Culver City will kick off Walktober and Clean Air Day by participating in International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 2.
Once again, schools in the Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) will join thousands of schools and millions of kids around the world in this international celebration of active transportation. Last year, over 5,600 schools in the U.S. hosted walk to school events in October in support of a growing trend of walking and biking more to school.
Culver City’s official kick-off site will be at City Hall, located at 9770 Culver Boulevard, on Wednesday, October 2, beginning at 8 AM.
“Over the past several years, Culver City has made great strides in helping kids get to school by walking, biking, scootering and riding the bus,” said Culver City Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells. “This gives students healthy exercise, while also improving air quality and traffic in our neighborhoods, and it’s fun! International Walk to School Day celebrates this shift from cars to active transportation, and I very much look forward to walking to school with our students on October 2nd.”
Each school has a specific meetup site and a plan to walk to school as a group, lead by parent volunteers. Each school tabulates the number of students participating, awarding prizes to the classes with the most walkers. Mayor Sahli-Wells and CCUSD School Board President Kelly Kent will join one of the largest groups, Linwood E. Howe’s Dance-Walk-to-School Party, at City Hall.
Families are encouraged to take advantage of their school’s Walk to School Day event to learn about the best walking routes to school, make friends to walk with and build a new habit of driving less and walking more. Walking a few street blocks is shorter than parents realize, and it helps to reduce traffic around schools, frees up parking for those who need it and provides an easy opportunity to teach their kids about traffic and pedestrian safety.
“More kids than ever are walking and biking to our schools,” said Culver City Safe Routes to School Coordinator Jim Shanman. “Our most recent Safe Routes to School survey shows that 38% of CCUSD students walk to school regularly. When combined with the use of bikes and scooters, nearly half of CCUSD students get to school without a car most days!”
Compared to a national average of only 10% of kids walking to school, Culver City is becoming a local leader in improving safety around school sites by getting people out of their cars more often.
International Walk to School Day raises awareness of the need to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasizes the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and concern for the environment. The event builds connections between families, schools and the broader community.
The Culver City Walk to School Day events are part of a larger citywide program that includes regular walk to school days, PE safety instruction for pedestrians and cyclists, community rides and classes and coordination with Culver City on school-related infrastructure improvements.
City of Culver City
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