When you see the “bike trains” and “walking school buses” as neighborhood kids and parents come together on the way to and from school, it’s also clear that walking and biking to school strengthens communities.

That’s why the National Center for Safe Routes to School is so important. Through the Center’s efforts,more than 12,000 school communities have worked to make bicycling and walking to school safer and more appealing.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School, in partnership with the League of American Bicyclists, is pleased to be organizing the first-ever National Bike to School Day on May 9, 2012. Let the bike bells ring!

The inaugural National Bike to School Day will be the first opportunity for communities across the country to join together to bicycle to school on the same day. The event builds on the excitement surrounding National Bike Month, as well as the popularity of Walk to School Day, coordinated by the National Center for Safe Routes to School every October.

The event is coordinated by the Federal Highway Administration’s National Center for Safe Routes to School, and they’ve done a terrific job because–although it’s just the first year–more than 700 schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia are participating.  As Safe Routes director Lauren Marchetti said, “We knew there was support for a spring bike to school day. We couldn’t be more pleased with how many communities and families are coming together to promote biking to school on this one day.”

Bike to School Day event registration was free and available to individuals and/or organizations planning a 2012 Bike to School Day event in the United States. Events that registered at www.walkbiketoschool.org appear on the site as “Bike to School Day Pioneers.”

The success of this first-ever National Bike to School Day illustrates that communities across the country understand the need to provide students with healthy options for getting to and from school.

Of course, the rest of us can help by being good “Roll Models,” which means demonstrating safe behavior whether we’re walking, biking, or driving. You can learn more about NHTSA’s Roll Model partnership with AAA at NHTSA’s Parents’ Central website.

Many thanks to the local Safe Routes coordinators across the country. I look forward to seeing this terrific program expand to even more schools next year and in the years to come.

Links:
In a press release we received today from Bike It /Walk it you can see the dates on more events in Santa Monica.

http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/biketoschoolday.php