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In Memory of Pierre L. Summerville

PPVA Bicycle Safety Coordinator

PIERRE L. SUMMERVILLE
PPVA Member Since 1996
Bicycle Safety Program and Park Watch

I joined the Park Police Volunteer Association ("PPVA") program to see if there was any way I could help by sharing my bicycle skills and other ideas. When I started out, I was spending a lot of time on the trails around Prince George's County. After doing this for quite some time, I came up with the idea of starting a bicycle safety program for kids in our area. With the permission of Lieutenant Mark Conto with the M-NCPPC Park Police, I put the idea into action. We used the bicycle safety kit that was provided by State Farm Insurance. Our first program took place at a school in Forestville, Maryland. We did it annually at that school for years. We later started doing so many programs until State Farm was unable to get the kit to us fast enough. As much as we needed the kit, we decided to make our own kit, which consisted of one bike, helmets and traffic cones. We received a lot of help from the State Highway Administration and National Transportation Safety Administration ("NTSA"), which included information to hand out to the kids. Years later, Washington Area Bicycle Association ("WABA") found out about our program and were told how well we were doing. They approached me and asked if they could share in our program.
At this time, we have offered the program in Prince George's County, Montgomery County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Washington, DC touching the lives of approximately 11,000 kids by the year ending in 2005. I am so proud of the growth that this program has taken in just a few years. This could not be as successful as it is without the outstanding support of the M-NCPP Prince George's Park Police, MD, the State Highway Administration, the D.C. Transportation Department and the Washington Area Bicycle Association.
Thank you very much.
Pierre L. Summerville