Mayor of London Announces the 'Summer of Cycling'

London Shells Out Money to Promote CyclingAs part of the $975 million USD London plans to spend on walking and cycling programs over the next decade, London Mayor Boris Johnson has launched the 'Summer of Cycling' with the simple but important aim of getting more Londoners to ride their bikes.

A press release announced that:
The Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) will be promoting cycling throughout the coming months, through innovative events and the ongoing “You’re better off by bike” campaign. The aims of this campaign are to encourage existing cyclists to use their bikes more regularly, and promote cycling to the estimated 1.1 million Londoners who have access to bikes but don’t use them.

Riding a Bike? It's the Economics, Stupid!Some of the marquee events will be the September 7th finale of the Tour of Britain, a professional bike race, as well as "the hugely popular Sky Sports London Freewheel event" where the roads of central London are closed and cyclists are allowed to take over the streets. In addition to the promotional events and ad campaigns, the city will continue upgrading its network of bike lanes and bike racks as well as step up its campaigns to educate the public as to the benefits of cycling, and the keys to ensuring safety on the road. Between Britain's high gas prices and London's congestion charge, the bicycle shouldn't be a hard sell. As with so many other things, it's the economics!

Via TreeHugger