C-U Safe Routes to School Project

Welcome to C-U Safe Routes to School!

C-U Safe Routes to School Project (C-U SRTS Project) is an organization with representatives from the CU Mass Transit District, Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, CU Public Health District, Urbana and Champaign planning, engineering and law enforcement, Champaign County Bikes, Urbana and Champaign School Districts, as well as other educators, parents, and community members. The project came about after four years of organizing Walk & Bike to School Day in Champaign and Urbana schools and deciding that there was more that could be done to educate the community on pedestrian and bicycle safety issues.

Let's Get Rolling Earn-a-Bike Program

Let’s Get Rolling Earn-a-Bike Program is a pilot project to train C-U youth in bike safety, rules of the road, essential bike repair and operation, and route mapping. The goal is to get young people out riding bikes safely, giving them the skills and knowledge to help friends take up bicycling. Students who complete all classes and pass a short online bike safety exam will be eligible to receive a bike, bike lock, helmet, and lights to keep at no charge. Members will also be invited to participate in additional summer rides led by local cycling instructors.

The program this year is a cooperative effort of C-U Safe Route to School Project and Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club, with support from Champaign County Bikes,The Bike Project, Champaign Cycle, and C-U Mass Transit District.
Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club members can apply for this program by filling out the application form.

Upcoming Session:
2017 Summer Earn-A-Bike at Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club
- July 11th to July 13th, 3-5pm

Schedules
Day 1: Bicycle Maintenance and Helmet Fitting.
Day 2: Bicycle Safety: on-bike safety skills, rules of the road, avoid crashes, & cycling in all kinds of weather.
Day 3: On-Road Bicycle Safety Skills & Ride.

Bicycle Safety - Traffic Skills 101 Course

We successfully held a great TS 101 class on May 27th, 2017. Seven students joined us in the 4.5-hour on-road instructions. Under the guidance of League Certified Instructors (LCI), students practiced basic biking safety skills including ABC quick check, starting and stopping, scanning and signaling, and advanced skills like emergency maneuvers and quick turning. At the end of the course, all the students and instructors joined a group road ride that brought safety concepts into practice.

The Champaign-Urbana community needs more confident, educated bicyclists! Traffic Skills 101 is not only a great course on its own, but it also serves as the prerequisite to becoming a LCI. Click here to learn more about our TS 101 course.

Bike to School Day 2017!

This year's National Bike to School Day (May 10) was a beautiful day for biking! We have 73 students from 17 schools registering for this event, and many more who biked though without registering. Volunteers went to 6 schools around Champaign-Urbana handing out Bike Month T-shirts, backpack reflectors and bike maps to students, and had a great time with them sharing the joy of biking to school.

Frank Modica, who volunteered at Thomas Paine Elementary this morning, talked about our Bike to School Day this year when interviewed by Urbana Public TV.

Bike Rodeos in Bike Month 2017

The outdoor bike rodeo of Carle's Playing It Safe at Leonhard Recreation Center was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather, but we were able to move inside and provide helmets fitting and selling to many potential bike riders in the community. A lot of exciting activities were going on inside the gym with more than 30 booths teaching children safety tips. We sold over 25 helmets on that day - which means 25 people are much safer on their bikes!

We had a great and fun Spring Fling Bike Rodeo at Garden Hills Elementary on May 22 with 77 students joining us. Student practiced biking skills including starting and stopping, rock dodge, scanning, signaling, turning and yielding at eight stations. They also had fun in the Snail Race slow bike riding. Thanks Champaign County Bikes and all the volunteers for helping organizing this wonderful event.