Submitted by Carla Olson, Healthy Bedford Coordinator
International Walk and Bike to School Day.will take place in Bedford on Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Walking and biking to school is a great way for youth to get the physical activity needed for healthy bodies and minds. Students who are more physically active have better academic performance. Numerous studies have demonstrated that exposure to nature and free outdoor play can reduce stress and relieve ADHD symptoms. If that isn’t enough to get you out of your car, consider the air quality around a school when dozens of idling cars are waiting during arrival and dismissal. Walking and biking to school is healthy for kids, healthy for communities, and healthy for the planet.
Healthy Bedford has many activities underway to further our mission to ensure that the built environment promotes wellness and health. On Wednesday, October 5, 2016 Bedford once again will join over 40 countries world-wide celebrating International Walk and Bike to School Day. This event, and others like it, is very popular with Bedford families. In addition to helping to raise awareness of the need to create safer routes for walking and bicycling, these events emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and concern for the environment. They also build connections between families, schools and the broader community-plus they are lots of fun! See your school newsletter for event details.
We encourage you to celebrate by joining us at one of our chaperoned events, or find your own path. Even better, bike or walk any day you can. Since Bedford does not have neighborhood schools, walking and biking routes can sometimes be a challenge. If you can’t find a comfortable route at: www.bedfordma.gov/healthy-bedford, consider walking or biking part of the way. For example, families frequently use the Middlesex Community College overflow lot on Springs Road and others use Depot Park on Loomis Street.
Bedford has been promoting these events since 2009, and each year we see increased numbers of students walking and biking to school not only on event days, but throughout the year. As a result of this partnership with parents, students, school, Town officials and other stakeholders, Bedford was recently approved for a federally funded infrastructure project specifically targeted toward enhancing safe access to John Glenn Middle School and the surrounding Town campus. View the initial design documents at www.bedfordma.gov/sites/bedfordma/files/u133/srts_bedford_jgms_dph_021116.pdf. This project is slated to begin construction during Summer 2017.
For more ideas on active commuting, see www.bedfordma.gov/healthy-bedford