DDOT and DC Students Celebrate National Bike to School Day

(Washington, DC) Today, for the first time ever, students and families in the District joined communities across the country to celebrate National Bike to School Day. Schools, bicycle advocacy groups, public health organizations, students and parents organized bike rides and bike trains to school to highlight and celebrate the benefits of choosing student-powered transportation to school.

Here are some of the highlights from events across the city:

At Lincoln Park, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator David Strickland joined students from multiple Capitol Hill schools to officially launch National Bike to School Day. The event was organized by the Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT).  Special guests helped mark the occasion by awarding “National Bike to School Day Pioneer” medals to students from a dozen schools throughout Capitol Hill.

Councilmember Mary Cheh celebrated National Bike to School Day with students and families at Key Elementary School in Northwest DC. Bike trains traveled to the school from various locations accompanied by officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). As students arrived at the school, they received stickers and refreshments.

Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in northeast DC encouraged students to bike or walk to school on May 9 by instituting a one-day car tax. Parents who drove directly to the school in a car were asked to pay $1. To avoid the “car tax”, the school provided parent volunteers to accompany walking school buses and bike trains from the Franciscan Monastery parking lot at 14th and Quincy, NE. Cheerleaders cheered and encouraged students as they walked and biked up the steep hill on route to the school.

In all, 16 DC schools registered Bike to School Day events on the website, www.walkbiketoschool.org , and the total number of participating schools is expected to grow throughout May, which is National Bike Month.

Other DC schools that signed up for Bike to School Day events include:

• Inspired Teaching Public Charter School, 4401 8th Street NE
• LAMB Public Charter School, 1375 Missouri Avenue NW
• Lowell School, 1640 Kalmia Road NW
• St. Peter School, 422 Third Street SE
• Takoma Children’s School, 6925 Willow Street NW Washington
• Yu Ying Public Charter School, 220 Taylor Street NE

DC schools are competing for the DDOT Golden Bicycle Award, which will be awarded to the school that had the highest percentage of students who biked to school today.

Bike to School events are being held nationwide today and throughout the month of May. To browse the names and locations of registered 2012 events, visit www.walkbiketoschool.org/go/whos-biking/2012 .

About DC Safe Routes to School Program

Walking and biking to school mean healthier children and less traffic. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Safe Routes to School program works to make it safer, more convenient, and more fun to get to school on foot or by bicycle. The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. To learn more about the DC Safe Routes to School Program, visit the following website: ddot.dc.gov/saferoutes or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/DCSafeRoutesToSchool .