Champaign and Urbana Schools to Celebrate National Bike to School Day on May 6

CU Safe Routes to School Project, C-U Public Health District, and schools in Urbana will join schools from around the country to celebrate National Bike to School Day on May 6.

Two Urbana schools will participate in the National Bike to School Day campaign. Students will be riding or walking to school on Wednesday along with parents, teachers and community leaders.

The event will begin early in the morning when kids, parents, and community leaders leave home on two wheels and head to school. Other special activities associated with the event include a Bike Station at Urbana Middle School and a meet and greet at Thomas Paine Elementary. In addition, students that have participated in the Ready.Set.Bike! class as part of the SPLASH after school program will spend their last class taking a special bike ride to Meadowbrook Park. Student in this class have learned bike safety skills and have been fitted with helmets and those students without a bike have been given a refurbished bike, bike lock, and bike lights. Students will be practicing their new bike safety skills during National Bike to School Day with a final on-street bike ride.  

On May 21, Thomas Paine Elementary will be conducting a Bike Rodeo for 5th grade students where they will learn on-bike safety skills such as proper starting, stopping, scanning, signaling, turning, etc.

Bike to School Day events raise awareness of the need to create safer routes for bicycling and walking and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, reducing traffic congestion, and concern for the environment. The events build connections between families, schools, and the broader community.

The event is being organized by C-U Safe Routes to School Project (C-USRTS Project), Champaign County Bikes, and C-U Public Health District.  CU SRTS PROJECT is a community based organization with representatives from the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD), Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, the Cities of Urbana and Champaign, law enforcement, Urbana and Champaign School Districts, bike organizations, and more. C-U SRTS Project helps to educate the community on pedestrian, bicycle, and school zone safety issues.