The Active Transportation Alliance (ATA), a Chicago-based organization, helped youngsters in Oak Park to ride their bikes safely with a recent school visit.
The ATA visited Oak Park's Whittier School on May 12 to teach children how to ride their bicycles safely. The program has won rave reviews from one participant, Vincent Lee, who is in fifth grade at Whittier.
Lee took the safety course last year, but was given a refresher and some new training this time around. He said that likes the idea of having the course presented more than once, arguing that the training helps people become better riders, as well as reminding them of the things they learned in earlier courses. The cyclist added that he had forgotten some of the things he learned last year, so it was good for him to hear them again.
In 2013, thanks to its partnership with the Green Line Wheels bike rental of Oak Park, the ATA was able to come to every one of the village's elementary schools. Green Line provided six bikes in 2013 and, this year, was able to up that number to 30. With Green Line's support, the ATA was able to provide bicycles to everyone who needed one for the program.
The school system could work with a postcard printing company in advance of the next program, designing cards to mail to parents, telling them about the program.
