The City of Culver City with the Culver City Unified School District, join to celebrate October 2023 as Pedestrian Safety Month and October 4 as International Walk to School Day. The message of incorporating active transportation alongside pedestrian safety is critical for students of all ages.
During the first week of October, Culver City will join thousands of schools and millions of students and families across the country and around the world by lacing up their sneakers and hitting the pavement in celebration of International Walk & Roll to School Day.
“Walk & Roll to School Day is an opportunity for our families to demonstrate there are other ways to get to school besides driving door-to-door everyday” said Jim Shanman, Culver City Safe Routes to School Coordinator. “This celebration highlights present opportunities and our common ongoing plans that continue to
work towards safer, healthier communities.”
All Culver City public schools have an event planned for Walk to School Day. Students, parents, teachers, volunteers, and city and school officials will start at a common meet-up site, while others will walk on their own, joining the celebrations in front of their schools.
To date, over 2,400 events have been registered through walkbiketoschool.org on Walk & Roll to School Day, from 47 States, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The total number of events is expected to grow as celebrations continue throughout October, which has been designated as National Pedestrian Safety Month, as well as Walk to School Month, when a number of supportive State and national events take place, such as Bike, Walk and Roll to School Day, and National Teen Driver Safety Week, National Move Over Day, to name a few.
And all this activity and safety is important, as 15-20% of all morning congestion is attributed to school traffic. Locally in Culver City, as families opt for active transportation options and public transit, we see fewer cars going to schools and this contributes to decreasing congestion and pollution.
Walking, biking or using public transit to get to or from school also teaches students important life lessons, like time management, responsibility, community awareness and provides an opportunity for development of social skills, amicable conflict resolution, and to practice good judgment and pedestrian and bike safety. The Walk ‘n Roller program is a joint venture of the City of Culver City and the Culver City Unified School District. This partnership is now in its 11th year, and reaches over 7,000 students annually. The overarching goal of the City and CCUSD’s Walk ‘n Roller program is to encourage active transportation and public transit and teach pedestrian and bike safety. As a result, the program helps school families to rethink their modes of commute to and from school by choosing to walk, bike, or use public transit.
To this end, the City continues to create new bike connectivity by increasing our bikeway network and constructing more pedestrian improvements, all of which improve safety. Concurrently, the partnership between CCUSD and the City through Culver CityBus in the GoPass program makes public transit an easy option for students by providing free public transit service for all CCUSD students. Together, all these efforts contribute to parents and students choosing car-free options to travel to and from school. To learn more about the Culver City Safe Routes to School program, please visit www.ccWalkAndRoll.com.
To learn more about the events and locations of registered U.S. schools participating in Walk & Roll to School Day 2023, visit walkbiketoschool.org.
Jim Shanman
