We have all heard the age-old story, "I had to walk five miles to school, alone, in the cold, with no shoes..." That was supposed to be encouragement! The truth is living in a "walkable" community is desirable; walking to school is fun! Most people would agree that being able to walk to school or work is a huge benefit. Most people, who can walk to work, brag about it. I would, too. So, let's agree that if we could, we would choose walking to school over driving a car.
You can! The City of Takoma Park has made the Safe Routes to School program a priority in order to increase the number of families choosing to walk to school. You may have already noticed our efforts if you participated in Walk to School Day or your kids have shared with you their involvement in a safe routes mapping project or bicycle safety rodeo at school. These ongoing activities aim to pave the way for you to leave the car in the driveway and walk with your kids to school.
Safe Routes is so committed to the idea of walking to school and the obvious benefits for you and the community that we will assist neighborhood groups with the organization of a WALKING SCHOOL BUS. A Walking School Bus is a group of neighbors who are organized around walking to school.
Families in a neighborhood agree the kids will walk to school together on a regular basis, once a week, for example.
Parent volunteers commit to rotating the responsibility of escorting the students to school.
Students are either picked up along the way or a designated meeting time and location is selected.
So by helping you organize a Walking School Bus, we are helping you stay fit, increase quality time with your kids, reduce vehicle emissions and congestion, make your neighborhood safer, foster lifelong healthy habits, create a sense of community and more!
If it sounds easy, it is! And the City of Takoma Park wants to make it even easier for you. The SRTS Coordinator will be attending PTA meetings and sending questionnaires home with students to assess the level of interest at each school. If your neighborhood is interested in finding out more or you are already walking regularly and you would like help or ideas on how to organize your group, email Lucy Neher, SRTS Coordinator, lucyn@takomagov.org. And don't worry, you will never have to walk a long way, alone in the cold with no shoes!
