Transportation is Seattle’s largest source of climate emissions. When we drive less, emissions go down in a big way.

Students who walk and bike get exercise built into their daily routine. Studies show that students arrive at school more attentive and ready to learn.

Studies also show that students are happier.

School pick-up and drop-off can be hectic with lots of idling cars in the same space. Walking, biking, and rolling reduces that congestion around schools and makes the air cleaner to breathe.

“In addition to the physical exercise and fresh air, walking to school helps kids develop independence and take responsibility for getting themselves to and from school on time.”

Learn more about the benefits and recommendations for when kids can walk to school alone.

Walking, biking, and rolling on your own or with friends can connect neighbors to each other, and it’s just a fun way to be outside and part of the neighborhood.

• Map your route:
  • Safe routes to school walking and biking maps for each school in Seattle
• Start a Walking School Bus: A Walking School Bus is a group of students walking to school with one or more adults, picking up students along the way.
  • Visit the “Start a New Program” page for help getting started
  • Use this toolkit for tips on getting started (page 7)
• Free supplies and $1,500 mini grants: Get fun, free incentives like stickers, bike lights, and reflectors to hand out at events and apply for a mini grant to support your programs and events.

• Map your route:
  • Safe routes to school walking and biking maps for each school in Seattle
  • See a bike map of the whole city
  • Download an easy-start guide to bicycling around Seattle from the City of Seattle website
• Start a Bike Train: A Bike Train is a group of students biking to school with one or more adults, picking up students along the way. Cascade Bicycle Club supports Bike Trains with leader training, route planning, and more.
  • Visit the “Start a New Program” page for help getting started
  • Use this toolkit for tips (page 8)
• FREE supplies and $1,500 mini grants: Get fun, free incentives like stickers, bike lights, and reflectors to hand out at events and apply for a mini grant to support your programs and events.
• Free and low cost helmets and bikes:
  • Bike Works offers free bikes and helmets for people who don’t have a bike and live in Southeast Seattle and parts of South King County. Bike Works also has “Earn a bike” and bike repair classes.
  • Public Health Seattle & King County compiled these resources for free and low-cost helmets.
• Bike and Pedestrian Safety Education: SPS offers a walking and biking safety program in Physical Education classes Kindergarten through middle school.

• Request a School Street: Work with your principal to close a residential block outside your school (school buses, district transportation, and people accessing their homes can still drive on the street).
• Order yard signs:  Vision Zero yard signs encourage safe driving and are available for pick-up.
• Share your safety needs:
  • Use the City’s Find it, Fix it app or submit a service request to report safety issues and street maintenance needs along your route.
  • Attend a School Traffic Safety Committee (STSC) meeting and share your needs during public comment.
  • Email the City at walkandbike@seattle.gov with ideas that would improve your route.
• Take action: Have an idea to make your route or school grounds better for walking and biking? Learn how to make it happen:
  • Seattle Public Schools Volunteer Enhancement Program, formerly Self Help program helps people make improvements to school grounds and buildings.
  • Apply for a $1,000 mini grant to fund your walk/bike/roll idea. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
  • Submit a request to get a bike rack installed at your school.
  • Start a Safe Routes to School campaign
  • Apply to be a school crossing guard.

• Students can make posters in a class or afterschool program and post around the school. If your school has a Green Team, they might want to be involved too.  
• Staff can login to MySPS to access flyer templates (staff login required) for events throughout the year
  • Schools or the district can email flyers to families through Peachjar.

• School leadership could put info in the school newsletter. They can also send text messages to families that are automatically translated into different languages through “Talking Points.” (limit 600 characters)
• If there’s a student newspaper, it could include info and/or spotlights of students who walk and bike to school.
• School PTSAs often have a Facebook page, webpage, and email lists to get the word out.
  • Contact Brooke Nelson brnelson1@seattleschools.org to present to your PTSA
• The Seattle Public Schools and Seattle Department of Transportation communications teams are happy to spotlight events and students in social media. Local media and neighborhood blogs are often willing to spotlight events too.

