In 2010, Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors celebrated its 10th year as the leading force in bicycle safety education and outreach in Chicago. The Ambassadors are a team of community outreach specialists who promote Chicago as a world class cycling city. The Ambassadors focused their efforts on three primary goals:
- Increasing the number of trips made by bicycle
- Reducing the number of bicycling-related injuries and fatalities
- Helping cyclists, motorists and pedestrians better share the roads and off-street trails
This year’s team was comprised of seven Bicycling Ambassadors and 23 Junior Ambassadors. The team appeared at events all over the city conducting face-to-face outreach in order to reach as many Chicagoans as possible. Outreach events included public education at libraries, schools, community festivals, athletic competitions and Chicago Park District Day Camps.
At every event the Ambassador team provided bike safety information to the public through conversation and educational literature. This literature focuses on topics such as proper helmet use, bicycling with family, using the bike lanes properly, sharing the road with motorists and commuting to work.
Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors reached more people in 2010 than ever before. Between May 17 and September 12 Ambassadors:
- Attended 369 events throughout the city
- Directly educated nearly 60,000 people through face-to-face education; 24% more than our most successful season
- Properly fit 1,852 helmets on adult and youth cyclists
- Directly educated over 25,000 people about dangerous cyclist and motorist behaviors at 49 Share the Road events
- Conducted 48 Lakefront Trail outreach events and directly educated more than 16,000 people, a step to improve trail safety.
Download Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors 2010 Final Report