Hundreds of kids expected on roadways for Bike to School Day
May 5, 2015, 4:23 PM | Updated: May 6, 2015, 5:52 am
(Flickr: Seattle Department of Transportation)
Drivers will share the road with hundreds of elementary and middle school students across the Puget Sound Wednesday morning for national Bike to School Day.
It’s all an effort to encourage kids to “bicycle for transportation, better health and a cleaner environment,” according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
WSDOT reminds drivers to use extra caution around young bike riders who may not be as experienced.
“Encouraging kids to bike to school — and providing safe routes and education on how to do so safely — is good for the environment and promotes healthy activity that will help us build Washington’s Healthiest Next Generation,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman.
WSDOT said its Safe Routes to School program has provided $49 million for 136 projects, like bike lanes and sidewalks, in 41 school districts and 230 school locations in the past 10 years.
It said the result is a 33 percent increase in the number of students walking and bicycling to and from school.