On Wednesday, October 8, Eugene and Springfield schools will join more than 260 Oregon schools in promoting and celebrating International Walk+Bike to School Day.
Walk+Bike to School Day is a internationally recognized day in which students are encouraged to use active transportation, such as walking and bicycling, to travel to and from school. It is one of the encouragement events coordinated by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership to promote walking and biking for safety, health, and congestion reduction. Not only will students learn valuable navigational and decision making skills by walking and biking to school, they also will show up at school more ready to learn after some morning exercise.
“In a time when we’re seeing increasing public support for bicycle and pedestrian projects and programs, we know events like this reflect the value of active transportation for all communities,” says Kari Schlosshauer, Pacific Northwest regional policy manager for the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. “This event is just one of the many high-impact tools that show immediate positive benefits for children and families. We know that encouraging sustainable, active, transportation choices by reducing traffic and increasing safety around schools, and by increasing the level of physical activity for children, translates into healthier communities.”
Students at Hamlin Middle School and Springfield High School will celebrate by hosting their own bike repair events. Page Elementary School students will be registering for Boltage, a walking incentive program, and Connect2School, a free program that matches students with walking, biking, and carpool buddies. All Lane County students are invited to use the free Connect2School matching tool provided by Point2point at Lane Transit District. Visit http://www.point2pointsolutions.org/connect2school to find a match today!
The local Walk+Bike to School Day events are brought to you by the Eugene-Springfield Safe Routes to School program in partnership with active transportation champions at many of our elementary, middle, and high schools in the Springfield, Eugene 4J and Bethel school districts.
