THOUSANDS of residents have taken part in South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard’s year of active travel, it has been revealed.

The initiative was launched to encourage more people in the region to get active, to make the region a hub of active travel and to help build the healthiest future for the generations to come.

Events took place throughout the year with people walking, wheeling and cycling along the way contributing to the mayor’s ambition of making the region the healthiest in the UK. (

The mayor also completed his own personal challenge by walking, running or volunteering at South Yorkshire’s 12 parkruns, celebrating the parkrun communities across the region that help thousands of people get active, where they live, every week.

Concluding at Penistone parkrun on December 14, his challenge was open to everyone and over 100 participants have claimed a limited edition free T-shirt for taking part.(

Oliver Coppard said: “My year of active Travel celebrated the progress we’ve made not just over the last year but all the work that went into making that progress possible over the last few years.(

“We’ve made roads and streets safer through better crossings and safer cycle lanes and we’ve supported community groups with measures like School Streets and safer speed limits where people live.”