Bike With Kids Parade - June 23, 2022
The Roxbury Way Initiative aims to be a catalyst for community engagement in the design, planning, building, and using a pathway that represents Black and immigrant history, art, culture and supports locally black-owned and immigrant-owned businesses.
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This summer, hosted by the Roxbury Way Initiative the Bike with Kids Parade , captured the essence of what theis all about. This event took place outside of the Boston Public Library Roxbury branch, which is fully supporting our efforts. Children ages 2-13 years old were provided bikes, properly fitted bike helmets, and swag bags filled with educational materials about pedestrian and bike safety and snacks.
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A certified Bike Safety Instructor shared quick tips and trained the children to ride a bike safely using hand signals and following the rules of the road. With an adult, children practiced steering, balancing, and pedaling bikes independently on the Dudley Street Pathway. They lined up eagerly waiting for the Bike with Kids Parade to begin. Adults on bikes and on foot walked and ran to support the riders and to protect the children from the traffic. The children came back smiling, laughing and talking about how they learned to stop, yield, use hand signals, and follow the rules of the road.
Based on feedback from children, youths, parents, bike safety instructors, volunteers, librarians, business and biking community leaders, Biking:
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Provides an opportunity to self-manage risks within a safe environment.
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Develops social emotional skills and strategies for managing emotions, and trauma.
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Raises confidence, self-esteem, and resilience of children and young adults to strengthen their relationships through a fun activity with friends, parents, teachers, and mentors in school and outside of school.
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Delivers health and wellbeing outcomes for the children and adults.
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Instills the habit of using a bike for basic transportation.
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Results in the children and extended family biking more often
