Despite some extremely dodgy driving hitting the headlines lately, leading Tauranga cycling advocate Iris Thomas believes things are much better on a local level.

Iris has been running award-winning cycling programme Kids Can Ride for nearly a decade in conjunction with Tauranga City Council's Travel Safe team.

Kids Can Ride founder Iris Thomas leads Greenpark students and Tauranga City councillor Matt Cowley along Cameron Rd for a practical cycle safety road session. Photo by Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media Services.

She spends much of her working week on the roads, teaches nearly 4000 year five and six children every year, and is delighted to report a positive trend emerging in the city.

'Driver behaviour has definitely improved since we've been running this program,” says Iris, 'and people are a lot more tolerant of cyclists - particularly kids on bikes.

'We still see the odd bit of stupidity on the road and impatience but it's become the exception in recent times.

'Drivers still need to be vigilant and share the road carefully with cyclists, but we're definitely on the right track.”

Tauranga City councillor Matt Cowley spent an afternoon with a class of year six students from Greenpark School recently, tackling the streets around Greerton on his vintage Raleigh 20 with the Kids Can Ride team.

'The council is a big supporter of this programme and other Travel Safe ventures,” says Matt, 'and it was immediately clear why. The practical skills the kids learned were just invaluable.

'The best part, however, is that at the same time the young cyclists are applying their give-way rules and practising safe riding, they're also being great role models out on the road.

'You could see motorists around us really pause, give us space, and consider their own driving actions.

'That sort of awareness is a massive hidden benefit of the programme.”

Matt says safe cycling is a key focus for him on council, particularly with the changes in bus services and funding for Tauranga schools.

As part of the session, Greenpark cyclists negotiated one of Tauranga's busiest thoroughfares – the stretch of Cameron Road past the Tauranga Racecouse.

'It was fantastic having Matt along, because he could see straight away the benefits of a dedicated cycling lane along that stretch of road,” adds Iris.

'It's turned a chaotic gauntlet for cyclists into a calm, easy stretch of road which school children of all ages can safely negotiate.

'There are so many positive benefits for getting more people cycling and out of cars but they'll only do it if they can be confident with the cycling routes they're taking.”