Bikes, playtime, snowcones and safety lessons — everything a kid needs.

We Love Our City hosted its first Bike Safety Event at the Family Life Community Church, which included a bike safety course among other services and activities.

Event coordinator Shelley Pauls said it was a big collaboration of partners that provided much-needed events for families in the community — and that all families want their kids to be safe. She said they hope to do the event again next year with more families and bike events.

In addition to 13 vendors and the distribution of 57 free bike helmets, the event included safety checks and repairs, along with an obstacle course, a bike decorating station, prizes, treats and bike giveaways.

Pauls said We Love Our City created the event because there were no such events hosted in Federal Way. We Love Our City is a group of local churches, friends and family who have been volunteering in the community for the last 10 years. Pauls said they partner with all the nonprofits and ask the city how they can help because if there are any needs, they want to meet them.

“We hope we instilled some important safety habits along with creating some great memories,” Pauls said.

The King County Public Health Bicycle Manager Lisa Watson was in attendance at the event doing the helmet fitting. Additionally, she brought 25 helmets from King County to give away.

“We want people to bike. It’s a really fun and healthy activity. It’s an eco-friendly way to travel. But if you’re going to ride a bike, wear a helmet. If you’re part of the community, you also have a responsibility for bike safety. If you’re a driver, again, you bear a pretty big burden of watching out for cyclists,” Watson said. “You’ve got to slow down. You’ve got to give them tons of room if you’re going to pass them, and they have a right to be on the road as much as any driver. It takes a whole community to increase bicycle safety.”

Watson said King County emphasizes providing helmets to community members, especially to lower-income residents, homeless residents, and people who are generally the most vulnerable. Watson said that King County conducted studies in which they found that 87% of bike riders in King County wore helmets in 2023. She said the groups that were least likely to wear helmets were adolescents and kids.

“All of them got brand new, safety-certified helmets. Some did tell us, ‘This is my first helmet,’ and they were thrilled. We even had two kids whose helmets were in really bad shape,” Watson said. “Helmets only last four to five years.”

Watson said research shows that wearing a properly fitted helmet decreases the risk of brain or head injury by up to 88% if someone is in a bike crash. She said helmets can prevent brain and head injuries and are the simplest preventive measure when someone gets on a bike.