Walk to School Day planned in the Metro

(September 21, 2007) - Four metro area schools are encouraging physical fitness by recruiting walkers for International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 3.

Western Village Academy, Cleveland Elementary, Taft Middle School and Washington Irving Elementary School will kick off their Walk to School event before classes begin with a variety of activities designed to encourage parents to walk their children to school rather than drive them.

Some parents and teachers are even organizing a “Walking School Bus” that winds through the neighborhood, picking up children as it heads toward school.  City Police and Fire Stations are also participating in each school’s event.

“A staggering 90% of children between the ages of five and 15 are driven to school,” said City Planner Bob Mier.  “By encouraging more children to walk to school we can work toward reducing obesity, decreasing traffic congestion and pollution and raising awareness of how walkable Oklahoma City can be.”

Oklahoma City is working to create a more walkable community through the development of the Trails Master Plan, the drafting of a City Bike Route Plan and recent action by City Council to require sidewalks for new development.  Sidewalks and trails are also included in the 2007 City Bond Election proposal.

According to Ernestine Mbroh, program director for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Oklahoma Safe Routes to School Program, grants are available through the federal government for everything from building safer street crossings to establishing walk-to-school programs for kids and their parents.

“Our grant application process for Safe Routes to Schools kicks off October 1.  I encourage agencies and nonprofit organizations statewide to help create a safer walking and bicycling environment for their community by applying for funding,” Mbroh said.

International Walk to School Day is being organized by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Program, The City of Oklahoma City and other communities statewide.  Federal grants to help make the community more walkable, through improvements such as sidewalks and pedestrian traffic signals, are also being administered by ODOT.

For more information about International Walk to School Day, call Bob Mier at 405 297-2287.  Call Ernestine Mbroh at 405 522-3570 for information about Oklahoma’s Safe Routes to School programs and grants.