[UPDATE]: The Dorchester Bike Festival has been moved from Saturday moved to Sunday, April 27 due to weather forecast on Saturday.
When spring descends upon Boston, it becomes bike season. City officials and staunch advocates have been vying to make Boston more accommodating to bikers and given the recent tragedy that befell one cyclist in Charlestown earlier this month, it’s safe to say there’s plenty more that needs to be done on their behalf.
The Dorchester Bike Festival on Saturday, April 26, aims to do exactly that; reaffirm bike safety knowledge, outline best practices, raise awareness about the MBTA Ashmont Station Pedal & Park and have a little fun in between.
Sponsored by the St. Mark’s Area Main Street, one of 20 Boston Main Streets programs, in tandem with a slew of bike proponent groups – Ashmont Cycles, BikeMilton, Bikes Not Bombs, Boston Bikes, Boston Cyclists Union, Boston Police Department, Green DOT, LivableStreets Alliance, MassBike, MBTA, MBTA Transit Police, Quincycles – the event is slated to take place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at 1970 Dorchester Avenue.
Expect free bike tune-ups, helmets for sale at a discounted price, bike-related art activities with Dot Art, and an obstacle course for kids courtesy of the Boston Police Department, prize giveaways and raffles. Free breakfast will be served an the agenda will be capped with an optional spin around Dorchester as a group led by DotBike.
“Overall, we’re trying to promote the brand-new Pedal & Park facility and encourage folks to take advantage of this substantial addition to our cycling infrastructure near Ashmont Station,” Meaghan Overton, Executive Director of St. Mark’s Area Main Street, Inc., told BostInno in an email. “We also want to promote cycling as a healthy, fun way to get around.”
Earlier in April Mayor Marty Walsh announced that through his first city budget proposal, totaling $2.7 billion, Main Streets District funding will increase by $400,000 over last year, doling out $75,000 annually from the City to each of the Districts. That equates to a 30 percent increase.
Images via Dorchester Bike Festival’s Facebook
