Driver Alert: Wednesday Is Walk to School Day

FCPS photo from previous Walk to School Day

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Students in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will participate in International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, Oct. 7, in an effort to promote physical activity and reduce traffic congestion and pollution near schools.

Parents are encouraged to accompany their children to school, and to work with their school and PTA or PTO to assemble walking groups for the event. Schools that are launching a schoolwide effort to participate can register online at http://www.walkbiketoschool.org/

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs get kids physically active and take cars off the road. The percentage of students walking and bicycling to school declined from 48 percent in1969 to 13 percent in 2009. The increased number of Kiss & Ride users has exacerbated traffic conditions around many schools and has made it more difficult for student walkers and bicyclist to get to school. Find out more about Safe Routes to School in FCPS.

Local organizations that support walking and biking to school include:

• Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling
• Washington Area Bicyclist Association
• Trails for Youth

International Walk to School Day is a global event that involves communities from more than 40 countries walking and biking to school on the same day. It began in 1997 as a one-day event. Over time, this event has become part of a movement for year-round safe routes to school and a celebration – with record breaking participation – each October. Today, thousands of schools across America – from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico – participate every October.