October 4, 2017
We are all still talking about how great Jefferson Road Elementary School’s Bike to School Day was last May. Jeff Road was Pittsford’s first school to participate in the nationwide event and we heard from lots of parents who said they and their kids now bike more, thanks to the event. We also heard from lots of parents who said they never realized how terrifying Village traffic can be for anyone outside of a car, and are now advocating for traffic calming measures in and around their own neighborhoods.
If you are all fired up about Bike Day 2018 (mark your calendar for May 9th) and need to keep your family moving, take heart!
Walk to School Day is October 4th!
Encourage your school to register and participate this year! It’s an easy event to host and is a great way to raise awareness about healthy habits, community building and traffic calming measures that would help make it safer and more enjoyable for our families to move around without a car more.
The National website has all the materials you need to get started, including tips for first timers, a guide to getting started and safety tips. It can be as elaborate or as simple as you’d like.
What to do first?
- Talk to your school’s principal.
- Once you have the principal’s approval, register your school.
- Encourage people to walk to school that day.
- You can add events leading up to the event or on the day of the event, depending upon how much time and support you have.
(We are a big fan of baby steps around here. If you keep it simple the first year and get people to participate, you can grow the event each year.)
We’re here to help out with any support or questions you might have about how to host the event at your school, so leave us a comment here, email us, or reach out on Facebook!
Think you don’t have enough time, given that school hasn’t even started yet and Walk to School Day is a month away?
The national website even has instructions for how to Plan an Event in 7 Days.
In the meantime, if you need convincing that walking to school with your kids is a good idea, give this a read:
Why We Should All Walk Our Kids to School at Least Once
“No situation makes you more acutely aware of how safe your streets are than walking them with your child.”