Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
International Walk and Bike to School Day this Wednesday, October 3! Families are invited to join one of three organized jaunts to Lane or Davis, with JGMS and BHS students encouraged to participate individually.
“Biking Train” from Depot Park to Lane School – Helmets required.
- Morning Ride: meet at Depot Park (corner of Loomis Street and South Road) at 7:30 am for a 2-mile ride along the Narrow Gauge Rail Trail to Lane School. This ride takes approximately 25 minutes and is uphill. Click this link to dowload/print a Biking Train Route map
- Afternoon Return Ride: Leave Lane School at 1:15 pm for an approximately 15-minute ride (downhill this time!) to Depot Park for parent pick-up at 1:30 pm.
- This will be an independent ride of students and parents and Mr. Ackerman and Mr. Kinney to help shepherd the event. Students may ride one way if the school is notified. Parents are highly encouraged to join either ride. While poor weather will cancel the rides, overnight rain is expected to end, becoming partly cloudy with temperatures in the high 60s when the ride begins. A message from Principal Ackerman will make the final determination on Wednesday morning.
The Walking School Bus from Pine Hill Road, through neighborhood streets, to Lane School
- Selectman Margot Fleischman will meet students and families in the parking lot of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 100 Pine Hill Road at 7:45 am for a 1-mile walk through neighborhood streets to Lane School – Click this link to dowload/print a Walking School Bus route map map.
Celebratory Parade from the Lutheran Church of the Savior parking lot on Davis Road, to Davis School
- Students and parents are invited to walk, bike, or scoot for a chaperoned parade to Davis School at 8:45 am for a chaperoned parade.
About International Walk / Bike to School Day and Healthy Bedford
Wednesday, October 3, 2018, is International Walk and Bike to School Day. Once again, Bedford will be celebrating with students and families from around the globe. In collaboration with the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program, the Healthy Bedford Task Force aims to create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bicycle and walk to and from schools both on special event days as well as every day. The goal is to reverse the decline in children walking and bicycling to schools, to increase kids’ safety, and to help reverse the alarming nationwide trend toward childhood obesity and inactivity.
Walking and biking to school is a great way for youth to get the physical activity needed for healthy bodies and healthy minds. Studies consistently demonstrate that students who are more physically active have better academic performance and that exposure to nature and free outdoor play can reduce stress and help relieve ADHD symptoms. The statistics tell us youth today have become less active, less independent, and less healthy. In 1969, nearly 50 percent of all children in the United States and nearly 90 percent of those within a mile of school walked or bicycled to school. Today, that number has plummeted to fewer than 15 percent.
In Bedford, our walking and biking event days highlight the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, and concern for the environment. Our goal has been to increase the numbers of students walking and biking to school not only on event days but throughout the year. The increased need for and subsequent installation of bike racks at our schools, and the numbers of students and other community members walking and biking as a means of transportation highlight how Bedford has embraced that goal. For ideas on how you can participate in Walk and Bike to School Day, see your school newsletter or check out our Facebook page at Healthy Bedford.
For more ideas on active commuting, see www.bedfordma.gov/healthy-bedford
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