Bike + Walk to School Day is Wednesday, May 8
Oregon Safe Routes to School has event planning resources for schools that want to celebrate the Bike + Walk to School Day, including: toolkits, how-to guides, posters, social media posts, key messages, guides, and more!
May celebrates the Walk + Roll Challenge
Keep active this spring and join schools across Oregon to celebrate the Walk + Roll May Challenge. Walking, biking, skating, scooting, and rolling to school is exhilarating and fun—give it a try this May! Here are some ideas:
- If you can walk or roll safely to school, leave the car at home and travel to school with your friends through either a walking school bus or bike bus.
- If you live too far to walk or roll the whole way, try a park-and-walk by parking a few blocks away from the school and walking the last leg.
- If you take the school bus, have a walk in the school yard or do a few laps around the track at break time so you can get active too!
Why is the Walk + Roll May Challenge important?
To enhance the health of families
Walking, bicycling, skating, scooting, and rolling to and from school are excellent ways to add physical activity into your daily routine. Kids need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day to keep them healthy—and many kids in Oregon just don’t get enough! Walking and rolling to school can help kids improve their strength and endurance, decrease anxiety and stress, and maintain a healthy weight. Positive experiences gained through walking and rolling to school will pave the way for being physically active throughout life.
To improve the health of the community
Walking and rolling to school reduces traffic pollution and congestion and improves air quality. It also frees up space on buses. Walk + Roll events also encourage families to walk and roll together.
To create permanent and safe walking, biking, and rolling routes
Well-maintained routes designed for walking and bicycling calm traffic and reduce collisions. Walking and rolling to school helps create driver awareness in school zones, which increases safety for all.
To improve neighborhood livability for everyone
Studies show that more people walking and rolling in a neighborhood makes people feel better about their neighborhood. It helps make public streets lively and friendly, encourages community interaction, and attracts people to commercial and recreational areas.