Henderson Valley School children put on a show as the community celebrated the opening of their brand new 300m state-of-the-art Bikes in Schools track on Friday 5 May.
As well as the track, which includes a pump section, bridges and a seesaw, the school has also worked with sponsors and funders to secure 55 bikes with helmets and a safe place to store them.
The new facilities were designed and constructed by Haydn Shore from Bike Parks.
Life lessons amid the fun
Henderson Valley School Principal Janet Moyle says, "Being in a semi-rural area, many of the roads around us have a 70km speed limits and there are not a lot of safe places for kids to ride bikes.
“We can already see that these bikes are building greater confidence, perseverance, skills and fitness for our children.”
Auckland Transport Manager of Walking, Cycling and Road Safety Kathryn King says, "It's delightful to see children getting so much enjoyment out of being on a bike. We invest in the Bikes in Schools programme for the obvious outcomes like children getting day to day fun out of riding.
“But we also have a plan for transport choices for all Aucklanders and these programmes mean every time someone uses the track they are gaining the skills they need to try biking to work or another place they might have taken the car or public transport.”
About Bikes in Schools
Bikes in Schools projects across New Zealand have so far helped more than 18,000 school children across more than 70 schools get to ride a bike on a regular basis at school.
Other supporters and contributors of the Henderson Valley School track and bike fleet include Trillian Trust, The Trusts Community Foundation, Waitemata PHO, Harcourts Blue Fern Realty, Henderson Rotary, Auckland Transport and Bike On NZ Charitable Trust.
