International Walk to School Day Celebrates Local Efforts to Increase Safe Routes For Students to Walk and Bicycle to School

International Walk to School Day Celebrates Local Efforts to Increase Safe
Routes For Students to Walk and Bicycle to School

Thousands of Scheduled Community Events in U.S. Will Recognize Student Health
and Safety Programs

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, October
7th, students, parents, teachers and local officials in several thousand
communities in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia will walk to
school together to celebrate the 13th annual International Walk to School Day.
These events also kick off October as International Walk to School Month, the
month when communities in over 40 countries will participate in daily, weekly
or monthly events designed to raise awareness about the many benefits of
safely walking and bicycling to school.

"International Walk to School Day events held on Wednesday and throughout the
month of October highlight an increasingly important global issue," said
Lauren Marchetti, Director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School, a
national clearinghouse that provides U.S. programs with information needed to
implement safe and successful Safe Routes to School programs and strategies.
"When communities and schools work together to make routes to school safer for
their children to walk and bicycle, there is an opportunity for many safety,
public health, and environmental benefits to be enjoyed by all community
members."

Safe Routes to School programs address pedestrian safety, traffic patterns,
and congestion around schools, as well as environmental and health concerns.
Public health officials have found that improving and increasing safe places
for students to walk and bicycle can encourage increased physical activity and
overall healthy decision making. Some teachers report that students who walk
to school arrive more alert and ready for the day in the classroom. A school
district in Washington State reports an annual savings of $220,000 in
transportation costs due to increased involvement in the district's Safe
Routes to School programs.

On Wednesday a variety of different Walk to School Day events will be held
nationwide. In Alexandria, Va., George Mason Elementary students, parents and
teachers will be joined by city, state and federal officials to celebrate the
occasion. Joseph S. Toole, Associate Administrator, Office of Safety, Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA), and Rebecca Crowe, Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
Program Manager, FHWA, plan to walk to school with a group of George Mason
students as part of a "walking school bus" - a group of children supervised by
adults while walking to school.

"All of us in the U.S. Department of Transportation very much support building
more healthy and livable communities nationwide," said Mr. Toole. "I can think
of no better way to promote this cause than by joining the millions of
parents, children and communities celebrating a child's active and safe trip
to school on International Walk to School Day."

Livable Streets Education, the New York City Department of Transportation,
Walk21, and the National Center for Safe Routes to School will co-host a free
citywide event at Washington Square Park on Walk to School Day from 1-2 p.m.
Fun activities focused on healthy lifestyles have been planned for K-12
students, including a live performance by world-famous beatboxer Rahzel, a
former member of The Roots, and a presentation about active communities and
urban livability given by international leaders in the field.

As of October 5, more than 3,000 U.S. schools have pre-registered their local
Walk to School Day events on the U.S. Walk to School Web site,
www.walktoschool.org, and this number is expected to increase throughout
October. The total number of participating schools each year is even higher
than reported numbers, as additional communities hold events but do not
register.

The U. S. held its first International Walk to School Day in 1997 at a school
in Chicago. In July 2005, the nation affirmed its commitment to helping
children walk and bicycle safely to school when Congress passed federal
legislation that established a national Safe Routes to School program. The
program dedicated a total of $612 million towards Safe Routes from 2005 to
2009.

-- To view the names of registered U.S. schools participating in Walk to
School Day, visit: www.walktoschool.org/who/index.cfm.
-- For a complete list of participating countries, visit:
www.iwalktoschool.org/whoswalking.

-- For past photos of International Walk to School activities, visit:
www.iwalktoschool.org/photos.

About The National Center for Safe Routes to School
Established in May 2006, the National Center for Safe Routes to School assists
communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bike to
school. The Center strives to equip Safe Routes to School programs with the
knowledge and technical information to implement safe and successful
strategies. The Center also serves as the coordinating agency for Walk to
School activities in the U.S.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School is maintained by the University
of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S.
Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. For more
information, visit: www.saferoutesinfo.org.

SOURCE National Center for Safe Routes to School

Caroline Dickson, Communications and Marketing Manager of The National Center
for Safe Routes to School, +1-919-962-5835 office, dickson@hsrc.unc.edu