After receiving an initial start-up grant from the state Department of Transportation, the Hudson County chapter of the Transportation Management Association needed to establish programs that promoted bicycle safety among adults and children alike, but more importantly, brought the message of safety first to kids.
During the course of the year, the TMA went to several grade schools throughout Hudson County to give presentations on wearing bike helmets, maneuvering through the frantic traffic of the area and other forms of protection.
“We did about 24 presentations in schools throughout the year,” said Jenise Cooper, the transportation coordinator for the Hudson County TMA, whose offices are located in Bayonne. “But we wanted to do something special, something fun for families, to get them out and encourage bicycle safety.”
With that in mind, the TMA held its first-ever “Stride and Ride Family Safety Funfest,” which was held in North Hudson Braddock Park in North Bergen last Saturday. The event, which was totally free of charge, ran for five hours during a glorious summer afternoon and brought out nearly 400 interested participants.
“Our goal is to promote bike safety, and that’s exactly what a day like this did,” said Cooper, who, along with the TMA’s Manager of Transportation Development Chris Campos, ran the event. “This was the first event like this that we held, so we really didn’t know what to expect. We put together this Family Safety Funfest to see what kind of turnout we would get. We were very happy with the turnout.”
Winners
Cooper said that there were several events to pique the children’s interests. First, there was a bike race for boys and girls, ages 6 through 11, with the winners receiving gift certificates to Toys ‘R’ Us. Joseph Ensmann was the winner, with Arnold Castillo finishing second. Both young men were lucky recipients of gift certificates.
Two bicycles were also raffled off, and two North Bergen residents were the fortunate winners. Seven-year-old Renee Behr won the girls’ bicycle, while 6-year-old Malick Ba captured the boys’ bike. The bikes were purchased by the Hudson County TMA from James Vincent Bicycles on Bergenline Avenue in North Bergen.
There were clowns, balloons, face painters, a MoonWalk ride, cotton candy – all the ingredients for a summer carnival.
But the main theme wasn’t lost, as members of the North Bergen and Hoboken police departments and the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office chipped in and provided tips and information throughout the day, all regarding bicycle safety.
“We’re always happy to participate in a program such as this,” North Bergen Police Chief Angelo Busacco said. “It’s vital that we teach bike safety to the children of the community. Wearing their helmets is the most important tip, because so many serious head injuries take place with kids who don’t wear their helmets. It was a great event and we received great feedback from the public. We truly enjoyed being a part of the day.”
Cooper said that the Hudson County Sheriff’s Department organized the “Ident-A-Kid” program, where the officers fingerprinted and gave official identification to the children in case the kids are lost or missing.
“The kids can now be identified through fingerprints, but also their cell phones, which were attached to the files,” Cooper said. “It’s a big help to keeping kids safe.”
Cooper said that there are eight TMA chapters in New Jersey, all designed to promote bicycle safety. She said that bike safety has become even more important in Hudson County with the advent of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system, which currently runs throughout Bayonne, Jersey City and Hoboken, but will continue on through Weehawken, Union City and eventually North Bergen within the coming years.
Cooper said that she was pleased with the excitement caused by the day, especially since it was a first-time event.
“We weren’t sure what kind of turnout we would get,” Cooper said. “We sent out fliers and e-mails, but you can’t even begin to predict numbers on a Saturday afternoon in the summer. But the turnout was excellent and we can only hope that it will get bigger and better next year. The kids had a ball. There were all kinds of gifts and prizes, and the feedback we received from the parents was all positive.”
Cooper said that the children were presented with free T-shirts, key chains, water bottles and other goodies, all promoting bike safety.
“We had a couple of kids who showed up for the event on their bikes without helmets,” said Cooper. “We had to tell them the message that they needed helmets, and I think that message hit home. Everyone was so cooperative in pulling the event off. We’re just getting our feet wet here. It’s a start, but it was a good start.”