NVRC held a great training session March 16 of Smart City cycling, a prerequisite for instructor licensing. 29 attendees including Washington Area Bicycling Association and Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling trainers, NVRC, and George Mason University staff. Students are all actively involved and committed to bicycle and pedestrian safety region wide. Local and school staff from the Cities of Alexandria and Fairfax, Arlington and Fairfax Counties. Three teachers, and one teacher in training participated. Two of the event instructors were graduates from the 2018 pilot of this project. Participants included residents from Prince William, Bristow, Manassas, and Western Fairfax, paving the way to greater safety outreach capacity in these high crash areas of the region!
Other events in the safety instructor training process include 2 evenings on pedestrian safety training with Bike and Walk Arlington, and additional training in late April back at George Mason University. NVRC has identified 15 participants who will undergo the intensive 3-day training to become licensed safety instructors through the League of American Bicyclists. In exchange for this training, each participant has a local mentor and has committed to at least two local safety outreach and education efforts free of charge in Northern Virginia, and will have the licensing, insurance, and training to provide education individually and for groups. The 2018 instructors continue their activities, leading group rides, serving and trail rangers, teaching about safe commuting, training children in safety, and many other activities throughout the region.
For more information on Share Virginia Roads, go to www.sharevaroads.org or contact Debbie Spiliotopoulos at dspilio@novaregion.org.