A SIGNIFICANT increase in people cycling throughout Helensburgh during lockdown has been recorded by Cycle Scotland.

Since March, the nation’s cycling organisation has released monthly updates on the number of people cycling in Scotland, using its nationwide network of automatic cycle counters to compile the data.

Statistics released by Cycling Scotland reveal that between March and August, 43 per cent more cycling journeys were recorded throughout the country compared to the same period in 2019.

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In Helensburgh specifically, a high of 130 cyclists was recorded in one day at the start of May at the East Clyde Street bike counter – almost double figures to the 70 that were recorded at the same time in 2019.

Then again in June, a high of 110 bikers were tracked, compared with 50 the year before.

Cycling Scotland chief executive, Keith Irving, said: “In the past six months, we’ve all seen our lives radically change. One of the few positive changes is that more people have returned to cycling or started to cycle.

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“We expected that the progressive lifting of lockdown restrictions in most areas would affect cycling numbers and for the second month running we are seeing these increases start to slow slightly.

“It’s heartening that cycling is still a third higher this August compared to last.”

Transport secretary Michael Matheson, added: “We should all be pleased to see a higher rate of cycling over the last six months – and we know why this has occurred.

“Having seen the success of initiatives like Spaces for People and the Scotland Cycle Repair Scheme, the task now is to lock-in the positive changes in travel behaviour we’ve seen recently.”

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