What were your main highlights and accomplishments of this past spring?

Spring was busy in a good way! One of the biggest highlights was hosting four Walk & Roll to School events across three different schools in the Rogue Valley. Talent Elementary actually hosted two! We reached more than 220 students through these events. The support and community spirit in Talent was especially encouraging to witness. The atmosphere on Walk & Roll Day was festive, with music, balloons, a police escort through town, and local businesses providing snacks and bike safety checks. It was really encouraging to see families walking and biking to school together.

We also brought bike safety education to two schools in Ashland. At Walker Elementary, over 120 students learned bike safety through a super fun, scooter-based game in the gym. At Trails School, we trained about 50 middle schoolers – then they took a full-day field trip by bike.

On top of that, I supported the Medford School District with their crossing guard program and got to join the Walk & Roll Day at Jefferson Elementary and the Bike Bus in Jacksonville.

This summer, I’ll be teaching pedestrian safety lessons for students in Phoenix and Talent, including those attending summer school and the Boys & Girls Club.

Do you have any exciting plans for next fall that you would like to share?

Yes! Fall is shaping up to be big. One of the most exciting developments is that one of our community partners is purchasing bikes for the Ashland school district and bike safety education will roll out to all five Ashland elementary schools next school year. That’s a huge step forward for us!

Plus, both Phoenix and Talent Elementary will be presenting the Jump Start bike safety program in their P.E. curriculum next school year, using the Cycle Oregon bike fleet.  

How has it been working in the community and gaining traction with a brand new program?

It’s been incredibly rewarding. The communities here have really embraced the Safe Routes to School programs.  

In just a few months, we’ve reached five schools across two districts, impacted nearly 400 students, attended community events like the Rogue Valley Bike Swap and Medford Open Streets, and formed strong partnerships with folks like RVTD, the Ashland Climate Collaborative, and some really engaged PTO leaders.

People are excited to finally have a Safe Routes presence in their communities. We’re just getting started, but the foundation we’ve built so far is solid—and there’s a lot of enthusiasm for what lies ahead.