PROVIDENCE — For many kids in Providence, riding a bike means freedom, independence, mobility and, most importantly, fun.

“I wouldn’t be outside as much if I wasn’t riding bikes,” said Terell Francois, 15, of Providence, who was volunteering at a community bicycle organization, Recycle-A-Bike, on Tuesday to earn credits toward a free bike. “I feel like I’m energetic, I’m having fun.”

But this summer, the topic of kids on bikes seemed to turn from one of innocence and amusement to controversy and crime.

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Earlier this month, police reported that as many as 100 young people on bikes rode through the city blocking traffic, assaulting people and stealing snacks from a Dollar Tree. And after the introduction of Providence’s JUMP bike-share program, kids were seen by the dozens riding compromised rental bikes for free. One teen told the Journal how kids broke into the bikes.

The rampant vandalism of the bikes and police reports about their use in violent crimes around the city led to JUMP, which is owned by the ride-hailing service Uber, deciding to temporarily pull their bikes from Providence.

But many young cyclists, and the adults who know them, say these incidents are rare and not representative of all the kids who enjoy biking in the city.

For Izaviah Powell, 15, of Providence, biking is a positive activity that keeps him out of trouble.

“It’s just something I really like to do,” he said as he got ready to begin tuning up a bicycle during Recycle-A-Bike’s open workshop program. “It’s something to do besides staying in the house and doing bad things, you know? I just like to ride.”

For Gregory Sankey Jr., executive director of Recycle-A-Bike, which he said gave away close to 100 bikes last year, the phenomenon of youth breaking into the JUMP bikes was indicative of a wider need that isn’t being met.

“We’re talking about an impoverished population that’s underserved by transportation amenities and here all of a sudden are these bikes that are easy to take, that are thrown into their neighborhoods,” he said. “I’m just not terribly surprised by the outcome.”

Bikes are expensive, ranging anywhere from around $150 on the cheaper end of the spectrum to more than $500, said Donny Green, bicycle education program director with the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council. Plus, they require accessories, like helmets and locks, as well as upkeep and maintenance, he said.

The vandalism of the JUMP bikes showed that more kids want to ride than have access to bicycles, he said.

“The main thing I saw was there was a desire,” said Green, who hosts a summer bike camp for kids and runs a bike racing team called 1 PVD Cycling. “Kids want to ride bikes and they want to use them for enjoyment and just to get around.”

Kids who ride through Providence streets in large groups, events known as “Rideouts,” are often unfairly stigmatized, Sankey said.

When groups such as Critical Mass, a collective ride that began in San Francisco as a way to promote cyclists’ rights, take up space in the streets, people applaud, Sankey said, “But then, when these poor, inner-city kids do it, it’s a problem all of a sudden.”

Powell said the group rides he organizes with his friends are meant to bring people together to have fun.

“It’s actually a good thing,” he said. “When I’m making Rideouts, I get a lot of people to gather up, people that don’t like each other, but they still come to the Rideout to ride and stuff.”

As for the vandalism of the JUMP bikes, Powell said he noticed a lot more kids breaking into them after the company quadrupled its prices in July.

But Uber spokesman Harry Hartfield said in a statement that the price increase did not lead to more vandalism and also disputed that the bikes’ design facilitated the break-ins.

“We don't believe this is a design flaw given that this is not a widespread problem in other markets in which we operate,” he wrote. “An outcome generated by criminal damage is not equivalent to a design flaw.”

JUMP plans to return its bikes to the city this fall, according to Victor Morente, a spokesman for Mayor Jorge Elorza’s office. The city spent a total of $400,000 on the program.

“The City looks forward to resuming a service that is reflective of the priorities of our communities,” he wrote in a statement.

But Chelsea DeSantis, lead mechanic and educator at Recycle-A-Bike, said that while a bike-share program is a positive addition to the city, it isn’t a solution to all of Providence’s transportation issues, which include inadequate public transportation and a lack of protected bike lanes and other bike-friendly infrastructure.

“I would want to try to think about what the problem is that the JUMP bikes are trying to solve and if there are other ways to solve that problem,” she said.

“It’s one factor in a bigger problem about access and mobility in a city.”

Elorza’s Great Streets initiative, a street- and sidewalk-improvement plan announded in June, includes more than 60 miles of bicycle infrastructure, Morente wrote in an email.

“Bike share is just one mode in a comprehensive approach to expand public transportation options,” he wrote. “We are committed to continuing to work with our youth to expand public transportation options to them.”

Lui Matta, 14, of Providence, who was tuning up his bicycle at Recycle-A-Bike on Tuesday, said he likes to ride for fun, sometimes with groups of 10 or 12 of his friends.

It helps occupy his mind, he said.

“Nobody can tell me anything if I’m riding my bike,” he said. “I got my head on riding bikes, it gets my mind off everything else.”



— mlist@providencejournal.com

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On Twitter: @madeleine_list