Oak Park residents can ride in style to cast an early ballot for the Nov. 3 General Election with Bike Walk Oak Park’s Roll to the Polls event this weekend.
The ride will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Whittier Elementary. There will be subsequent school pickup stops at Holmes, Brooks, Lincoln, Irving and Longfellow before arriving at Oak Park’s Village Hall. The ride is expected to conclude around 2 p.m., and Village Hall is open until 4 p.m. for early voting.
“We’re going to try and sort of ramp up early voting,” said Michael Eriksen, one of the event organizers. “I know that’s an important way to participate in democracy.”
This ride follows the same route taken on a previous advocacy ride for bike safety and the village’s Vision Zero plan where children were able to come out and help make their voices heard.
Eriksen said he feels new road infrastructure like flashing beacons have made a noticeable impact on the safety of biking through the village, and there is still more to be done for all ages and abilities to feel confident on the streets.
The event encourages anyone to join in the ride, including children and people not planning on voting. Eriksen said biking is a valuable way for him to connect with people in the community, and this event expands that connection to everyone.
“I think part of the throughline of this ride is we’re going to ride infrastructure that, in some ways, has been made possible by all these kids coming out and participating in the decision-making process in our village,” said Eriksen. “Also thinking about my vote as a way of building a community and a world that I want my daughters to be able to participate in.”
People are also encouraged to decorate their bikes to help the ride feel like a “festive parade” and add to the overarching goal of bringing joy to civic engagement processes. Eriksen said people have attached balloons and brought bubbles to previous events, and “the sky is the limit” when it comes to ideas for this one.
“We are allowed to have joy and connection as we start to advocate for this change in our community, in our nation, in our world,” said Eriksen.
There will be ride “marshals” at the front and back of the group to make sure everyone stays together, and people can join from whichever stop is closest to them. Zemi Coffee, a bike powered coffee cart, will also meet riders at Village Hall around 2 p.m.
More information and a link to RSVP, although it is not needed to join, can be found on the event website.