2013 to be a big year for walk and bike to school programs

Using money from the Bridging the Gap Levy, the Seattle Department of Transportation will fund 28 mini grant projects this year to help get kids walking and biking. This is the biggest year ever in terms of the number of schools participating and the amount of funding dispersed, according to Walk. Bike. Schools, as SDOT will disperse $27,700 among various projects and events that range from encouragement programs to smaller infrastructure improvements.

Among the projects funded are some of our own programs.

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We'll be hosting two workshops on starting your own bike trains.

In 2013, the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation will hold two workshops entitled “Bike Training – How to Run and Ride Your Bike Train” to help parents and children organize their own bike trains on the road.

We will organize these workshops at community locations in the north and south end of Seattle and they will be open to the public. Each workshop will include a short lecture for parents in bike train organization and safe route choices, a supervised bike rodeo for children, a skill-building course for parents and a short ride on neighborhood streets.

Meanwhile, Denny International Middle School in West Seattle will be using the funding to establish a new program that uses creative incentives to support and encourage more Denny students to choose alternative ways to school. The grant funding will pay  for signage around the school grounds to make a designated route, along with promotional materials and prizes  to reward regular ridership. Denny also has an opportunity to collaborate with the co-located Chief Sealth International High School and its Major Taylor program.

Another funding recipient, Loyal Heights Elementary in Ballard, is looking to establish an after-school urban cycling club for fourth and fifth graders.  The club will provide students with a strong foundation of bike safety education as well as applied bike skills. The program is still under development, and grant funding will be helpful to pay for professional instruction by Cascade Bicycle Club instructors as well as to purchase supplies.

It’s shaping to be a great year for bike and walk to school programs, and we look forward to seeing more kids discover the joy of bicycling!