Students hit the streets walking, rolling

Sonoma County is leading the way in the Bay Area toward increasing active transportation among students and families, according to a recent evaluation of Bay Area Safe Routes to School (SRTS)|

Sonoma County is leading the way in the Bay Area toward increasing active transportation among students and families, according to a recent evaluation of Bay Area Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs released by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in September.

Toward that end, Petaluma students were joined thousands from around the county who strapped on helmets, kicked up kickstands, and fired up their feet to walk or roll to school on Wednesday in celebration of the annual International Walk & Roll to School Day event.

International Walk and Roll to School Day is one component of the Sonoma County Safe Routes to School program. Participating SRTS schools engaged in weekly or monthly walk & roll days and walk/bike safety education to encourage families to change their transportation habits, the No. 1 one thing students can do to reduce their carbon footprint. According to SRTS, one student walking or bicycling to or from school just one mile, one day a week saves 100 pounds of CO2 a year. If all the students in Sonoma County were able to walk to/from school one mile/day a week, it would save 3,532 tons of CO2 a year.

International Walk & Roll to School Day is produced by the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Safe Routes to School Program, with support from Safe Kids Sonoma County and the Center for Climate Protection’s ECO2School Program.

The Sonoma County Safe Routes to School program is supported by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s One Bay Area Grant Program, Measure M, and Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefit Program.

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