C-U Safe Routes to School Project

Welcome to C-U Safe Routes to School!

C-U Safe Routes to School Project (C-U SRTS Project) is an organization with representatives from the CU Mass Transit District, Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, CU Public Health District, Urbana and Champaign planning, engineering and law enforcement, Champaign County Bikes, Urbana and Champaign School Districts, as well as other educators, parents, and community members. The project came about after four years of organizing Walk & Bike to School Day in Champaign and Urbana schools and deciding that there was more that could be done to educate the community on pedestrian and bicycle safety issues.

Walk to School Day - Oct. 4, 2017

International Walk to School Day is a global event celebrated in more than 40 countries by walking and biking to school on the same day. Started in 1997 as an one-day event, it has evolved to be part of year-round safe routes to school movement, and an encouragement to a healthy life choice. Today, thousands of schools and communities across America participate every October.

This year on Wednesday, October 4th, elementary school students in Urbana-Champaign will enjoy the fun of walking to school in the morning with their friends, parents, teachers, polices, city officials and community members. On this day, we see no dangerous roads or crazy cars, but children's freedom of walking, and all the safe routes to schools.

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C-U Safe Route to School project has hosted Walk to School Day in Urbana-Champaign for over four years, and has received many smiles, laughs, thanks and high-fives along the way. Visit Who Walked 2016 to see what happened in last year's event in Champaign-Urbana. You can also show your support for safe walking by coming to one of our participating schools and walking with our kids on October 4th!

Let's Get Rolling Earn-a-Bike Program

C-U Safe Routes to School Project partnered with Champaign County Bikes to raise funds to purchase 15 bicycles to be used in a pilot Earn-a-Bike program in Champaign-Urbana. Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club worked with us to organize and schedule the first class July 11-13, 2017. Six students completed the application and the online Bicycle Safety Quiz created and hosted by Ride Illinois - the statewide bicycle advocacy organization. Five League Cycling Instructors, certified by the League of American Bicyclists, assisted with the class.

Let’s Get Rolling Earn-a-Bike Program is a pilot project to train C-U youth in bike safety, rules of the road, essential bike repair and operation, and route mapping. The goal is to get young people out riding bikes safely, giving them the skills and knowledge to help friends take up bicycling. Students who complete all classes and pass a short online bike safety exam will be eligible to receive a bike, bike lock, helmet, and lights to keep at no charge. Members will also be invited to participate in additional summer rides led by local cycling instructors.

Check out our day-to-day report here!

Bicycle Safety - Traffic Skills 101 Course

We successfully held a great TS 101 class on May 27th, 2017. Seven students joined us in the 4.5-hour on-road instructions. Under the guidance of League Certified Instructors (LCI), students practiced basic biking safety skills including ABC quick check, starting and stopping, scanning and signaling, and advanced skills like emergency maneuvers and quick turning. At the end of the course, all the students and instructors joined a group road ride that brought safety concepts into practice.

The Champaign-Urbana community needs more confident, educated bicyclists! Traffic Skills 101 is not only a great course on its own, but it also serves as the prerequisite to becoming a LCI. Click here to learn more about our TS 101 course.

Bike to School Day 2017!

This year's National Bike to School Day (May 10) was a beautiful day for biking! We have 73 students from 17 schools registering for this event, and many more who biked though without registering. Volunteers went to 6 schools around Champaign-Urbana handing out Bike Month T-shirts, backpack reflectors and bike maps to students, and had a great time with them sharing the joy of biking to school.

Frank Modica, who volunteered at Thomas Paine Elementary this morning, talked about our Bike to School Day this year when interviewed by Urbana Public TV.

Bike Rodeos in Bike Month 2017

The outdoor bike rodeo of Carle's Playing It Safe at Leonhard Recreation Center was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather, but we were able to move inside and provide helmets fitting and selling to many potential bike riders in the community. A lot of exciting activities were going on inside the gym with more than 30 booths teaching children safety tips. We sold over 25 helmets on that day - which means 25 people are much safer on their bikes!

We had a great and fun Spring Fling Bike Rodeo at Garden Hills Elementary on May 22 with 77 students joining us. Student practiced biking skills including starting and stopping, rock dodge, scanning, signaling, turning and yielding at eight stations. They also had fun in the Snail Race slow bike riding. Thanks Champaign County Bikes and all the volunteers for helping organizing this wonderful event.