• Teachers can share with their classes. Physical Education teachers can be great people to ask!
• Write a message in sidewalk chalk outside the school or along a walking/biking route.
• School leadership can share in the morning announcements.
• Teachers and students can share at a school assembly (contact Brooke brnelson1@seattleschools.org for skit ideas).
• Does your school have a reader board out front? Your school admin can put a message about your activity up there.
• And probably most effective is word of mouth!

The D Line, 15, and 994 all stop adjacent to Ballard High School.  

Bus tip! Sometimes it’s quickest to walk, bike, or skate to the bus stop even if it’s more than a few blocks away. For example, a student in East Magnolia could walk to catch the D Line on 15th Ave W. In 8 minutes, the D Line would drop them off at school.

The 22, 60, and the H Line stop within a few blocks of Chief Sealth High School.

Sample route: Students from South Park can take the 60 to get to school in about 30 minutes.

The 60 and 107 stop in front of Cleveland High School.

Bus tip! Sometimes it’s quickest to walk, bike, or skate to the bus stop even if it’s more than a few blocks away. For example, a student in the Rainier Beach or Mt Baker neighborhood could walk to catch the light rail to get off at Beacon Hill and take the 60 or 107 to school.

The 345, 346, and E Line all stop within a couple blocks of Ingraham High School.

Bus tip! Sometimes it’s quickest to walk, bike, or skate to the bus stop even if it’s more than a few blocks away. For example, a student in the North Beach neighborhood could walk to catch the E line and get dropped off within a block of school.

The 3, 4, 8, and 48 stop within a couple blocks of Garfield High School.

The 44, 62, 31, 32, and E Line all stop within a few blocks of Lincoln High School.

Bus tip! Sometimes it’s quickest to walk, bike, or skate to the bus stop even if it’s more than a few blocks away. For example, a student in North Queen Anne could walk to catch the 62 at the north side of the Fremont Bridge. In 7 minutes, the 62 would drop them off a block from school.   

The 322, 372, 64, and 65 all stop within a few blocks of Nathan Hale High School.

The 7, 9, and light rail stop within a few blocks of Rainier Beach High School, Franklin High School, and Alan T. Sugiyama High School.

The 67, 73, 79, 322, 522 and light rail stop within a couple blocks of Roosevelt High School.

The 4, 8, 14, and 48 all stop within a block of Washington Middle School.   

Bus tip! Sometimes it’s quickest to walk, bike, or skate to the bus stop even if it’s more than a few blocks away. For example, a student on the west side of Beacon Hill could walk to catch the 8, 14, or 48 at the Mt Baker Transit Center and get dropped off within a block of school.

Why Walking and biking to school is a fun way to get exercise, reduce congestion and pollution around schools, and create community. Studies say students who walk and bike to school arrive more alert and ready to learn!

What

The district’s Safe Routes to School Coordinator (Brooke Nelson) can support you in any of these ideas and more (brnelson1@seattleschools.org).

• Lead a walk to school group or bike train. Students can meet and walk or bike in together.
• Help with Walk to School Day on October 4.
• Apply for a Seattle Department of Transportation grant for up to $1,000 to pay for things like street murals, warm winter clothes, and event supplies.
• Share success stories and we’ll broadcast them in school and district newsletters.

[Spanish]

PORQUE Caminar y andar en bicicleta a la escuela es una forma divertida de hacer ejercicio, reducir la congestión y la contaminación alrededor de las escuelas y crear una comunidad. Los estudios dicen que los estudiantes que caminan o van en bicicleta a la escuela llegan más alertas y listos para aprender.

QUE

• Dirija una caminata del grupo escolar o un tren en bicicleta. Los estudiantes pueden reunirse y caminar o andar en bicicleta juntos.
• Ayuda en el Día de Caminar a la Escuela el 4 de octubre.
• Solicite una subvención del Departamento de Transporte de Seattle de hasta $1,000 para pagar cosas como murales callejeros, ropa abrigada de invierno y suministros para eventos.
• Comparta historias de éxito y las difundiremos en los boletines escolares y del distrito.

