Wokingham Borough Council has announced that our borough is to be transformed into a giant community-wide physical activity challenge next month with residents being invited to ‘Beat the Street’.
The free, fun game will take place between 8 June and 20 July across Wokingham town centre, Finchampstead and Woosehill and challenges residents of all ages and abilities to see how far they can walk, run, scoot, wheel or cycle around the game area.
This is the third time that Wokingham Borough has hosted this event with Woosehill and Emmbrook hosting in 2014 and Woodley hosting in 2015.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport said, “We are incredibly excited to be bringing Beat the Street back to the borough. We know that one of the best things people can do right now for their physical and mental health is to move more and to get out into green space where possible, and Beat the Street really helps people do just that in a safe way.
“The first time we hosted this event over 20% of our residents took part and together they walked a total of over 55,000 miles in the two months – we’re looking to improve on these numbers this time round! It’s free to take part and it’s open to everyone within the borough.
“Beat the Street is also a fantastic way to help us reach our air quality targets. We are committed to doing everything we can to encourage people to leave their cars at home and walk or cycle more to improve both their physical fitness and mental wellbeing and improve our air quality. We want to make active travel the norm and we’d love everyone to get involved.”
Funded by Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the game areas have been selected in line with various air quality management areas (AQMA) within the borough but anyone from across Wokingham borough is welcome to take part.
Residents who would like to take part can pick up a free card from distribution points across the borough which will be listed on the Beat the Street website prior to 8 June.
Beat the Street was developed by a Reading GP Dr William Bird who wanted to introduce a fun and competitive element into physical activity. It has been played in more than 100 locations across the UK and beyond. The game has had not only had a significant impact on activity levels, but also on reducing congestion, improving air quality, and helping families spend time in green spaces together.
This outdoor game is safe to play and has been adapted so that it is completely contactless. Players use a free card or fob which are hovered over the 73 special sensors called “Beat Boxes” located on lampposts around the game area. Simply find your nearest Beat Box to register your journey, then walk, cycle, run, wheel or scoot to the next Beat Box within an hour to score 10 points.
Anyone can join in the game and there are lots of Beat Boxes near parks, open spaces and recreation areas that are popular places to visit among people from across the borough.
Beat the Street is being delivered by Intelligent Health on behalf of Wokingham Borough Council and is funded by DEFRA.
For more information visit www.beatthestreet.me/wokingham or search for BTS Wokingham on social media.
