Get Ready For The Asbury Park Bike Bus!
This weekend I participated in an intensive training to be certified as a League Of American Bicyclists Instructor: LCI.
The League Of American Bicyclists Instructor Certification provides a solid foundation for me to initiate a bike riding program for parents and kids in Asbury Park, called Bike Bus.
Parents riding bikes with kids to school, picking up other kids along the way (like a bus does), has been catching on everywhere all over the globe. There are dozens of articles about this phenomenon from Barcelona; Portland; the Upper West Side of NYC; Montclair, NJ; Jersey City; Brooklyn and many, many more cities all over the US and the world.
It was never questioned that I could ride my bike to school as a kid, but it has become far less usual nowadays.
Many parents in Asbury Park have told me they’re afraid to let their kids ride because of traffic, so they drive them to school, which makes them traffic, which in turn creates more congestion and dangerous conditions in school zones and surrounding streets
This is a great, healthy, fun way to get kids (and their parents) out of cars.
Getting kids and parents out of cars and on bikes is a healthy way to start the school day, prepares kids’ brains to perform better in school, and builds friendships with other kids and families.
All upsides, and no downsides.
We’re not reinventing the wheel (pun intended)!
Together WE can advocate for raised crosswalks, and other creative, effective traffic calming measures around our schools.
Streets need to be designed so drivers won’t speed anywhere near or around schools, and even street closures during school hours.
I’m ready to launch the Asbury Park Bike Bus.
Want to help?
Email apcompletestreets@gmail.com
Let’s start the buzz, and stay tuned for details!
Onward!
Polli Schildge Editor/Founder APCSC