Boston: Mayor Michelle Wu Announces Opening of City's First Bike Town

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Mayor Michelle Wu and the City of Boston today announced the grand opening of Bike Town at Moakley Park, a new, family-friendly space where kids can practice riding and rolling in a fun and safe environment. Bike towns are small-sized street networks, often with scaled-down traffic features, designed to teach children how to safely navigate urban street systems and increase their overall confidence in bike riding. This is a part of Mayor Wu's Connect, Learn, & Explore initiative, her commitment to making Boston the best city in the country to raise a family, by ensuring all of Boston's children learn how to ride a bike, swim, and connect with their communities through sports, gardening, and the arts.

"We're so excited to welcome Bike Town to Moakley Park," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "This first of its kind space in Boston allows children the opportunity to play and connect while teaching bike riding skills and essential road safety practices."

Bike Town is located in a previously underutilized portion of Moakley Park where children can safely practice bike riding. Research shows that the majority of kids who participate in learn-to-ride bike programs are interested in continuing bike riding, but many families do not have access to safe places to ride. City staff heard from Boston residents that a lack of safe places for kids to ride bikes is one of the biggest barriers to providing bike education and programming for kids in Boston.

"Moakley Park has long been a place where families come to connect and enjoy South Boston's waterfront," said Boston Parks Commissioner Ryan Woods. "We're proud to partner in creating Bike Town, an innovative space where children can gain confidence, learn essential road safety skills, and foster a lifelong love of biking."

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"We love that Bike Town at Moakley Park encourages kids to be active and outdoors and hope it will attract more families to this area of the park. The old street hockey court was one of the most underutilized spaces in the park and we are thrilled this area is now a more vibrant and family-friendly space. We are excited to use this space for future programming and look forward to continued collaboration with the City on future improvements to Moakley Park," said Jaye Meakem, Community Engagement Manager at Boston Harbor Now.

Bike Town was created as a partnership between the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics, the Mayor's Office of Early Childhood, and the Boston Parks Department. While bike towns are used in other parts of the country and world, this is the first in Boston.

"Learning to ride a bike as a kid ensures a lifetime of bike riding and Bike Town makes doing so that much easier," said Shin-pei Tsay, Director of the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics. "Biking for kids also ushers in other benefits according to researchers, such as supporting motor and social development for young children, encouraging physical activity, and even enhancing self-esteem. We're proud to have helped create one fun space that can weave all those things together for the families in Boston."

"Our goal is to make Boston the most family-friendly city. Bike towns create an opportunity for kids to make healthy connections to public spaces and provide an early introduction to an active lifestyle in a safe space for kids to ride and learn the rules of the road," said Kristin McSwain, Director of the Mayor's Office of Early Childhood.

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The City is planning to expand the program and bring bike towns to other Boston neighborhoods over the next year. Through a grant from Boston Children's Hospital, the Mayor's Office of Early Childhood is collaborating with the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics, Parks Department, Boston Bikes, and Boston Public Schools to create two more bike towns in the next year. The city plans to work with a community partner to create a bike town at Ross Playground in Hyde Park and will work with the Parks Department and Boston Public Schools to identify the second location by the end of the year.

Over the summer, in collaboration with the Mayor's Office of Early Childhood, Boston Bikes provided free bike programming for children and engaged them in building safe riding skills at seven locations around the City, including Moakley Park. Bike Town is located at Moakley Park across Day Boulevard from the Carson Beach Bath House, and offers an exciting way to build on the Summer Bike Program. The City will continue on-bike education in eight BPS schools this fall, and provide free bike repair workshops monthly in four different neighborhoods, including at the South Boston Library.

"South Boston Neighborhood House/The Ollie was thrilled to partner with the City of Boston to bring 'Bike Town' to Moakley Park this summer! In its 2nd summer and in partnership with Mayor Wu's 'Connect, Learn, Explore' initiative, this program allowed our kids to learn and practice riding bikes in a safe, car-free space and was a huge hit throughout the community with dozens of children and families taking advantage of this free program," said Kathy Lafferty, Executive Director, South Boston Neighborhood House. "We believe that learning to ride a bike allows our kids to stay active and have fun! Bike riding is a life skill that will encourage our kids to continue to explore their city in new ways. We look forward to partnering with the City and expanding the reach and impact of 'Bike Town' for many summers to come!"

More on bike towns in Boston can be found here.

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