Bike Bakersfield staff and volunteers delivered 125 helmets and 1,000 bike lights to local residents in need at four locations on Oct. 19, Oct. 26, Nov. 2 and Nov. 9.
To ensure that the lights were distributed to residents in all areas of our cities, we manned the locations (Roberts Lane and North Chester Ave in Oildale, Niles Street and Mount Vernon in east Bakersfield, Planz Park in south Bakersfield, and Bike Arvin in Arvin) on all four dates. The event took approximately 70 hours of total work and was extremely successful thanks to our sponsors and the hard work of staff and volunteers.
The event was covered by many news outlets, including ABC23 with a video segment appearing on their news broadcasts, and the Bakersfield Californian with a large article on the second page of the paper on Oct. 24.
As we distributed the lights, many residents were surprised with the generosity of our sponsors to give the lights and helmets for free. Happiness was evident on all the families and residents that received the lights. At Bike Bakersfield, we are so grateful to have been a part of such a tremendous event.
We have no doubt that these lights and helmets will save lives. The City of Bakersfield has reported a steady rise in pedestrian and bicycling accidents since 2014.
From January to August of 2017, we’ve already seen 17 pedestrian and cycling deaths within the City of Bakersfield. By helping cyclists stay visible, we are hoping to reduce the occurrence of pedestrian and cycling deaths.
“Many cyclists still ride at night without lights, a practice that is illegal and life-threatening,” said Jack Becker, Bike Bakersfield program manager. “And with the sun setting early this time of year, it is important that bicyclists be visible on the roadway.”
To our sponsors, we sincerely appreciate your generosity, as do the residents of our communities.
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