The Wichita Police Department Broadway Corridor Team and Bike Walk Wichita will distribute free bicycle lights at Orme and South Broadway (one block south of Kellogg) on Friday, November 4 and at Walgreens Community Pharmacy at 803 N Broadway (Murdock & Broadway) on Friday, November 11, both from 7:00-8:00 pm. This will be the fourth consecutive year that the Police Department and Bike Walk Wichita have collaborated in distributing bike lights at the time of the fall time change from daylight savings time.

Kansas law requires that anyone riding a bicycle at night must have at least a front light and a rear reflector. Bike Walk Wichita has received a generous grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation to distribute lights and reflectors to bicyclists who do not have them. Bike Walk Wichita is using the grant funds to purchase lights and reflectors that it regularly distributes to cyclists through its various programs.

The upcoming distribution is just one of the ways that the lights are being distributed. Daylight Savings Time will end on Sunday, November 6, so it will be getting dark earlier. This is a good time to remind everyone riding a bicycle that it is important to be as visible as possible.

Having proper lights will make riding much safer. The lack of lights can be a factor in crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians. We encourage all cyclists to make sure they have good working lights. If anyone needs a light and is not able to be at the distribution event on November 5 or 12, they can also receive a light by coming to Bike Walk Wichita’s ReCycle program at 325 N. St. Francis, which is open Tuesdays 2pm-6-m, Thursdays 6pm-8pm, Fridays 1pm-4pm and Saturdays 10am[1]4pm.

The Wichita Police Department’s Broadway Corridor Team focuses on interacting with the community along the Broadway corridor to reduce crime. Bike Walk Wichita’s mission is to transform Wichita into a more livable, accessible, connected city by making biking and walking safe, equitable, and appealing. Thanks to the funding of the KDOT grants, since October 2016, Bike Walk Wichita has distributed lights for more than 3,000 bikes.