Public entities and private organizations seek to preserve the urban, sports and tourist use of bicycles, which have been the main means of transportation for decades in these municipalities of Antioquia and Valle de Cauca. For more than 60 years, the floriculture sector of La Ceja, Antioquia, has encouraged its workers to use bicycles. This means of transportation is considered a heritage for the municipality; it is even said that it is one of the towns with the largest number of bicycles in Colombia. Its inhabitants use it for everything; in front of every house or business there is more than one parked.
In eastern Antioquia, private companies have joined in promoting the use of bicycles through programs such as «Smoke-free Day», awareness-raising and education about the need to do sports on a daily basis. Juliana González, Andes BPO communicator, comments that in this corporation 70 percent of the 530 employees use bicycles as their main means of transportation. «On May 31 we held a maintenance day for the employees’ bicycles and spent time explaining why this means of transportation has a positive impact on health and the environment.»
However, La Ceja is not the only locality that is vying for a place of honor for its use. In Palmira, the municipal administration seeks to rescue the history of 1970, when the Villa de las Palmas was recognized as the bicycle capital of the country. In this municipality, located in the south of Valle del Cauca, sports groups and citizen initiatives seek to increase the use of bicycles. Maria del Mar González is one of the hundreds of sportswomen from Valle del Cauca who choose to train in mountain areas.
The municipal administration enabled a network of public bicycles that citizens can use free of charge, under the premise of offering fast and safe travel. Rodrigo Garcés, undersecretary of Traffic and Transportation of Palmira, explains that «in addition to the urban system we have the largest bike path in the country, 36 kilometers that connect Palmira with Cali and seek to encourage the use of bicycles in a recreational way».
Article taken from: https://www.semana.com/mejor-colombia/articulo/la-ceja-y-palmira-dos-municipios-bicicleteros-que-buscan-contribuir-a-la-movilidad-sostenible-en-colombia/202100/
