On Tuesday, October 27, Wednesday October 28, Thursday October 29, and Thursday, November 5 , the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the City of Alexandria will be handing out free bike lights to cyclists as part of the fall “Got Lights?” bicycle safety and education campaign.
Through the financial support of DDOT, the City of Alexandria, and area cyclists, the partners will give out 800 free front and rear bike light sets to help make streets safer for nighttime riders by raising awareness of the importance of being seen when cycling, especially at night.
While only three percent of bike rides happen at night, over half of all cyclists killed are hit while riding at night without lights. In conjunction with the distribution of the bike lights, WABA and its partners will be handing out bicycle safety literature while reminding cyclists that it is the law in the District of Columbia and Virginia to have a front white light and rear red reflector, or rear red light, when riding in the dark.
Timed
to coincide with daylight savings time, the purpose behind WABA’s
“Got Lights?” campaign is to reach out to bike commuters and other
cyclists riding in the dark without the proper safety equipment. While doing
this WABA, DDOT and the City of Alexandria hope to also reach the Latino
community, one of Washington’s largest bicycle commuter groups. To do
this, the free light giveaways will be taking place in DC in three locations,
one of which is located in the neighborhood of Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights,
where a high concentration of Latino residents will pass the distribution
point. WABA will also provide bike safety literature that includes both English
and Spanish text. The City of Alexandria location is in the neighborhood of
Arlandria, where a high concentration of Latino residents will pass the
distribution point near the Four Mile Run Trail.
Lights are available on a first come, first serve basis to cyclists without lights and will be available while supplies last.
DC Location Details
Giveaways will take place on Thursday, October 29th from 4:30pm-6:30pm (or until supplies run out) at the Sun Trust Plaza at the corner of 18th St. and Columbia Rd. NW, Washington, DC and in Capitol Hill at the corner of 7th St., Massachusetts Ave. NE, and Constitution Ave. NE. The second giveaway, on Thursday, November 5th will take place from 4:30pm-6:30pm (or until supplies run out) again at Sun Trust Plaza and also at Columbia Heights Plaza at 14th and Park Rd. NW.
For
more information on the DC giveaways, please contact Eric Gilliland, Washington
Area Bicyclist Association, 1803 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009
202-518-0524, gill@waba.org.
Alexandria Location Details
Volunteers from the City of Alexandria, WABA and BikeWalk Alexandria will give out 200 free front and rear bike lights. The events will take place from October 27-29. On October 27 the giveaway will be at Holmes Run Greenway (Duke Street entrance) from 5 to 6:30 pm. On October 28th the giveaway will be on the Mount Vernon Trail (Old Town at Canal Center Plaza intersection) from 5 to 6:30 pm and on the Four Mile Run Trail (end of Commonwealth Ave) from 5 to 6:30 pm on October 29th. The event is sponsors by the City of Alexandria, via Velo bicycle delivery service, Wheel Nuts Bike Shop, Spokes Etc. and The Bicycle Pro Shop.
For more
information on the Alexandria giveaways, visit http://alexandriava.gov/
Just as an FYI to people. Got this e-mail blast from Alexandria.
The 'Lights for Bikes' event scheduled for tonight (Oct. 27) has been canceled due to rain.
However, events planned for Wednesday, Oct. 28 on the Mount Vernon Trail and Thursday, Oct. 29 on the Four Mile Run Trail will proceed as planned.
Visit the Local Motion website for more information about the events >>
http://alexandriava.gov/localmotion/info/default.aspx?id=26682
Posted by: BlindPilot | October 27, 2009 at 01:54 PM