LAKELAND, Fla. — A commemorative event and bike ride in Lakeland on Wednesday will honor pedestrians and bike riders killed or seriously injured in traffic crashes.
- Ride of Silence starts at 6 p.m. in front of First Presbyterian Church
- Ride will take 2 laps around Lake Hollingsworth
- City pushing bike, pedestrian safety campaigns, including "Pledge to Slow Down"
- More Polk County stories
Polk County's transportation planning organization says around 70 pedestrians and bike riders are killed or seriously injured in the county each year.
This year's "Ride of Silence" event will start at 6 p.m. in front of First Presbyterian Church. Participants in the bike ride will take two slow laps around Lake Hollingsworth.
One of the people who will be remembered is Byers Levy, who was struck and killed by a drunk driver in 2013 as he rode around that very same lake.
Event organizer Mary Crowe, an avid cycler and a member of the Bicycling Lakeland organization, knew Levy from bike rides.
“He meant something to many people in the community," said Crowe. "Not only his immediate family, but the people he touched through the cycling community.”
Since the crash that killed Levy and another man, the city has made cycling safety improvements around Lake Hollingsworth. The county has also been pushing bike and pedestrian safety promotions, including a "Pledge to Slow Down" campaign.
Signs for that campaign have been posted around the lake.
Crowe said cyclists need to do their part to be safe.
"To be visible. That means to wear reflective clothing. Use lights," she said. "It’s the law to have reflective clothing on your bike."