For some, it was just another normal Tuesday, but for the KIWIN’S Club, Sept. 25, 2012 was the day that students, parents, and residents of the Downey community came together to ask City Hall for more bike lanes in the city.
The KIWIN’S club organized this event with the goal of persuading community leaders to provide fellow Downey bike riders with a safer environment.
“I was confident going to City Hall because I knew I wasn’t alone,” Robert Elizarraras said.
The club traveled from Furman Park to City Hall on their bikes. To ensure a worthy outcome, the group organized power points and speeches to display reasonable evidence as to why providing bike lanes should be our cities priority.
KIWIN’S adviser, Alex Gaytan, thought of the idea over the summer, and with the help of dedicated club members, the idea came to life. Walking into a City Hall board meeting without a previously set appointment might have been nerve wracking for others, but not for freshman Patricia Flores.
“It was worth going to fight for bike lanes because it feels good knowing I was part of a change in our community,” Flores said.
Not only did the city’s leaders agree to what the community service club had to say, but they also agreed to move this topic to another meeting to discuss it in more detail. Their next meeting is scheduled to take place in December where former club members will be present.
“It was a really great feeling knowing that the city took what we had to say seriously,” sophomore Karina Gonzales said.
This act of involvement within Downey has reassured citizens that with unity and hard work, a positive outcome is possible.
