by Bailey White
Staff Writer
You’re used to seeing them walking the streets of downtown in their orange shirts and pith helmets. Now you might be seeing the Downtown Ambassadors, Downtown Vision, Inc.’s group of about a dozen people with the goal to make the streets of downtown safer and friendlier, on two wheels more often than two feet.
“There’s always at least one ambassador per shift on a bicycle,” said Joe Snowberger, director of operations for DVI. “Soon there will be more.”
Snowberger said the bikes come in handy for a number of reasons.
“We use the bikes first thing in the morning to make sure downtown is ready for the work day,” said Snowberger. “Plus we can cover more area and greet more people with the bikes. The bike is just one of our many tools.
“We are thinking about adding basic automobile service to the services we offer. We could assist with jump starting cars and changing tires, and the bikes would be helpful in transporting a portable jump starter or other needed supplies. The bikes are also great for evening events downtown.”
Last week, the ambassadors went through a course in bicycle safety and got training from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in personal and public safety.
“We do training two or three times a year,” said Snowberger. “We brought on some new ambassadors about six weeks ago, so it was time for an update.”