IES Ana Luisa Bentez wins the "Cortos en Bici" contest - La Provincia

The Vice President and Counselor of Public Works and Transportation of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pablo Rodríguez, attended on Thursday "Bike Fair", that organizes the area that he directs in the Gran Canaria capital, and made the delivery of prizes to the winning educational centers of the first edition of the contest that hosts the event "Cortos en bici". The free-access fair takes place during the day, until 8:00 p.m., in the Plaza de la Música.

It is an event that drives the Canarian Executive on the occasion of the presentation of the Master Plan of the Canary Bicycle 2018-2025, which aims to encourage the use of bicycles on the islands, not only as a sport and sustainable leisure activity, but as a means of transport. In this line, the vice president and counselor of Public Works and Transport explained: "As I mentioned, after finalizing the writing of the Master Plan for the Canary Bicycle, we thought about creating an event in which not only was the project made known to the public, but it served as a hook to promote the spirit that promotes it and hence the celebration of the fair, which was born with a vocation for continuity and as the first action of the second phase of the plan. "He added:" This plan establishes actions and policies favoring the use of bicycles in the coming years, like the creation of systems of public bicycle, parking of bicycles, scholastic routes in bici, calmed of the traffic, or urban planning. It has been devised as an indispensable document to lay the foundations and promote an accurate and safe development of the bicycle as a means of transport ".

At the same time, Pablo Rodríguez stressed: "We have taken a great step with the achievement of the Master Plan for the Bicycle of the Canary Islands and we have taken a big step with the celebration of the Bicycle Fair for its presentation. we must keep pedaling to achieve a more sustainable Canary Islands in which the bicycle takes center stage. "In this line, the vice president of the Canary Islands explained:" On the part of the Government, in addition to promoting the IGIC 0 to obtain bicycles, electric and hybrid vehicles, which will come into force as of January. , we are giving continuity to the Master Plan of the Canary Bicycle with the development of the second phase. This second part will include specific measures aimed at promoting the integration of the bike in the mobility system of the islands and to encourage a complete and efficient cycling network, consolidating the existing one and expanding it to areas with difficult coverage. The ultimate goal of this strategy is increase the use of bicycles on journeys up to 4% in 2025, against the current 1% ".

Workshops, exhibitions and expert talks

The fair, in addition to exhibiting the document that seeks to encourage more sustainable mobility in the Canary Islands with the promotion of the use of bicycles, has stands where companies and organizations exhibit their products and services related to the world of cycling. Similarly, the event also includes various activities such as an exhibition of old and tuned bicycles, an exhibition of skills of various modalities by bike, several workshops, the awards ceremony of the first edition of the "Cortos en bici" contest, a road circuit and of skills, as well as a room of experts.

Specifically, in relation to the workshops, the fair includes a basic bike mechanic workshop, a collage sheet workshop, a sewing workshop in which bags for water bottles of bicycles will be made, a workshop for decorating recycling bicycles and a workshop of balloon twisting and face painting for the little ones.

Likewise, the experts' room that houses the fair is considered as a meeting place to deal with issues related to mobility and the role of the bicycle. In it, those interested can chat with the expert participant in the development of the Master Plan of the Canary Bicycle, Cinta Romero, and with the consultant in mobility and road safety, César Acosta.

Contest "Cortes en bici"

In relation to the contest "Cortos en bici", in which students from various educational centers participated with the creation of free and thematic short films based on the bicycle, during the morning of the fair the screening of the winning shorts was carried out and the delivery of prizes from the hand of the Vice President and Minister of Public Works and Transport of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pablo Rodríguez. The first prize was awarded to the Secondary School Ana Luisa Benítez and the second prize to the Center for Infant, Primary and Secondary Education San Ignacio de Loyola.

All in all, the fair is promoted with the goal of raising awareness among citizens the importance of using the bicycle as a means of transport, involving all groups to promote the use of bicycles in a safe and responsible manner, promoting sustainable travel among students and the educational community and, in addition, making basic rules known of circulation and protection elements.

For more information: http://pedalesporcanarias.com.