Introducing the New and Improved Safety City of San Angelo

SAN ANGELO, TX – The new and improved Safety City of San Angelo welcomes guests to visit its recently remodeled facilities. Made possible through a huge community effort, new buildings have been added, repairs have been made and a fleet of bikes has been added for students to ride when they visit Safety City.

Yesterday morning, Austin Elementary students had the opportunity to tour the facilities during a field trip. During the visit, they learned safety procedures for pedestrians and bike riders. San Angelo Police Officer Brian Byslma, the Safety City Coordinator for the department during the last four years, explained that bike safety appears to be an area where many students lack the necessary knowledge.

Overall, Safety City has been a cornerstone in the community and has helped teach thousands of students over the years the proper safety measures to help prevent accidents or mishaps that could result in serious injury. Over the past few years, Safety City had been needing a serious renovation; many of the buildings were in dire need of repair, and the bicycles, in which students practiced bicycle safety, had major problems and needed replacement.

But in true San Angelo spirit, community members donated their time, effort and materials in order to give the facility a much deserved upgrade. The following are the community partners who made this endeavor possible.

• SAISD donated the property on which Safety City is located.
• City Lumber, one of the biggest donors, provided over $10,000 worth of material.
• Two members of the Boy Scout Troop 36 built three of the new building on the site. The scouts were in charge of the entire project from the building to design.
• Home Builders Association helped refurbish some buildings and help build new ones.
• Lowe's Home Improvement helped refurbish the school building that forms a part of Safety City.
• Atmos Energy donated the funds needed to build another structure as well as a portable gas meter to teach kids about gas safety.
• West Texas Steel donated materials.
• All About Signs also provided materials.

Several organizations across town were also fundamental collaborators in making the new improvements possible. The 2016 third graders at Fort Concho Elementary held fundraisers that would go towards improving the facility for kids as well as helping clean up the space.

Account Control Technology donated $4,000, and the San Angelo Coalition of Police, along with another generous donors, provided the necessary funds to purchase over 20 new bikes. Safety City San Angelo also purchased solid rubber inner tubes to ensure the bikes would not suffer the same issues as they had previously. SAISD also donated a school bus that will allow students to learn about important bus safety as they travel to school and home every day.

“Over the last year, there has been a big community involvement,” said Officer Byslma. “And [this] is a way to thank the community for being able to put everything out and get it back to where it's running.”

He added that if every 3rd grade class in the area has the opportunity to visit Safety City, approximately 1,300 students would have the chance to learn about traffic safety.

“If I can get one kid to learn something, one thing that stops them from being hurt in a traffic accident, then I have done my job,” Byslma said.

Safety City of San Angelo is also working towards building a new and improved City that would be able to reach even more people and be more beneficial and educational to the entire community. The project is currently in the planning stages at the new facility. The idea of creating a bigger and more inclusive facility was also a big goal for the late Sergeant Korby Kennedy, who served on the committee for Safety City.

Executive Board Member Karla Steppe, who is also a Fire Inspector Investigator with the San Angelo Fire Marshal’s office, provided more details regarding the project of expanding Safety City into an even bigger facility that will continue to be a wonderful part of 3rd graders from all around the area. She even recalls her visit at that age to Safety City when she and her class visited from Sonora, Texas.

“We have high aspirations, and we want to be able to provide multiple aspects of safety [to the community],” Steppe said.

Safety City of San Angelo will be participating in this year’s San Angelo Gives, and staff hope that with the funds raised they have the opportunity to expand the size, create a community building in which to hold classes and training sessions, as well as a fire safety house that allows kids of all ages to learn about safety in different environments.

The organization also encourages everyone in the community to follow it on Facebook to learn about the newest improvements and developments of this project. This year’s San Angelo Gives event will take place on May 2nd at sanangelogives.org.