Fréd Awards 2014
MOST ENGAGED MLA
Dathaí McKay MLA
“Almost trebling the number of questions at Stormont in less than a year, Dathaí McKay has brought cycling issues to the fore across all departments at Stormont.”
BEST CYCLE BLOG
NI Greenways
“Award winner for 2 years running – the NIGreenways Blog was instrumental in driving the debate against taxis gaining access to bus/cycle lanes.
BEST BIKE CAMPAIGN
The Fréd Festival, Ride on Belfast
“A simple, effective and fun campaign to encourage more people to cycle to work. The Ride On Belfast is an annual cycle commute from the Gasworks to Belfast city hall. The numbers doubled to over 200 in the second year. The 3rd year could be a real breakthrough.”
BEST LOCAL BIKE SHOP
Kinnings Cycles
“We see ourselves as part of the community. We focus on keeping the community on their bikes and on the road. Personal service is the biggest part of our business.”
BEST BIKE BRAND
See.Sense
“With the boom in cycling we’ve also seen more and more people willing to stick their neck out and create a business and jobs around cycling. This year’s winners have married 19th C and 21st C technologies to create a cutting edge cycle light, designed and manufactured in NI.”
BEST CYCLE PERSONALITY
Michael Smiley
“I’m delighted to accept this on behalf of Michael and all the team who worked on the TV programme. The success of the programme shows just how much interest there is in cycling just now – so much so that we’ve just finished the second series!” – George Kane, series director, Something to Ride Home About.
FRÉD OF THE YEAR
Danny Kennedy, MLA
“I’m delighted to be able to celebrate all the cycle success of 2014 with some of the people who helped make it possible. There’s still an enormous amount of work ahead if we’re to achieve our goals to make NI a cycling nation.”
BEST BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE
Sam Thompson Bridge
“With over 100,000 journeys since it opened earlier in the year, this brand new piece of cycling infrastructure that has already made a huge impact to the community of East Belfast providing a safe, traffic free route to the city centre”
WORST BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE
Belfast City
“In stark contrast to the great pieces of infrastructure linking communities to greater Belfast – the runaway winner this year was Belfast City – still the UK’s most congested city”.
BEST LARGE EMPLOYER
All State
“We started by forming a small Bike User Group at work and from there we’ve managed to provide changing facilities, travel plans, secure bike cages, bike to work schemes – we see this as a solid investment in our staff."
BEST BIKE CAFÉ
Allen's of Caledon
“Leisure cycling and club cycling has seen a boom in recent years and the café has become central to that culture. The “cycle pound” has become important to our business and we’re delighted to get recognition for the service we provide”.
Best Bike Event (Large Budget)
DRD – NI Changing Gear
“The NI Changing Gear Conference in October 2014 was a landmark event in Minister Danny Kennedy’s Cycle Revolution. The scale and vision of the conference clearly mapped the way ahead if Belfast is to become the UK’s leading cycle city.”
Best Bike Event (Small Budget)
papergirl
“With little or no budget this event draws on the energy and imagination of the organisers and the contributors to create a truly original event that promotes art and the bicycle” – accepted by Wee Toast Tours
Best Small Employer for Cycling (Small)
Place NI
“We see the bicycle as central to the transportation of people in a modern built environment. We’re a small organisation but we encourage our staff to integrate the bike into their daily routine and support everyone wishing to build a better bike culture”.