He said the purpose of the event, now scheduled for July 22, is to meet community members, interact with them, build positive relationships, and to make a difference in the safety and well-being of citizens.
“That’s what it’s all about and that’s what we’re excited for. That’s why it’s positive, we’ve gotten good feedback, and why we want to keep doing it,” Bruce said.
At the event, kids and teens will have the chance to learn about bicycle safety and engage with participating police officers.
“We’ve had kids show up with tricycles and young teens, so it’s really designed for anybody to show up and participate. It will be an opportunity to run through the obstacle course with police officers, but it’s also going to be an opportunity to view some of our law enforcement vehicles up close. We’ll have our armored truck there and several police cars,” Bruce said.
Officer Jeff Newman, a Lakota West School Resource Officer, involved in leading the event stressed the importance of children’s safety during the summer months,
“Bike safety and awareness is even more important now than it was back in the day. In the car, people aren’t paying attention ... It’s just good to encourage kids to ride safely.”.
The West Chester Police Dept. has hosted bike rally events with community partners since 2004 with the intention of encouraging kids to learn about bike safety.
“We’ve had great success with the event and people enjoy it. Bicycle safety is so incredibly important. We can save kids from injuries by just promoting the use of helmets, teaching basic awareness, and showing them some special skills on how to be better bike riders,” Bruce said.
He said they would hope to see 100 or more youth turnout for the event.
“When the weather’s been good, we’ve had a solid turnout, and the officers have been consistently busy throughout the event,” Bruce said.
Walmart Supercenter will provide light refreshments for the participants and Biggby Coffee will provide coffee for the adults. Trek will be on-site and offer basic bike tune-ups. Volunteers helping with the Bike Rodeo will also include UC Health police officers, Xavier police officers, and citizen police academy volunteers.
Connect with West Chester Police at westchesteroh.org/police.
More details
The bike rodeo is slated for 9 a.m.-1 p.m. July 22 (a change from July 15 due to weather), in the parking lot of Walmart Supercenter, 8288 Cincinnati Dayton Road. It is free and open to anyone. Participants should bring a bike and a helmet. No pre-registration is required. Community members can show up on site anytime during the event hours.
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