Bike Everywhere Month
Summary: May is National Bike Month and a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling.
It’s time to Walk, Bike and Roll for National Bike Month
May is National Bike Month and a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling — and encourage more people to give biking a try.
Students across the district are getting involved by participating in Bike Everywhere Month. School communities are encouraged to bike, walk, or roll to school throughout the month of May.
Genesee Hill Elementary kicked off the month on April 28 with a Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day. Over 100 kids rode bikes or scooters to school and several others walked.
Smiling students arrived at school to an enthusiastic welcome from Principal Elizabeth Dunn and parent volunteers organized by the school’s PTA. Everyone received free reflectors, stickers, coloring books, and pencil cases provided by the Seattle Department of Transportation.
To celebrate both walking and biking, on May 5, Concord International Elementary in South Park welcomed students to school with slices of watermelon and free lights, coloring books, and colored pencils.
Many students said proudly they walked or biked to school that day. Students also took calendars where they can track their walking and biking minutes each day and receive prizes at the end of the month.
In her new role at Seattle Public Schools, Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator Sara Colling reaffirmed the district’s commitment to making schools safe, welcoming, and joyous.
“That’s how it should feel arriving at school, too,” she said. “We’re supporting walking, biking, scootering, roller blading, skateboarding – anything that gets kids moving and feeling free.”
Colling also stressed other added benefits of walking and bicycling.
“It reduces car congestion and idling emissions around schools,” she said. “It creates neighbor connections and has been proven to make students more attentive in class.”
If you are interested in organizing a Bike Everywhere event at your school, Cascade Bicycle Club is holding a bike challenge where students can track their minutes biking each day and enter a raffle.
