Bike to School Day 2017
This year, Bike to School Day is Wednesday, May 10. We had 73 students from 17 school around Champaign-Urbana registering for this event. Each of them received a Bike Month T-shirt. Volunteers went to 6 school in the morning distributing T-shirts, backpack reflectors and bike maps, and had a great time greeting and cheering for students biking to school.
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Bike to School Day 2016
This year's Bike to School Day had a great turnout -- we had 97 registered students from 18 different schools, and more who bicycled to school without registering!
At many of the schools we had volunteers handing out bicycle reflectors, t-shirts, and other fun prizes.
Bike to School Day (BTSD) is a part of National Bike Month and builds on the popularity of Walk to School Day, which is in October. Both events have been hugely successful in Champaign-Urbana.
C-U SRTS sponsors this event to:
At many of the schools we had volunteers handing out bicycle reflectors, t-shirts, and other fun prizes.
Bike to School Day (BTSD) is a part of National Bike Month and builds on the popularity of Walk to School Day, which is in October. Both events have been hugely successful in Champaign-Urbana.
C-U SRTS sponsors this event to:
- teach and encourage safe bicycling behavior
- support and encourage students to be more active through walking and bicycling
- encourage drivers to watch for child cyclists and share the road appropriately.
Bike to School Day 2015
Urbana Middle School
Bike to School Day 2014
EDUCATORS CLICK HERE
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PARENTS CLICK HERE
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KIDS CLICK HERE!
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Why bike?
Today, only 13 percent of children ages 5 to 14 walk and bicycle to and from school - a dramatic drop from 50 percent in 1969 of children who walked to school (The CDC Guide to Strategies to Increase Physical Activity in the Community). As a result, school districts and families spend billions getting children to school. The high number of vehicles around schools create traffic congestion, safety hazards, air pollution, and wear on streets. Safe Routes to School works to improve streets, sidewalks, and build bike lanes so that children can safely walk and bike to school.
As a result(!) there is:
a) Less traffic congestion.
In 2009, U.S. families drove 30 billion miles to take their children to and from school. This cost was $5 billion in fuel.
b) Kids are more physically fit and healthier.
This is particularly important in light of the fact that there are currently 23 million overweight children and teens in the U.S. In Illinois, approximately one in three children maintain a weight that puts their health at risk. Bicycling and walking to school also helps to reduce financial burdens on school districts by reducing hazard busing costs.
c. Jobs.
The maintenance and construction of safe streets, sidewalks and bicycle lanes require the assistance of engineering, planning and construction firms. These projects create more jobs per million dollars spent than road repair and construction projects.
As a result(!) there is:
a) Less traffic congestion.
In 2009, U.S. families drove 30 billion miles to take their children to and from school. This cost was $5 billion in fuel.
b) Kids are more physically fit and healthier.
This is particularly important in light of the fact that there are currently 23 million overweight children and teens in the U.S. In Illinois, approximately one in three children maintain a weight that puts their health at risk. Bicycling and walking to school also helps to reduce financial burdens on school districts by reducing hazard busing costs.
c. Jobs.
The maintenance and construction of safe streets, sidewalks and bicycle lanes require the assistance of engineering, planning and construction firms. These projects create more jobs per million dollars spent than road repair and construction projects.
