The city of Carson will hold its Tour de Carson community bicycle event on Saturday, April 13. The bike tour is part of the city’s Master Plan of Bikeways project.
According to The Carson Report, a quarterly magazine sent to residents, a draft proposal of bicycle infrastructure improvements were reviewed by the public at a community workshop held in January. At that meeting, participants were asked to vote on which proposed segments of the plan should be prioritized within the Draft Comprehensive Master Plan of Bikeways, which were to be made available for public review and comments in March or April.
Ray Aldridge, vice chair of the Carson Economic Development Commission, expressed satisfaction with the plan for putting bike paths in the city.
“I’m a proud resident of Carson,” he told the Report. “I really wish we can do something to put in bike lanes soon. I know it will cost a lot of money and imagination. I’d like to be able to get from point A to point B riding my bike. I hate the idea that if I want to ride my bike, I have to load it on to my car and take it to Long Beach or a surrounding beach city just to have a safe ride.”
Carlos Velez, chief of police at California State University, Dominguez Hills, who oversees the transportation services for the campus, gave input regarding prioritization of the proposed bike lanes.
“We are interested in making our campus community greener,” said Velez. “We are looking at different ways to get people out of their vehicle. We want to see what we can do to encourage and provide our input so we can be a part of the map as a destination,” added Velez.
Individuals are encouraged to join the Tour de Carson event on Saturday to give your thoughts on the draft master plan. In addition to the bicycle tour, the event will also offer fun educational sessions on bicycle safety, bike anatomy, maintenance and more by the Sheriff’s Station, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, and other community organizations.
There will be a food truck, free prizes to promote bicycling, and the tour to evaluate the proposed bicycle improvements within the Master Plan of Bikeways.
Younger riders will have a “little tikes” corner to learn bicycle safety on a designated safety course.
Tour de Carson will also include a Children’s Health Fair, where kids and adults will be able to obtain information from the bicycling community and health industry on healthy and active living.
Tour de Carson is a free event funded by the Caltrans Transportation and Planning grant. Those interested in participating may RSVP at http://ci.carson.ca.us/bikeways. Those who RSVP will receive a special gift bag, and the first 10 RSVPs will receive a free bicycle helmet at the event.
Everyone is strongly encouraged to bring both their bicycle and helmet if they plan to participate in the bike tour.
Registration and check in begins at 9 a.m., and non-mandatory education sessions, lasting 15-20 minutes, start at 9:30 a.m. However, bicycle safety sessions will be mandatory for all bike tour participants.
Riders must have their own bicycle and helmet. The tour is set for 10:45 a.m., and lunch is at noon.
The event begins at the City Hall parking lot, at 701 E. Carson St.
