Geneva students get bike safety tips
May 24—GENEVA — Hundreds of Geneva Area City School students received bike safety tips and got to work on their riding and signaling skills during Geneva Bike Week.
A Safe Routes to School grant of more than $7,000 made the opportunity possible, said Geneva City Council member Jeff Griffiths, who worked on the grant and connected with school officials to make the program a reality.
After talking with school administrators, a program was coordinated that included a one-day educational program Wednesday at Geneva Platt R. Spencer Elementary School and a two-day event at Geneva Middle School that started on Thursday and is scheduled to continue today.
Griffiths said he partnered with Ron Lamb, who has been doing bike safety work for 10 years and was recently certified as a lead cycling instructor.
Bike Cleveland representatives also came to Geneva to assist in the event.
The "hands on" portion of the program at Geneva Middle School took place in a gymnasium with bikes and safety equipment provided by the bike club. Each student got a turn to practice signals, weave between cones, and learn other safety tips.
Geneva Middle School Assistant Principal Christine Carnett said the school was excited about promoting bike safety. She said 480 students, from sixth to eighth grade, participated in the event.
"They seem to really like it," Carnett said.
The students learned technical skills on how to put air in tires, how to make directional signals and learned riding skills to assist students when there may be debris in the road.
Griffiths said the grant will include safety programs for two years and special equipment to be handed out later. He said Safety Town also got some equipment for their early summer event through the grant.
Jeraid Eliz said she learned a lot of safety tips during the program on Thursday.
