As we do each year when the days get shorter, Bicycle Coalition staff, volunteers and community partners hit the streets for our 13th Annual Bike Light Giveaway on Wednesday, November 5th, in South Philadelphia along Washington Ave. and the Schuylkill River Trail, and then again this week on Tuesday, December 9th, in West Philadelphia at 52nd & Walnut Streets.
We handed out free front and rear lights to commuters biking by, food delivery workers, young people, and community members interested in learning more about how being seen improves safety. All together, we handed out 750 pairs of free bike lights – that’s 750 Philadelphians whose rides are now safer and more joyful — and 100 bike bells!
Thank you to our partners who provided funding, lights, and bike bells for this year’s giveaway: PennDOT; Councilmembers Mark Squilla, Jeffrey Young, and Jamie Gauthier through the Philadelphia Activities Fund; and PECO. We also want to give a special shout out to the volunteers who helped prepare the lights for distribution and who gave out lights to those who needed them.
“PennDOT appreciates the opportunity to provide bike lights for the Bicycle Coalition’s annual bike light giveaways. Safety is a shared responsibility; bicyclists on our roadways have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles, despite being more vulnerable” said Krys Johnson, PennDOT Safety Press Officer.
Safe cycling is a right, not a privilege, which in part means that everyone should have access to the equipment they need to navigate our streets free of harm. Front and rear lights go a long way to providing greater visibility for cyclists traveling during darker hours, and yet we know that lights alone cannot prevent serious injury and fatal crashes. Philadelphians need both safety equipment AND safe infrastructure.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia calls on our City’s leadership to use all tools at their disposal to slow down drivers, save lives, and allow our already-vibrant city to thrive. This means, among other strategies, expanding automated speed enforcement to all high-injury corridors, implementing more parking-separated bike lanes, and enacting reasonable speed limits and proven traffic calming measures.
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Safe streets are a right, not a privilege. We’re creating a stronger community WITH YOU! Investing in our year-round advocacy and education work makes Greater Philadelphia a safer and more fun place to ride—right now, the Coalition is asking 750 folks to join or renew their support for another year to continue that work. More info here.