Capital Bike - Everyone Rides Grades 4 and 5: Supporting Correspondence
Formal letter of request and supporting data from Capital Bike regarding their grant application for school cycling programs.
January 25, 2023
Town of View Royal 45 View Royal Avenue, Victoria, BC V9B 1A6
Dear Mayor Tobias and Council,
I am writing, first of all, to thank you for your long-time support of our Go By Bike Week campaign in your municipality and, more recently, your generous support of our in-school bike education programs. This year, we are requesting support to once again offer our popular Everyone Rides Grades 4 and 5 program at Eagle View Elementary! Since our program began in 2020, we've visited 62 schools across the south island, including both Eagle View and View Royal Elementary Schools, to rave reviews from all involved: students, staff, and parents at each school. This funding will allow us to teach every student in grade 4 and 5 at Eagle View.
The Everyone Rides Grades 4 and 5 (ERG45) program brings top-quality cycling training into the classroom and playground and equips kids with the skills to ride safely and confidently. Fall 2023 will be two years since our and our first visit to Eagle View Elementary, meaning there will be an entirely new cohort of grade 4 and 5 students who can benefit from the program. We are looking to renew our partnership with the school to run this 2-day program to ensure all young students in the Town of View Royal can benefit.
Day 1 of the program is ‘in-class’ and teaches road safety theory and the basics of bike mechanics. Day 2 is on-bike, where kids ride in mock traffic scenarios, learn bike handling skills, and signalling, and courtesy to pedestrians. We provide a fleet of bikes and helmets so all kids can participate, including 3 adaptive bikes for kids with balancing difficulties.
Since 2020 we have trained over 6,200 students. The feedback from students, teachers, parents, and school administrators has been overwhelmingly positive. We want to continue to bring the same opportunities to kids in View Royal. With your support, we can make it happen.
By leveraging funds from the Community Gaming Grant and supplemented by your Community Grant, we will be in a financial position to offer this program in your community.
We look forward to our continued partnership and our joint efforts to supporting active, sustainable transportation in 2023!
Sincerely,
Adam Krupper Executive Director Capital Bike
BENEFIT TO THE TOWN’S RESIDENTS
ERG45 offers grade 4 and 5 students all over British Columbia an introductory cycling skills course where they learn to ride their bikes to and from school. Cycling education for elementary students helps:
- provide a safe way for students to get daily physical exercise and independence to move within their community
- to raise a generation of sustainable transportation users and safe road users
- reach goals related to creating a safer traffic environment, climate action, equitable mobility, and healthy communities
Since the program began in fall 2020, 6,200 students have been taught bike skills in our ERG45 program in 62 schools across the South Island. Students were able to boost their confidence on a bicycle, improve their cycling skills, and increase their awareness of cycling rules and safety. A total of 391 teachers were actively engaged in the program and rated the overall quality of the course 4.6 out of 5.
By the end of the course, students are able to identify the benefits of taking active transportation to school, both from an environmental perspective, and for reasons related to mental and physical health.
Providing cycling education in schools is also effective for creating a culture of cycling as transportation. The program impacts the larger community as well: last year, teachers and school staff reported that their school’s involvement in the ERG45 program encouraged them to ride their own bikes more often. Parents and families also reported a shift in attitude, now seeing cycling as an attractive option for recreation and transportation.
“I wish to congratulate Capital Bike on an excellent program. They were excellent to work with, very professional and skilled with working with children. The "real-life" activities with mock roadways and all of the activities matched the interest level of the students which made the program "click." All students had a great day. We had students who had never ridden a bike before actually ride their bike unassisted, which is incredible. I highly recommend this high-quality experience to all schools.”
-Grade 5 Teacher, Tillicum Elementary, Spring 2021
“This is the best cycling education for students I have ever been involved in. The stations that teach about traffic, stop signs and following the rules of the road are so important not only as a cyclist, but also as a pedestrian. Practicing bike control, how to be safe and prepared were also taught in a fun and engaging way. All of the instructors took the time to learn students' names and were so kind and helpful. It was a huge success - thank-you!
-Grade 5 Teacher, Macaulay Elementary, Fall 2022
“Wonderful, consistently excellent program year-to-year. Such a super program for students, some of which don't have this opportunity outside of school.”
-Principal, ELSET Elementary, Fall 2021
Students practicing their awareness skills on a pretend multi-use trail intersecting with a pretend busy road.
A selection of our fleet of 23 loaner bicycles.
Getting the hang of traffic concepts like “right of way” and following other rules of the road at a pretend 2-way intersections.
The following resolution was passed by Capital Bike’s Board of Directors on January 25, 2023.
Resolution: “Move that the Bike Victoria Society apply to the Town of View Royal for a Grant-in-Aid in the amount of $1,550 to help support running the Everyone Rides Grades 4 & 5 program at Eagle View Elementary.”
Moved: Rebecca Freedman Seconded: Stephen McMurray
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