Down at BOOM! central on Tuesday, the production crew works diligently to get the cameras, stage, and lighting arranged for Wednesday night’s broadcast.

Just across the corner at Ludlow and Town St, Smart Columbus and Bird Scooter are handing out free helmets. The representatives told me it’s part of a 100 city campaign to promote safer riding.

To get a free helmet valued at $60, download the Bird app and present it at the location mentioned above. The other way is to buy it through the app and pay the one dollar shipping and handling fee.

James Ellison told me he doesn’t care to ride the scooters but came and got a helmet anyway.

“After you’ve had an accident, which I have had on a bicycle, you know how difficult it is to keep your head off the ground in an accident,” said Ellison.

You can get the helmet today, but tomorrow you may not ride any type of scooter anywhere near the pedestrian-only areas of Red White & BOOM!

Police say there will be hundreds of thousands of people plus vendors crammed into a small area. Scooters will make it dangerous for both the people riding and the people walking.