LYNN — Families brought their bikes to Manning Field Friday morning to learn about road safety and collect a free new helmet as part of the Police and Parks and Recreation Department’s Bike Safety Day.
Lieutenant Thomas Holland who leads the Youth Services Unit, said Bike Safety Day has become an annual event in the city, except for last year when it had to be canceled because of a heat wave.
“We’re encouraging the kids to go out and be active, but to be safe,” he said.
Officers in reflective gear were on bikes helping young children how to ride, how to safely cross the street, use hand signals while crossing, and how to follow traffic laws.
Lt. Holland said the goal was to give away 300 free helmets. During the event, six children who won a raffle would also go home with a brand new bike.
“We see them out there on a regular basis and we want to see them wearing these helmets and we want to see them being safe,” Holland said. “The difference between a lot of accidents being injuries and not injuries is the head injuries, especially for kids.”
Chief of Police Chris Reddy said the event was an opportunity for the police department to engage with the community and build positive relationships with the city’s youth.
“We’re passing on a safety message in the summertime, but it also gives them a fun thing to do and a fun place to go,” he added.
Reddy said the event was also important to provide helmets to the city’s low-income youth.
The Police Department also has an ice cream truck that is brought out during community engagement events called The Copsicle and it provides people with free ice cream. Shop and Compare also donated snacks for attendees to enjoy.
Taneasha Robinson, a Lynn resident, said hadn’t been able to teach her three-year-old daughter how to use her pedal bike, so having the police officers teach her was a wonderful opportunity.
“For her, it’s different being shown how to ride the bike, how to properly wear the helmet, than mommy – so it’s great,” Robinson said.
She added she was looking forward to bringing her one-year-old daughter to future bike safety events if they were to be held.
Stephanie Mirra, a Lynn resident, said the event was “very engaging.”
She said the officers helped her daughter learn how to respond to road signs.
“She was able to do it on her own afterwards and they still practiced what they showed her,” she said.
Mirra said it made her feel more secure as a parent to watch her child learn practice bike safety at the event.
Mayor Jared Nicholson who was also in attendance said he enjoyed being at the event because loved riding bikes with his children.
He said bike safety is “really important,” as it is a primary transportation mode for some people, “we want people to be protected.”
“We are so excited to be out here on this beautiful day with so many families to promote bike safety and we are so grateful for the police department and Parks and Rec for putting on this great opportunity,” Nicholson said.
