Photo Courtesy Derek Brade

By Chris Brown

Bike Medicine Hat

Bike group promoting active and safe transportation for students

Sep 7, 2021 | 5:12 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – With school back in session a cycling advocacy group is promoting active and safe transportation for students.

About 10,000 Medicine Hat students have gone back to class in the past week and some are getting there on their own for the first time.

“We know that some kids are entering a new school or different grade and then might be starting to think about to school on their own,” says Bike Medicine Hat chair Carter Gramlich. “So we want everyone to have a little extra caution when they’re driving around. We know that people are generally driving safe in school zones, we know that the speed limit is 30 kilometres an hour but of course, those kids need to travel in other areas before they enter a school zone.”

Gramlich says kids biking to school on their own fosters independence and is good for physical and mental health.

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Gramlich says parents should go with kids the first couple times just to make sure that the kids confident in the route and that sometimes the safest route isn’t the most direct one.

He also says to have your kids and bicycle prepared before they start pedalling.

“Make sure if they’re riding their bikes that they have a proper helmet that’s fitted properly to their head, that the bike is in good working order,” he says. “We see a lot of kids bikes they don’t make their way into a shop very often so the brakes might not be working properly or they haven’t been adjusted very nicely. So have a look. It doesn’t take long to have a quick check of the bike to make sure it’s operating safely.”

Gramlich adds Bike Medicine Hat is trying to encourage more people to take up cycling within the city.