As families across the country rode their bikes to school this morning to celebrate National Bike to School Day, the City of Carlsbad, Jefferson Elementary School and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition teamed up to encourage safety locally.
As part of the City of Carlsbad’s ongoing response to a local traffic safety emergency, the city and its partners hosted a variety of activities at Jefferson Elementary School to make sure families know how to be safe on the road, whether they bike, walk or drive.
The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition checked students’ helmets to make sure they fit properly
City staff and Carlsbad Police Officers distributed traffic safety tip cards to parents and students and talked to families about the importance of safety
The Carlsbad Fire Department provided helmets to students who needed them
Students joined the Bike Coalition for a bike safety assembly after school started
In addition to sharing bike safety information, the city is reminding drivers to slow down and take extra care on the roads on Bike to School Day and throughout the month of May, which is recognized as National Bike Month.
Partnerships with schools and local mobility organizations like the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition are an important part of the city’s traffic safety efforts. To date, the city has hosted a dozen traffic safety events in partnership with Carlsbad schools and school districts, with even more planned before the end of the school year.
BACKGROUND
The city declared a traffic emergency Aug. 23, 2022, following a more than 200% increase in collisions involving bikes and e-bikes since 2019. Since that time, the city has increased enforcement, added miles of new bike lanes, held training classes and educated community members about traffic safety rules. The city has also asked community members to make a public pledge to be Safer Together. Since the declaration of emergency, the city has seen a 19% drop in all injury collisions and a 13% drop in bike injury collisions.
Learn more about National Bike to School Day.
Contact
Lindsey Hansen
442-339-8010
