The University of Pennsylvania Division of Public Safety will kick off its annual Share the Road bicycle-safety campaign on Monday, March 25, at 11 a.m. in front of the Penn Bookstore, 36th and Walnut streets, concluding with a press conference at 11:30.

Share the Road educates the Penn community about local laws, traffic violations, fines and basic safety practices.

The event features the Penn Police Department, the Drexel University Police Department, the University City District, Allied Barton, PennCycle, the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia, Neighborhood Bike Works, Eastern Mountain Sports and Penn’s Medical Emergency Response Team.  Representatives will be available to answer questions about bike safety and provide information for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists.

In addition, officers from the Penn Police will assist people in registering their bicycles with the Division of Public Safety through the Campus Express Web page, raffle off bike lights and other prizes and demonstrate how to properly secure a bicycle.

“The annual Share the Road campaign is one of the ways we try to engage with members of the community and to share information about bike safety, both on- and off-campus.  We stress the importance of sharing the safety responsibilities of all partners on the road –- pedestrians, motorists and bicyclists,” Maureen S. Rush, Penn’s vice president for public safety, said.

From March 25 to 27, Penn Police and Allied Barton bicycle-security officers will be posted around campus to highlight adherence to safe bicycle practices and laws.

The Division of Public Safety’s “Driving and Cycling Safety on Penn’s Campus” brochure is available at http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/downloads/Share_The_Road.pdf.