The Melrose Messenger

Horace Mann Bike Bus Kicks Back into Gear

As September approaches, the Horace Mann Bike Bus is preparing to run for its second school year. The bike bus is an organized bike ride that encourages kids to make biking to school part of their regular routine.

The bike bus is an international movement that has recently made its way to our area, with bike buses starting up in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and several other nearby towns. The idea is to make riding to school safer by having kids ride together. Colleen Conway, who started Melrose’s first bike bus at the Horace Mann Elementary School, said her goal is to “help kids feel more comfortable on their bikes, help parents feel more comfortable letting their kids be more independent, decrease car traffic around the school, and build community.”

The Horace Mann bike bus starts at the end of Damon Ave, which is the main route many Horace Mann students take to school. Some students ride with the bike bus the entire way, while other students join the bike bus at various points along the half-mile route. The bike bus rides in the middle of the street, with adult volunteers riding at the front and back of the bus and at the sides, and others stopping traffic along the route at the busier streets. Some parents choose to ride with their children, while other kids ride independently. The bike bus only goes to school; Conway explained that after school dismissal is too staggered to attempt a return trip, but she hopes that, once kids have ridden to school, they’ll bike back home too.

The bike bus started last spring, with three inaugural rides that each attracted around 40 kids, or 15% of Horace Mann’s student population. Conway said that everyone saw the first few bike buses as a big event, and she hopes to turn that initial momentum into a routine - “this is your mode of transportation,” she said. The bike bus will be held twice a month at least through December, and then it will likely be on hiatus through much of the winter. The bike bus will go on in most weather, said Conway, although it will not go in dangerous conditions such as when there is snow and ice on the roads.

There has been significant support in the Horace Mann community for the bike bus - Principal Milissa Churchill has ridden with the bike bus, as has Mayor Jen Grigoraitis - and Conway reports that kids have been especially excited about it. “They say the best part is ‘I get to ride with my friends,’” said Conway, “and unfortunately that’s not something that happens organically anymore.”

Conway hopes that this year, the bike bus will become an event that involves the whole community, and more neighbors will come out to cheer the kids on or even volunteer to help. Another parent may organize a second bike bus route for Horace Mann, and there is plenty of room for bike buses to start at the other elementary schools, too. However, Conway pointed out that this particular neighborhood around Horace Mann is especially well suited to a bike bus, since there are no especially busy roads and there are a number of school families concentrated in the area; putting together a bike bus in other areas might be more challenging.

The goal of the bike bus is not just to encourage kids to bike and parents to feel comfortable letting them be independent on their bikes; it is also to raise awareness of the importance of safe driving to allow kids to travel safely around town. “The reason a lot of parents don’t want our kids to walk or bike is cars,” Conway pointed out, and she hopes that the bike bus will “bring awareness to the fact that there are kids on the road and we should prioritize their safety.” If our streets are safer for kids to walk and bike, Conway said, then parents can allow their kids more independence, and families can make fewer driving trips to school.

The Horace Mann Bike Bus will be holding an end-of-summer celebration next Saturday, August 17th at 3pm (rain date will be the following day, Sunday, August 18th). Everyone - Horace Mann families as well as other community members - is invited to meet in the Horace Mann parking lot, join a group bike ride around the neighborhood, and enjoy ice cream afterward.

Posted August 12th, 2024