Wednesday is National Walk and Roll to School Day

 Normally, International Walk to School Day is the first Wednesday in October.  Because Yom Kippur was on 10/5 this year, in the US it was pushed to the second Wednesday in 2022.

-- Walk & Roll to School Day

Although it's sadly pretty rare, this day should be leveraged by school districts, planning agencies, and transportation departments as a way to promote sustainable mobility options to get to and from school.  (The elementary school in our neighborhood is not quite 1/2 mile away and our next door neighbor walks to school many days with two girls who live on the next block.)

Recommendations.

1.  Probably the biggest is that states should require school districts to provide balanced transportation planning--meaning not just focus and funding on school buses, but to including walking, biking, and "rolling", with planners on staff to work with schools, having a sustainable mobility plan at the school district and individual school scales, resources, etc.

And this should be for schools at all levels: elementary; junior and senior highs.  Typically, school programs focus on elementary ages, but should include the upper grades as that is where selection of sustainable mobility modes can be routinized.

Palo Alto's walk to school brochures are also printed as large scale signs and placed in school lobbies.

2.  Besides having elements like walk and roll to school maps and signage, there should be a focus on creating secure parking systems for bikes, scooters, etc. 

Scooter parking at Bonneville Elementary School, Salt Lake City.

Kids here do get stuff stolen, although some but not all schools do have security cameras, which help.

-- "Why isn't walking/biking to school programming an option in Suburban Omaha? | Inadequacies in school transportation planning," 2022

Safety.  In some cities, walking to school can be problematic in terms of student safety.  Parent escorts, school personnel, etc., should be involved when necessary, and group walking--the "walking school bus"--should be promoted ("Walking School Bus," United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County.  From the article:

“When we asked parents why they weren’t sending their kids to school, they told us that they didn’t feel the neighborhood was safe,” said Lincoln Avenue principal Yaribel Rodriguez. “If mom, dad, or a sibling was sick and they couldn’t walk their child to school, they were not comfortable sending them out to walk alone.”

Principal Rodriguez knew the school had to find a creative solution to ensure all kids could safely travel to school, so she turned to the Lincoln Avenue Community School Leadership Team (CSLT). Together the CSLT, made up of the principal, the school support teacher, the social worker, and the community school coordinator, explored the idea of starting a Walking School Bus.

“The concept of the Walking School Bus is simple,” said Regina Stieber, community school coordinator at Lincoln Avenue. “Teachers and parents walk a predetermined route, pick kids up along the way, and everyone travels safely together to school”

Lincoln Avenue’s Walking School Bus started with one day a week and was an instant hit. “Kids and parents started noticing us walking and asking to join,” said Regina. “The Walking School Bus is targeted at students with low attendance, but any student on the route is welcome to walk with us!”

It's also a great method for community building and the development of social capital.

-- Step by Step: How to Start a Walking School Bus at Your School, California Department of Public Health