Making Strides with Walk and Roll Day

Denver - The Colorado Department of Transportation encourages schools to participate in Walk and Roll Day on Wednesday, Oct. 9, to promote and practice pedestrian and road safety among classmates, families, and caregivers.

Established in 1997, Colorado Walk to School Day, renamed Walk and Roll to School Day in 2022, is part of the International Walk to School Day program, when children from more than 40 countries walk to school on the same day. Typically recognized on the first Wednesday of October, this year the event will take place Wednesday, Oct. 9, in recognition of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah the week prior.

Organizers are encouraged to register their school at walkbiketoschool.org as a way of tracking participation and showing support for active, healthy, safe transportation. Registrations also assist Colorado’s ranking among other participating states, regardless of whether schools choose to participate on the official day or choose a date more convenient to their community for optimal participation.

Walk and Roll events highlight the importance of safe, active transportation options, not only for school, but for whole communities at large. “As a multimodal planner, I’m thrilled to be shaping a future where sustainable transportation is accessible to all,” says CDOT Multimodal Transportation Planner Morgan Olsen, whose children walk, bike, or roll daily to Eagleview Elementary School in Thornton. “As a parent, I’m even more excited to participate in my children’s Walk and Roll to School Day this year. It’s a perfect opportunity to promote and instill a love for active transportation. I’m thankful we live in a community that offers a safe route to school and provides a positive and active routine for our daily commute.”

Colorado Safe Routes to School is currently accepting applications for grant funding. The program will have approximately $7 million to distribute for infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects supporting communities in providing students and families with safe, accessible means of active transportation to and from school. For more information, and for Walk and Roll to School Day ideas and resources including downloadable posters in English and Spanish, visit CDOT’s Safe Routes to School website at https://www.codot.gov/programs/bikeped/safe-routes.

Colorado Safe Routes to School is a statewide program of the Colorado Department of Transportation. It works to create and promote safe, accessible, and fun opportunities for kids to walk and bike to and from school.