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This month, Boston joins the ranks of cities like Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago and Washington DC as it rolls out a new citywide bike sharing program called Hubway Bikeshare. As more U.S. cities consider these popular programs and the number of bike users on the streets increases, one of the biggest concerns in city officials’ minds is safety. As voiced in a recent Boston Globe article, concern is particularly high in Boston, due to the city’s skinny lanes, cobblestone roads, and unpredictable drivers.

Lucky for Boston, MassBike is on top of this concern.

As part of the Hubway Bikeshare program, advocates at MassBike are ramping up bicycle safety efforts, teaming with the City of Boston to offer free bike safety classes for all Hubway users. The idea behind this new initiative is to quickly get Hubway riders up to speed on all aspects of bike commuting.

The one-hour workshops will go over the rules of the road, strategies for staying safe and tips for staying comfortable. According to Price Armstrong, MassBike’s education program manager, the class will be an adapted version of the group’s proven Commuter Workshop Series and will reflect the themes embodied in the Same Roads Same Rules campaign.

“We at MassBike are really excited to be working with the City of Boston to offer these free classes,” Armstrong says. “There will be 600 shared bikes and thousands of bicyclists out on the streets of Boston that might not have been there before. We’re trying to make sure these bicyclists get where they are heading safely, with confidence, and cooperatively with the other users of the road.”

Information about the free classes is currently available on the Hubway safety page. Stay tuned to MassBike’s newsfeed for up-to-date information about this initiative.

BikeTexas recently announced that on October 1, 2009 they began development of the new BikeTexas ParentsPlus Program. Accoring to BikeTexas, “The program is funded through a Texas Department of Transportation grant, and will provide parents, plus other adults concerned with bicycle and pedestrian safety, the certification training and resources necessary to develop neighborhood bicycling and walking events. These events will incorporate safety messages in a fun and healthy venue and will bring the safety lessons to the larger community, thus amplifying their effect.

The BikeTexas ParentsPlus Program includes: (1) training parents, plus other adults concerned with bicycling and walking safety, using the developed ParentsPlus training materials; (2) developing some of the safety materials in both English and Spanish; (3) continually revising and distributing the training materials; and (4) publishing print and web-based resource materials to reach a broader audience.

These activities will increase public information and education efforts on the rules of the road, use of safety equipment, and motorist awareness for sharing the road. They will also improve public education and information on safe walking and safe bicycling practices.” Read more from BikeTexas here.

Bicycle Colorado is introducing a new education campaign for safer roads - the 3-2-1 Courtesy Code. “By following these simple guidelines, members of the bicycling community seek to create goodwill and positive sharing of the road with motorists. Safety is the ultimate goal. Also, by collecting signature pledges on the banner, we are building broad support for positive behaviors on public roads.”

Click to find out more…

MassBike is expanding its bicycling skills classes by popular demand. The new Intro To Bicycling Skills class covers bike-safety principles, bicycling laws, guidelines for riding in traffic, and more. The Basic Bicycling Skills class is designed for adults who want to get back into bicycling, improve cycling skills, learn to ride more effectively and safely in traffic, and/or participate in a large-scale benefit ride. This half-day weekend session provides guided instruction with simple practice drills in a parking lot, easy-paced riding on local roadways for short distances, and group-discussion breaks along the way. Topics covered include bike and helmet fitting, starting and stopping your bike in traffic, shifting gears, scanning and yielding, choosing the correct lane position in the road, handling intersections, and more.

Learn more about MassBike’s safety and education efforts here…