Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline takes the lead on North Main Street while participating in yesterday’s Bike to Work Day. Bicycling comprises only 0.2 percent of all trips to work in Rhode Island, according to the Providence Bike Coalition.

The Providence Journal Andrew Dickerman

Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline traded in his suit, car and driver for a 14-speed Gary Fisher road bike and blue gym shorts yesterday morning to ride from his East Side home to Kennedy Plaza, where he greeted about 50 dedicated cyclists who rolled up for the 52nd national Bike to Work Day.

The mayor, a handful of state officials and bike advocates gathered before 8 a.m. amid free coffee, bagels and cycling-related trinkets, to show support for bike commuting, a choice which makes up only 0.2 percent of all trips to work in Rhode Island, according the Providence Bike Coalition, the event’s organizer.

Bike to Work Day was financed by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation through a federal grant, with organizational support from the Providence Foundation.

“Obviously, biking to work is a very simple way to decrease congestion, improve the quality of the air we breathe and [it is] a beautiful way to see the city,” Cicilline said to the helmeted and messenger bag-clad crowd. “The city is working hard to make biking a clear and easy option.”

More biking would also reduce tailpipe emissions and improve the health of residents in the state.

“Rhode Island’s transportation sector is the largest contributor of global warming pollution in the state and contributes more than 45 percent of the state’s smog pollution,” said Haidee Janak, a member of the Sierra Club chapter of Rhode Island and Providence Bike Coalition. “Bicycling is fun, cheap, keeps you in shape, creates zero pollution, and in dense cities like Providence, it’s often a faster way to get around.”

Cicilline said the city has completed plans to put up more than 1,000 bicycle signs and add bike lane striping on five city streets: Elmwood Avenue, Broadway, Charles Street, Smith Street and Hope Street, which will be completed this fall, to further encourage residents to bike to work.

Michael Lewis, the new director of the state DOT, also strolled into Kennedy Plaza on two wheels, touting the 40 miles of bike paths the agency has paved, as well as plans to add 10 more soon.

“I almost guarantee you we will not propose a bridge that does not allow bikes,” Lewis added to cheers from the cyclists, who have likely been frustrated that they are not allowed to cross the Pell and Jamestown-Verrazzano bridges.

According to Rhode Island law, bicyclists are afforded the same rights and restrictions as automobiles and are to be treated, and operated, just like a car. That means they have the right to be in the middle of lanes and the obligation to stop at stop signs and red lights.

Mark Dieterich, a member of the Providence Bike Coalition, said education on both ends –– driver and rider –– is still needed to improve relations between the two groups, which sometimes becomes confrontational as they compete for limited road space. Poor understanding and obedience of traffic laws exacerbates the problem, common in a city like Providence, which is still in the process of establishing a mature bike culture.

“In order to get respect you need to give respect,” Dieterich said. “That means no blowing through red lights and stop signs and driving the wrong way on one-way streets. I wouldn’t mind seeing the police clamping down a bit, then I would love to see them go after drivers, too.”

Drivers and bike commuters are going to have to get used to sharing the roads, since bicycles appear to be growing in popularity.

Joe Savick, the manager of Providence Bicycle, said bike and bike accessory sales have been up this year even though consumer spending in general has been lagging in most sectors of the economy.

“It has been a very strong season industry-wide, not just us,” Savik said. “A lot of people are getting the bike out of the shed and getting it tuned up and riding 10-15 miles a day to work.”

Gas prices near $4 a gallon is also a contributing factor.

“Over the last three years we have seen an increase, and the way that gas prices are going, it’s inevitable,” Dieterich said. “More people will give it a try.”

Much of the same crowd that showed up in the morning event in Kennedy Plaza returned for the afternoon round of bike-centric activities, this time under a light shower of cool rain.

Around 4 p.m., about a dozen or so faithful riders returned to hang out and mingle among vendors despite the rain.

On Wednesday, Rhode Island will hold a local observance of the worldwide event, Ride of Silence, to remember cyclists killed in auto accidents. The 14-mile, slow-paced ride will begin at 7 p.m. outside the Kmart at 296 Garfield Ave., in Cranston. Organizers ask participants to arrive at 6:45 p.m. with a bike in good repair and a helmet. Children with adults are welcome. For more information, visit www.rideofsilence.org.

ngarcia@projo.com