Walk to School Day Encourages Students to Skip the Bus

On October 8, International Walk to School Day, your child is encouraged to walk or bike to school. Mats Lindh/Flickr

By Sanjay Salomon

October 7, 2014

1 minute to read

Think of it as an accidental anniversary.

One year ago, Boston bus drivers went on a one-day strike forcing parents to drive into the city to pick up their kids from school and causing a massive citywide gridlock in the process. Fast forward to 2014 and we’re looking at a national event aimed at producing the exact opposite effect.

October 8 is International Walk to School Day so students are encouraged to walk or bike to school. The idea, according to the MassDOT blog, is to “encourage active and healthy transportation, learn about pedestrian safety, and decrease traffic congestion and pollution.’’

International Walk to School Day has been a nationwide event since 1997. According to the website Walk + Bike to School, 239 schools around Massachusetts participated in last year’s International Walk to School Day. MassDOT expects more than 275 of the 1,934 public schools in Massachusetts to participate this year.

For those participating in tomorrow’s event, it’s supposed to rain so plan ahead and bring an umbrella. If you’re a motorist, please anticipate more pedestrians than usual on the road and, as always, drive carefully. Walk + Bike to School also lists alternatives for families who want to participate but live too far away to walk to school.

If you didn’t realize this was happening, don’t worry. School buses will run as unusual tomorrow.

International Walk to School Day is sponsored by Safe Routes, a safety advovacy program funded by the US Department of Transportation. Locally, the Massachusetts Safe Routes program is organized and partially funded by MassDOT.

So will International Walk to School Day remove enough cars from the road to allow for a smoother commute on the Pike and other major roadways? It’s hard to anticipate, so we won’t bother. But after last year’s traffic nightmare, any help in reducing congestion is welcome.