Players in the Beat the Street Somer Valley game have been clocking up double points on Beat Boxes around traditional commuting hours.
'Go Travel’ week, which started on Wednesday, 31st May, encourages players to think about walking or cycling to work or school rather than taking the car. All Beat Boxes will be giving out double points from 7am - 9am and 3pm - 6pm each weekday up to and including 6th June (tomorrow).
Participants in Beat the Street Somer Valley have already clocked up 20,585 active travel miles and 4,024 people have signed up to take part. Taking place until 28th June, Beat the Street is transforming Paulton, Radstock, Midsomer Norton, Westfield, Peasedown St John and Timsbury into a real-life game to encourage people to become more active.
Currently, St John’s School leads the total points leaderboard with St Benedict’s Primary School in second place and Midsomer Norton Primary School in third.
Norma Forster from Midsomer Norton Primary School said: “There is such a wonderful buzz in our school with a massive uptake of parents signing up for the Beat the Street initiative. We’ve had families collect points on their way to and from school. It’s fantastic to hear families report that kids are swapping their gaming time to get out and active collecting points. As a school, we believe that any initiative that promotes an active lifestyle is so important and that’s why ‘Beat the Street’ is so fantastic. It motivates children and adults alike to spend time together being active and having so much fun.”
Beat the Street Somer Valley is being delivered by Intelligent Health and has been commissioned by The Active Way. The Active Way is led by Bath & North East Somerset Council and funded by Active Travel England. Additional funding has been provided by the National Lottery via Sport England.
Councillor Sarah Warren, Cabinet Member for Climate and Sustainable Travel said: “For Go Travel week, if you normally drive to school or work, why not try walking, cycling or wheeling the journey instead. There will even be a chance to earn double points while you do so! Well done to everyone who is taking part and taking steps to be more active and contribute to cleaner and healthier air in doing so. The more people that choose to walk and cycle, the greater the benefits for our environment.”
Keep an eye out for double points this weekend too - Beat Boxes situated in parks and green spaces will hand out more points on the 10th and 11th June.
More information is available at www.beatthestreet.me/Somervalley and on social media at @BTSSomerValley
Watch our video to learn more about the launch event at St Mary's School, Writhlington.