Bring back youth walkability.
Walk to School Day is a nationwide initiative to bring awareness to the health and transportation benefits of walking to school, in addition to building awareness for safe streets that prioritize all-ages pedestrian safety over motor vehicle speed. The event is a yearly Safe Routes to School Walk Bike & Roll celebration held throughout the country by various schools, but can also be a grassroots effort held at any time throughout the year.
Most importantly, Walk to School Day is about the change that you, as a parent, community member, school principal, or youth leader can do to bring attention to your local planning organizations and elected officials about walkability safety issues that can only be solved through better sidewalks, safer signals, or other road infrastructure.
WalkSafe & Miami-Dade Schools
While it is usually up to schools (or motivated parents and PTAs) to host Walk to School Day events, WalkSafe holds a yearly school perimeter walk in partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools every year.
These events have been held since 2007 and incorporate both a perimeter walk and a pre-event infrastructure presentation with local leaders, highlighting opportunities to improve school infrastructure for walkability and micromobility.
In addition to holding a Walk to School Day event, teachers in all Florida schools are invited to join in the festivities with WalkSafe's Art Contest, giving kids a creative outlet to express their ideas, and a chance to win prizes if chosen as winners.
Sponsors of the Art Contest have included Nike's Back Your Block, Miami HEAT, UM Athletics, Rack Room Shoes, Foot Locker, Famous Footwear, and Ross.
For more information about how safe street initiatives are necessary for the future of our children - and America's transportation - consider these links:
- Solving the drop-off madhouse
- 4 reasons why walking to school benefits kids
- Kids who bike walk to school have better concentration
- ZenDrive study: Drivers engaging in risky behavior during school dropoff periods
- Turning the Ride to School into a Walk
- Severity of pedestrian vs. car crashes based on vehicle speed
- Unsafe at many speeds - pedestrian vs. car crash risks based on age, speed
- Why protected bike lanes save lives
- A protected bike lane built to help kids get to school
- Study: Victim blaming of children for pedestrian injuries
"We want to be next!"
Since we can only pick one school a year, please consider sharing how a Walk to School Day event could benefit your school.
You may be our next pick!
Getting involved:
Walk to School Day and safe streets are products of the community, which means everyone - principals, parents, city planners, and yes - the kids - are players who can help re-envision our streets.
To get involved or to plan an event, consider downloading one of our resources:
Walk to School Day's impact on safe streets:
Families, children, and every pedestrian - whether on two feet or using a rolling mobility aid - deserves a safe place to walk to their destination.
Fortunately, accessibility is protected by the 1990 Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act. Unfortunately, this act only sets minimum standards for existing infrastructure: Connectivity and safety are, sadly, not protected and affect every human being attempting to use pedestrian infrastructure.
Since 2022, each of WalkSafe's Walk to School Day events have featured a pre-event infrastructure presentation for participating officials. These presentations highlight current issues affecting student walking routes around the host school and encourage county and municipal leaders to take action to improve the surrounding infrastructure.