Wolverhampton council leader commits to more city cycle lanes after successful ride from East Park to Molineux

The leader of City of Wolverhampton Council has confirmed his commitment to more cycle lanes for the city following the successful return of Kidical Mass.

Labour councillor Stephen Simkins joined the annual Kidical Mass ride from Wolverhampton East Park to Molineux Stadium and back on Saturday (June 13) with Commonwealth Games gold medallist Hugh Porter MBE on Lime hire bikes.

The return of the event saw more than 150 riders of all ages take part in the relaxed, marshalled ride through the city, enjoying a safe and welcoming atmosphere while exploring a growing network of cycle routes.

Following the success of the event, Cllr Simkins confirmed he is committed to bringing more cycle lanes to the city.

In a presentation to long-serving council officer Tim Philpot on his retirement, he said: “This is a massive event for Wolverhampton. What Kidical Mass brings is education, skills, maintenance of bikes and general knowledge, but more importantly, it brings people together.

“What's important is that there's a space for everybody to ride their bicycles safely across the city. What we need to do is on the back of events like this is to make a commitment to bring more cycle paths, so people can share that safe space.”

He also hailed Philpot as a "a great advocate for our city, especially in transport, especially in cycling.”

The event follows the publication of the Government’s new £4.5 billion walking and cycling strategy, which set a target for 60% of children to be walking or cycling to school by 2035.

Sam Henry, Bicycle Mayor of Wolverhampton, and organiser of Wolverhampton Kidical Mass as founder of social enterprise No Limits to Health, said: “This is great news for us – we have been championing for a long time to have a cohesive plan for young people to walk, wheel and cycle safely.

“What we’re trying to do is the ‘how’ angle. We want to make sure that the Government can really deliver this”.

Active Travel Commissioner for the West Midlands Beccy Marston, who came on the ride with three generations of her family, said she backed a bigger network of cycle paths across the region “so everyone can get to where they need to get to”.