[Simplified Chinese]

为什么 步行和骑单车上学是一种有趣的锻炼方式，可以减少学校周围的拥塞和污染，同时可以建立社区。研究告诉我们，步行和骑单车上学的学生更加警觉同时准备好学习！

做什么

• 带领一组学生步行到学校或单车列队。学生可以集合起来，一起步行或骑单车到学校。
• 10月4日是帮助步行上学日。
• 你可以来申请西雅图交通部补助金，最高可达$1,000美元，来支付街头壁画，冬天穿的温暖衣服和活动用品等费用。
• 来与我们分享成功的故事，我们会在学校和校区新闻通讯中播出来。

[Vietnamese]

TẠI SAO Đi bộ và đi xe đạp đến trường là một hình thức thú vị để tập thể dục, giảm ùng tắc và ô nhiễm xung quanh trường học, đồng thời thiết lập cộng đồng. Các nghiên cứu cho biết những học sinh đi bộ và đạp xe đến trường sẽ tỉnh táo hơn và sẵn sàng học tập!

ĐIỀU GÌ

• Dẫn đầu một nhóm đi bộ đến trường học hoặc đoàn xe đạp. Học sinh có thể gặp và đi bộ hoặc đạp xe cùng nhau.
• Hãy giúp đỡ với Ngày đi bộ đến trường vào ngày 4 tháng 10.
• Nộp đơn xin trợ cấp của Seattle Department of Transportation lên đến $1,000 để thanh toán cho những vật như bức tranh tường đường phố, quần áo ấm mùa đông và đồ dùng cho sự kiện.
• Chia sẻ những câu chuyện thành công và chúng tôi sẽ đăng chúng lên các bản tin của trường và học khu.

[Somali]

Waayo U lugaynta iyo baaskiil ku imaanshaha dugsiga waa hab madadaalo leh oo lagu sameeyo jimicsi, lagu dhimo saxmadda iyo wasakhowga agagaarka dugsiyada, loona abuuro bulsho. Daraasaduhu waxay yiraahdeen ardayda u socota iyo baaskiilka ku taga dugsiga waxay la yimaadaan feejignaan dheeraad ah iyo diyaar u ahaan inay wax bartaan!

Maxay

• Hoggaami baaskiil ku imaanshaha dugsiga ama isku taxa baaskiilada. Ardaydu we kulmikaraan iyaga oo u lugaynaya ama baaskiil ku tegaya dugsiga.
• Ka Qaybqaado Maalinka Baaskiil ku Tagga Dugsiga ee October 4.
• Dalbo maalgelinta Waaxda Isgaarsiinta Seattle ee gaareysa ilaa $1,000 oo u adeegso bixinta kharashyada farshaxanka waddooyinka, dharka xilli qaboobaha, iyo kharashaadka kulamada.
• Nala wadaag guushaada si aanu ugu soo bandhigno warsidaha dugsiga iyo kan degmadaba.

[Amharic] 

ለምን ወደ ትምህርት ቤት በእግር እና ብስክሌት መሄድ የአካል ብቃት እንቅስቃሴ ለማድረግ፣በትምህርት ቤቶች አካባቢ ያለውን መጨናነቅ እና ብክለት ለመቀነስ እንዲሁም ማህበረሰብ ለመፍጠር አስደሳች መንገድ ነው።ወደ ትምህርት ቤት በእግር እና በብስክሌት የሚጓዙ ተማሪዎች የበለጠ ንቁ እና ለመማር ዝግጁ እንደሚሆኑ ጥናቶች ያሳያሉ!

ምንድን

• ወደ ትምህርት ቤት ብእግር ወይም በብስክሌት የሚሄዱ ቡድን ይምሩ። ተማሪዎች ተገናኝተው አብረው በእግር ወይም ብስክሌት መሄድ ይችላሉ።
• በየትምህርት ቤት የእግር ጉዞ ቀን -ጥቅምት 4 ያግዙ።
• እንደ የመንገድ ላይ የግድግዳ ሥዕሎች፣ሞቃታማ የክረምት ልብሶች እና የዝግጅት አቅርቦቶች ለመግዛት የሚያስችል እስከ $1,000 የሚያክል ገንዘብ ለማግኘት ለሲያትል የትራንስፖርት ድጎማ ዲፓርትመንት ያመልክቱ።
• የስኬት ታሪኮች ያጋሩን እና በትምህርት ቤት እና በዲስትሪክት ጋዜጣዎች ላይ እናስተላልፋቸዋለን።