The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will host a free family-friendly, student-led “Safety Day” event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, at the Carver Educational Services Center (CESC), located at 850 Hungerford Drive in Rockville.
The fair will highlight bike, driver, and pedestrian safety with interactive and educational experiences including safety demonstrations, games, and hands-on activities for all ages. Safety Day will be organized and staffed by local high school students participating in the County’s Vision Zero Youth Ambassador program.
“Our Vision Zero Youth Ambassadors have planned a day of hands-on activities to make learning how to cross streets or wear a bicycle helmet fun and engaging,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “As a former teacher, I know high school students are some of the strongest role models for youth, and I applaud their efforts to inspire more young people to be safe using alternative travel modes. These lessons are instrumental to youth safety.”
Each year, County high school students compete for a limited number of spots to serve as youth ambassadors in the four-month traffic safety leadership program. The program’s goal is to equip young adults to become the next generation of traffic safety leaders. Ambassadors who complete the program gain extensive knowledge about the County’s Vision Zero initiative, meet County leaders, and earn up to 35 Student Service-Learning Hours.
Safety Day is for all ages, from seasoned cyclists to school-aged children and will feature unique and fun interactive activities for the whole family, including:
- Traffic Garden: Young children can enjoy the interactive traffic garden, a safe zone to try biking through miniature streets and learn how to navigate crosswalks and other traffic-related situations safely.
- Passports: Attendees can receive a prize after visiting vendors and completing the activities in the Safety Day Passport. Passports will be given out at check-in.
- Bike Raffle: Children in grades K-5, can enter a raffle to win a new bike. Five bikes will be given away in the raffle.
- Interactive Activities: Attendees can visit interactive demonstrations and games, including a bike helmet melon drop, and a new Spot the Bad Driver game where participants identify driving behaviors and learn more about safe driving.
- Entertainment: Music, food trucks, and an appearance by MCDOT’s Zeal the Safety Zebra mascot.
“Safety Day is an opportunity to make a real impact in pedestrian safety and awareness,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “Our Vision Zero Youth Ambassadors have planned a day of events that are fun and engaging while serving a very serious purpose: to instill safe habits in our young people. Events like Safety Day let us equip our community with the skills to navigate our built environment.”
The event is cosponsored by MCDOT, Montgomery County Public Schools, and Montgomery County Recreation.
The event will be held in the parking lot of the CESC in Rockville with free parking available in the adjacent Montgomery College Lot 13. There will be free shuttle buses from Gaithersburg, Kennedy, and Seneca Valley High Schools and Montgomery Village and White Oak Middle Schools. The site is conveniently located near public transportation. Learn more about how to get to the event on the Getting to Pedestrian Safety Day webpage.
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Read the original article at mcdot