The course at the Casco Safe Streets Committee’s bike rodeo, meant to help children learn about road safety in a controlled environment. Rory Sweeting/Community Reporter
The Casco Safe Streets Committee held a “bike rodeo” to promote bicycle safety to children at Casco’s Crooked River Elementary School on Saturday, May 3.
Eric Dibner, a member of the committee, said that the objective of the event was for children to learn how to navigate roadways safely, while also having their bikes inspected to make sure that they were using the right equipment.
Children’s bikes at the Casco Safe Streets Committee bike rodeo. Rory Sweeting/Community Reporter
In a previous interview, Dibner said that the Safe Streets Committee had first come together in May 2024 to develop a street safety plan for Casco that would be supported by a Community Resilience partnership grant. In December of that year, the board voted unanimously to approve a Complete Streets Policy, focused on improving road design with the eventual goal of eliminating traffic-related injuries and deaths. While originally established as an ad hoc committee, Casco Safe Streets has since become a permanent part of the town government.
Dibner said they are currently working on their first quick-build sites. One of them, a four-way stop at the intersection of Brown Avenue and Quaker Ridge, will be open for a public site visit on Wednesday, May 7. There are also plans, according to Dibner, to work on quick builds for roads owned by the Maine Department of Transportation, and the committee has been working to get better access and coordination with the department.
Sarah Turner, a member of the principle group that helped the committee design the Complete Streets Policy, was volunteering at the event, and said that she hoped to teach kids how to be safe and follow the rules of the road.
“In a controlled setting, we’re teaching them how to stop at any stop signs and signal at intersections,” said Turner.
Sam Brown, a member of the Casco Safe Streets Committee, promoting bicycle safety at the bike rodeo. Rory Sweeting/Community Reporter
Several members of the Safe Streets Committee were also volunteering at the event, including Dibner, Sam Brown and Rae-Anne Nguyen, the latter checking people in while the former two were making sure that kids stayed safe as they traversed the chalk “roadways” of Crooked River’s parking lot. Nguyen said the committee is planning on holding another bike rodeo sometime in the near future, and will take part in the Casco Days parade in July.
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