownership of the places that they live in, they will ultimately take more pride in their areas. Yet too often these spaces are used to meet local authority demands for housing and parking spaces, which can sometimes be in direct contrast with how locals would like to see the public spaces in their area used.Īdam believes that communities should have more of a say in how public spaces are utilised and that the process should become more participatory. Public spaces, and green spaces in particular, is something that many councils have had to start prioritising more.