The quiet of the morning is broken by a sudden rush of bikers flooding towards a folding table laden with donuts, the sound of kickstands being lowered and bike tires screeching against the cement rings out on Greenough Street. These bikers, both students and staff, gathered for the Biking into BHS event held by the Climate and Food Justice Club before school on Wednesday, Sept. 11 to encourage more students and staff to bike to school.

Senior and member of the Climate and Food Justice Club Toby Sillman said events like these encourage many students and staff to bike to school when they otherwise wouldn’t have.

“I know there are a lot of people who drive to school because they think that biking isn’t safe enough,” Sillman said. “When we have these group events, that gives wary bikers a chance to experience the security and the freedom that comes with being able to bike to school. So what we’re trying to do is create that sense of community, that sense of security for anyone who thinks they would want to bike.”

Climate and Food Justice Club adviser and English teacher Eric Colburn said that biking safety is an issue that needs to be addressed swiftly.

“The town is slowly putting in safer bike infrastructure, but we would love it if it would happen at a faster pace,” Colburn said.

Implementing more bike lanes can be controversial, and more needs to be done to protect these measures to keep bikers safe, Sillman said.

“We want to see as many protected bike lanes around Brookline as possible. There’s one currently being debated on Washington Street that’s encountered an unwanted level of opposition from business owners in Washington Square,” Sillman said. “So we want to see school administrators, the school committee and other public officials using their voices to really promote biking as the healthy, sustainable mode of transportation that it is.”

Sillman said that biking, along with being better for the environment, is better for health too.

“You get to spend 10, 15, minutes outside on your ride over to school. It’s a great source of exercise,” Sillman said. “And if you’re in a car, you’re normally just sitting for 10, 15 minutes, maybe even 20. And I think biking prepares you and wakes you up for school in a way that most people don’t realize.”

The Climate and Food Justice Club has held other events to combat climate change, such as sorting lunch waste, and this is just one more initiative that they hope will make Brookline a more sustainable town.

Winthrop House math teacher Devon Oberle participated in the Biking to BHS event and said that one reason for people to bike to school is that it is a way for people to assist in slowing down climate change.

“I’m kind of new to biking,” Oberle said. “I feel like I care about the environment, and I’m trying to lower my carbon footprint, so I’ve been biking more.”