Register your local event to create national impact

Next month (May!) is National Bike Month and with it tons of opportunities to celebrate active transportation in your school community. Forms of active transportation like walking, biking, and rolling give students an opportunity to be physically active, enjoy the outdoors, make friendships, and develop a sense of independence and ownership of their neighborhoods. Nationally, Bike and Roll to School Day will be celebrated on May 3rd this year with events across the country to get young people out of cars and buses and into the fresh air.

Don’t worry if that date isn’t the best for your school, you can participate any time throughout the month of May! Register your own event to encourage walking, biking, or rolling to school in your community:

City of Pittsburgh’s Walk & Roll to School Day

Locally, the City of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure Safe Routes to School program will be celebrating Walk and Roll to School Day on May 10th. Register your school and encourage walking, biking, or rolling to campus for a chance to win the coveted Golden Sneaker Award for the most participants! 

Need ideas on ways to encourage or celebrate active transportation to your school? We recommend hosting a Bike Train or Walking School bus led by parents, school staff, and volunteers in your community! Check out our informative blog with tips to start your own and you can always reach out to education@bikepgh.org for more advice! 

Getting to school shouldn’t be an uphill battle

Lastly, as we’ve written before, we’d be remiss not to mention that inequitable access to safe streets for walking, biking, and rolling can be a barrier to active transportation for the most vulnerable in our community. Many neighborhoods with high proportions of walkers may lack safe and wheelchair-accessible sidewalks, safe bike infrastructure, traffic-calmed streets, crossing guards, or all of the above. Fortunately, the school community can be a real force for change, even more so when working alongside neighborhood bike-pedestrian committees to demand safer streets for all especially our children!

Take Action!

• Join or form a neighborhood bike and pedestrian committee to advocate for safe routes
• Use Pittsburgh 311 or MyBurgh app to alert the city to bike and pedestrian safety concerns
• Connect with other parents, teachers, and administrators of your school
• Contact your city councilperson