Bike Club outlines after-school programs, trail work and a new headquarters to UED committee

Representatives from Bike Club told the UED committee on April 9 that the nonprofit operates after-school clubs, in-school bike safety lessons and trail-building projects across Tulsa and is constructing a new headquarters at Bales Park.

Emily Damick, Bike Club's director of programs and research, said the organization runs 37 elementary and middle school clubs serving more than 600 students and reaches nearly every Tulsa council district with in-school third-grade bike safety lessons. Damick said the program meets weekly year-round, that over 500 elementary students learned to ride for the first time in recent years, and that the club organizes annual capstone events and middle-school mountain bike experiences.

Bike Club also runs a bike-mechanic program for high-school students, an adaptive mountain-biking partnership for riders with physical challenges, trail-development and maintenance projects at multiple parks and a Christmas bike giveaway in partnership with Family & Children's Services. Damick said the group is collecting pre- and post-program survey data measuring mental and physical wellbeing and self-efficacy; she told councilors that post-season data from middle-school participants will be available and elementary-school post data will be complete after the May rally.

Damick described a new purpose-built headquarters at Bales Park that will include classroom space, a bike shop, bike storage and community programming, and said construction had moved from foundation to visible beams.

Councilors from multiple districts praised the program's work in building confidence and school connectivity, asked Bike Club to share survey and attendance data, and suggested the organization's student-generated route and infrastructure observations could feed into the city's GO Plan and capital priorities. Councilors also raised trail-safety concerns, including motorized vehicles on non-motorized trails; Bike Club said large groups with visible vests typically reduce conflict during rides but urged coordinated enforcement on safety issues.

Bike Club said its next rally, a citywide capstone ride, is scheduled for May 14 and invited councilors to attend. The group also said it hopes to expand middle- and high-school offerings in the coming year and to use the new headquarters for community clinics and expanded programming.