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Climate charity Possible has teamed up with Brompton Bicycle and Covent Garden to launch ‘Name Our Lanes’, a competition to name London’s cycleways.
This comes following a boom in cycling in the capital as more people are choosing to travel by bike during the COVID-19 pandemic. To mark the duration of the competition, a socially distanced walk-on illustration mapping London’s major cycleways has been installed in Covent Garden’s Piazza.
Londoners can enter the competition and have their suggestions considered by either visiting the installation in Covent Garden in compliance with social distancing rules and scanning QR codes on the ground or by entering online. A team of five judges will decide on a shortlist of three names for each cycleway.
The judges include chief executive of the London Cycling Campaign Ashok Sinha, author Jools Walker, director of the Active Travel Academy Rachel Aldred, CEO of Brompton Bicycle Will Butler-Adams, and head of Car Free Cities at Possible Hirra Khan Adeogun. The public will then get the chance to vote for their preferred names online.
The winners will be announced in November and the prizes up for grabs include a brand new 2021 Brompton bike, a meal for two at Covent Garden restaurant RedFarm and two tickets to the London Transport Museum for submissions with the highest number of votes.
Visitors who cycle into Covent Garden to interact with the installation will receive special discounts to restaurants in the area including 20% off and a complimentary first drink at Cora Pearl, Abuelo, Gentlemen Barista, Red Farm and more, as well as special happy hour deals at The Oystermen and Din Tai Fung.
“We’ve seen a huge rise in cycling in the capital throughout the coronavirus pandemic,” said Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner. “As our network of cycleways continue to grow, and more and more Londoners use them to get around, it’s fantastic to see brands like Brompton engaging so positively with our work. I look forward to seeing the names people come up with.”
Butler-Adams added: “London has been Brompton’s home for over 45 years – our staff and customers know the London cycle lanes like the back of their hands, so we’re proud to launch this competition today. Cycle lanes are incredibly important to the thousands of people who use them every day to get to work, school or simply enjoying the freedom and happiness that cycling in our capital brings.
“We’re hoping that as London’s cycle network grows, these new names will become as synonymous with city travel as any famous road or tube line.”
Read the October issue of BikeBiz below:
